Sights around town from the past few days, in 3 posts...Kalamazoo is rising!

180 E Water Street / Catalyst Development

Things are starting to go vertical. The first forms and cages for what will become the structural columns of the first floor started going up on Tuesday.
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As they compact the earth (preparing for what will be the first floor slab) they are covering it up with large tarps, ostensibly, to protect it from any possible snow cover.
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I think what is seen here is the elevator / circulation core, or at least, one of the cores (there might be 2 - one for the residential side, and one for the commercial side?)
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I am starting to understand the impact that this building will have, when perceived driving east on Water Street. It will recreate a new street wall that has not existed along this block for ~6 decades.
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A bit closer...
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The Exchange

This is a good transition photo - it shows the sites of both 180 E Water St (on the left) and The Exchange (on the right), as viewed from the top of the Radisson parking deck. As one tops out, the other begins to rise.
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Not sure what this guy was doing on top of the Radisson (some sort of maintenance) but I unintentionally caught him in mid-jump.
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This is the 'prow' of the ship - it faces west and will have one of the best views in the city.
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Now from below.
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E Lovell / S Rose St

This one is starting to come out of the ground too. It will really transform this intersection.
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The first floor platform, beneath which is parking, is partially complete.
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Kalamazoo Gazette Building / Bronson Methodist Development

The next phase of work at the former Kalamazoo Gazette building is definitely underway. What it will be is still a mystery to me - I can find no information, renderings, etc. from Bronson. But they are moving dirt and some foundations have been poured.
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View inside the original building, designed by Albert Kahn. Still a bit of a blank shell.
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Peregrine 100

Exterior canopies are being installed. The interior is not done, but they finished a portion of it enough to open a pop=up Christmas shop to compliment the other downtown retailers.
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Starbucks at the Radisson

I know this just looks like your typical, run-of-the-mill mall Starbucks. But it is a bit of an interest, only because it is the first, true Starbucks in downtown Kalamazoo. That's right, it took until 2018 for downtown Kalamazoo to receive its first Starbucks. Maybe because of all the good (better?) independent coffee shops around town. This is located on the main level of the Radisson, adjacent to other shops and eateries.
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Kalamazoo Downtown Partnership

This non-profit has its new signage up on the Gilmore Building, to reflect its re-branded name.
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Home2 Suites

Finally, a hopeful view of the site of the proposed 8-story, Hilton Home2 Suites.
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The Exchange crane is coming down this week. It's causing some backups on Michigan Ave. as traffic is reduced from 4 lanes to just 1 lane.

ANd I found this rendering for a proposed repurposing of the former Wayside West Building, which housed a sports bar that closed in Fall 2015 and was bought by PlazaCorp for redevelopment. The bar was in business for 50 years at this location on Stadium Drive. Unfortunately there was a murder on the premise in 2014. Perhaps not the sole reason for its closing after 1/2 a century, but certainly it did not help. A new-and-improved B-Dubs down the street in 2010 probably didn't help either. The building, I'm surprised to read, was built in 1948. That means it became a sports bar in 1965 (and obviously received a remodel at the time which has not worn well with time). I'm curious what it was prior to that. It is ugly today, and I can't say that I much dig the proposed new design either. As ugly as the existing, minus the nostalgia. According the to real estate site where I found the images,

Also notable is the site plan, which shows two new, stand-alone buildings on the property.

Proposed Remodeling
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Existing Building
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Existing Aerial
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Proposed Site Plan
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Existing First Floor Plan
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Existing Second Floor Plan
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Source: CPIX

Yeah, while nothing special itself, the current building is at least interesting. You do kind of wish they'd simply work with the existing architecture instead of a full exterior reconstruction.

I guess you have to look at it that one net this is an improvement of the site, because it will be filling a vacant building, and you get slight increases in density with the new out-lot buildings.

I do find it weird that they are calling this "mixed-use," though and the thought its on a suburban strip, this is still very much in Kalamazoo, so it's a bit weird to describe it as the "first creative mixed-use" building in the suburbs in almost every respect. It'll definitely have some unique amenities for the office workers given the layout, but that doesn't make it mixed use unless they, you know, plan for an actual mix of uses.

Yeah. It is written poorly, but we have no idea who even wrote that description. My guess is not the developer / owner. My only guess as to the "mixed-use" is that they might still be planning on some sort of restaurant component for a portion of the first floor. Since it references the Beer Exchange as a possible precedent, I could see that as a possibility.

For a brief window of just a few days, Kalamazoo had four or five cranes on its skyline. OK, I'm cheating a bit, because technically it was two tower cranes, one mobile boom crane, and one large hydraulic crane to dismantle the tower crane at The Exchange, plus a smaller telescopic crane to help the larger hydraulic crane, which was not fully extended, and thus not visible from afar. But, all technicalities aside, and whatever the official number, it was still worth documenting, because the last time this magnitude of crane presence happened in downtown Kzoo all at once was probably...never?

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I found one vantage point on the ground from which where you can see four of the five - at the end of Harrison Street, behind The Foundry. Can you spot all four in this picture? Scroll further to see them all circled.

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At 180 E Water St, yesterday -

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And...the tower crane begins to come down at The Exchange. It went up on October 10, 2017, so it graced our skyline in its complete form for about 429 days. That was then...

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...this is now -

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Western Michigan will likely break ground on the second phase of its Business Technology and Research Park within the next few months, according to a University press release on Tuesday.

WMU got this grant submitted and approved in relatively quick fashion, and it sounds like things will be full steam ahead. BTR2 will add 55 acres of improved development land adjacent to the current 256-acre BTR1 complex, which is maxed-out for space, and houses about 40 companies that provide about 850 jobs. The development will be sustainable sites certified.

This is the area of development for BTR2. BTR1 is southeast of this.

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MOD Pizza's grand opening is today (Saturday), at the Corner @ Drake development. It is located adjacent to the new Trader Joe's and Chow Hound pet store. MOD had a soft opening on Thursday, during which all pizzas and soft drinks were free for the entire day. We tried it and enjoyed it. Interestingly, Blaze Pizza, a competing chain with a similar feel, opened its second Kalamazoo area location on Thursday as well, in Portage. Haven't been to the new Blaze yet, but I think I like MOD better. Both models are definitely well-suited to college towns. Here's two pictures of the MOD Pizza, right before closing on Thursday night (it had quieted down a bit) -

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I thought it would be interesting / fun to make some development predictions for 2019 in Kalamazoo and its surroundings (all the big cities are doing it, and the little kids want to play along). In no particular order:

• We will finally see a proposal for the new courthouse at Arcadia West, but we will not see anything else substantial / concrete proposed for this area. And the arena proposal will not gather any steam.
• The proposed affordable housing at the current Rugger's Up and Under Bar will fall through. No indication of this, just a gut feeling.
• The proposed affordable housing at Harrison Circle will break ground.
• The proposed Home2 Suites and Rose St Market project will not break ground, but will not necessarily be dead, either.
• AVB's The Corner at Drake development will achieve full build-out, and near-100% occupancy.
• Mayor Hopewell will end his 12-year term and will not serve in any other public office, but will remain active as an advocate for equality and development within the city's many neighborhoods (OK, we already know he will not run for re-election).
• The city proper population will breach 76,000 (that's easy, it's been trending up the past few years).
• Neighboring Portage will exceed 50,000.
• At least 2 new, substantial (by Kzoo standards, 6+ stories) mixed use projects will be announced for downtown, if the economy does not go into recession.
• Bus system improvements, including new stations, will begin to pop up.
• The Foundry Phase II will break ground.
• The Vicksburg Mill development will not have any substantial construction begin in 2019.
• WMU will make a lot of progress on its south neighborhood. Several buildings will be partially finished.
• Arcadia Ales will find a new owner or shut down.
• The trains will continue to snag traffic on Michigan Ave. and the east side of downtown.
• We will find out what the heck Bronson is actually doing for its Research Labs project on the Mall (probably only once it is finished)

Kalamazoo is soon to get its own MOMA! Seriously though, this downtown "Market On Michigan Avenue", while small, would be welcome in the city center. It will be interesting to see if it works. Prices will need to be reasonably competitive, and they will need to rely in part on decent foot traffic because there's no dedicated parking. Meijer, Hardings, Aldi, Midtown Fresh, and People's Food Co-Op are all just a few miles away.

In other news, Hinman has acquired ownership of the 15-story Fifth Third Bank building downtown. No word on if any remodeling is planned, but the developer does say that Fifth Third will remain as an anchor tenant and the building will continue to offer leasable office space for the foreseeable future.

This story really bugs me. At a time of unprecedented construction in Kalamazoo, this group wants to demolish an historic structure, in the heart of the city, for little more than a grassy lot with some play equipment. Not only is the abandoned First Reformed Church not an eyesore, as some would claim, it is part of a larger, historic urban whole that is uniquely preserved. First Reformed Church was built in the 1870's and was a product of the growth and immigration which the city experienced during this time. It is one of many churches that surround Bronson Park, along with several civic structures. Bronson Park is considered the traditional heart of the city. Read KPL's First Reformed Church: A Mirror of Immigration. The church closed in 2003 and has intermittently served some other ministries since then.

These people really can't come up with a use for the existing building? If you're going to demo it, at least construct something of use to more than just a few kids (who could easily play down the street at Arcadia Commons). This just reeks of a thinly-veiled excuse for demolishing a beautiful church to save money. Bill Rose, who is the chairperson of the so-called Children’s Nature Playscape Team, is also a member the First Congregational Church, which sits next-door to and owns the subject property. He is also the ex-president of the Kalamazoo Nature Center. His words just sound like a lot of bologna to me. It's now coming into 2019. Have we really not learned not to obliterate our local history yet?

Here's the church as photographed on December 20, 2018.
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Here's an historic photo of the church, from sometime around 1940.
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And here's an even older historic photo of the structure, from sometime between 1890 and 1910.
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Source for the last 2 images: Kalamazoo Public Library

City Commission voted on Monday to assume jurisdictional control of several state trunklines which were previously managed by MDOT. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo Avenue, Westnedge Avenue, and Park Street are the four primary routes through downtown. This is a big move, and one with many mixed reactions throughout the city. The idea is that by assuming control of these roads, the City can more easily implement its master plan, which includes adding dedicated bike lines and converting these roads to slower, 2-way traffic. MDOT will have no input in any of this. The challenges will include how to manage the traffic flow and how to fund maintenance of these heavily-traveled roads. I'm among those that want to see the streets return to 2-way traffic. I think it will be a great benefit for downtown businesses and it will create a far more pleasant streetscape. It will be painful for a while but drivers will learn and get used to the changes. But alternative routes for traffic passing through will need to be planned out. No one is going to drive through Plainwell to bypass downtown Kalamazoo. Nothing is likely to change in 2019, but there will be planning meetings and community forums coming.

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Source: MLive | Courtesy City of Kalamazoo

Great news. MDOT transfered a lot of downtown highways in Detroit over to the city years ago, and the city is much better off for it. The only possible downside I see to this is maintenance depending on how capable one's city is, but it's literally the only one.

Dealing with MDOT can be really, really difficult. It took quite a few years for MDOT to work at the speed that the City of Lansing was doing just to put a bike lane in on Saginaw (M-43). And MDOT's ownership has also left what are dreams to turn them (Saginaw and Oakland) into two streets just that: a dream. That said, back on the maintenance kick, the State of Michigan, of course, maintains its roads better than the city. So, for instance, the Capitol Loop around and through downtown Lansing always gets updated streetscapes and routine maintenance.

^ Yes, I hope this means we will see some positive changes (relatively) quickly.

This article recaps a lot of what has happened in Kalamazoo in 2018 and discusses some things that will be coming.

I thought this statistic was interesting:

I know that in 2009 we were still in a recession, but the investment numbers in more recent years are nothing to scoff at. 2018 dropped somewhat from 2017, but 2017 was so high because of The Exchange, which amounts to almost 1/2 of the $121.5 million total for that year. A lot of 2019's permit dollars will depend on if the Hilton hotel projects take off, not to mention the long-anticipated development of Arcadia West.

The article also has some current photos of the major downtown projects. All images credit to Joel Bissell | MLive.

The Exchange
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180 E Water St. aka the Catalyst Development (this article is the first mention I've seen of the name "Catalyst 12" so maybe that's what I will refer to it as now)
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The apartments at Rose and Lovell (the article also provides an official name for this project - "400 Rose")
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If you are not local, you may not care or even notice, but there has been quite a shuffle going on in the downtown food scene recently. For starters, four different micro-grocery related businesses have announced plans to open or relocate within downtown. This must be partly due to the many new housing units coming online in the next 2 years. But is it overkill?

1. Irving's, a market / deli with great food that opened in 2005, closed on December 31, 2018, and will be reopening at an undisclosed location downtown (undisclosed, but I'm pretty sure it is going to be within the former PNC Bank branch).
2. A new market and deli is going to take Irving's place, within the Kalamazoo City Centre complex (125 S Kalamazoo Mall).
3. Just a few days ago, a mini-grocery (MoMA) was announced, to go into the former downtown Biggby location.
4. Bronson Methodist Hospital just opened its own micro-grocery within its main campus on January 7. It is targeted towards hospital staff, but open to the public.

Downtown Kalamazoo and its surrounding neighborhoods have sometimes been described as a food desert, but with the addition of these four markets, not to mention the recently opened Midtown Fresh (a full-service grocery located in the former Hardings, in the Westnedge Hill neighborhood) I wonder if it is too much, too fast.

Wow, thanks for all of the updates. I haven’t been to KZoo in many many years.

It looks like keeping the white collar workforce and investing in downtown during the “dark years” (1960’s-1990’s) are finally paying off with all of this new development.

Definitely pulling way ahead of Battle Creek, where I’m originally from.

Wow!! Kalamazoo has quite a bit going on!! Hope to see more of this in other mid-size cities in Michigan!! :cheers:

Wait, Kalamazoo has a Trader Joe’s and Lansing doesn’t? Hahahaha

Also, we have a lot of Mod Pizzas out here and I really like them. Any toppings you want for the same price. Also, the ONLY pizza place I’ve found in Portland that offers green olives as a topping.