Kalamazoo -

Demolition of existing structures has started, to clear the way for ISK's new Behavioral Health Urgent Care building at 440 W. Kalamazoo Ave.. Here's a few drive-by photos I took -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0evyrnylqh...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6dine3uzgu...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wkm45bljdq...%203.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0qo8bd2wqy...%204.jpg?raw=1

Well here we go -

I knew something big was brewing here, because there was some recent talk about vacating Cooley Street between Water and Eleanor, and it being absorbed into a potential development. But I wasn't expecting anything like this. 400 units is huge for Kalamazoo. The taller of the two buildings is 11 stories. That would make this the tallest thing constructed in Kalamazoo since "The Exchange" (which is 15 stories). These would be built here, in the shadow of the new courthouse project, in the rapidly developing Arcadia West district.

EDIT: digging around, the renderings were public as early as the Aug. 4 Planning Commission Meeting. If you go to about the 8 min. mark, that is where the discussion begins -

• Video Link

I'll try and find some better images. I tried photoshopping the ones in the article to get rid of some of the blue tint and to get a little more clarity, but they are pretty lo-res -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fun73grf7g...ited.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k7os87eokc...ited.jpg?raw=1
Source: Mike Krafcik | WWMT (edited)

This is a quality project for Kalamazoo! Glad to see the transformation that DT Kalamazoo has undergone over the last 17 years.

Fortunate too that this is being proposed in a location with virtually zero residents (well, apart from homeless persons...) - so I don't expect there would be a lot of NIMBY activism against the proposed height.

The KRESA Career Tech Center and the ISK Behavioral Health Urgent Care both had groundbreakings in the past week. The ISK groundbreaking was yesterday -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l6zblx1s39...king.jpg?raw=1
Source: WWMT | Raymond Hole

And the KRESA groundbreaking was held last Friday, 9/30. There was a huge turnout for this one, which makes sense, given the price tag and the numerous players involved -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydby9tt1eh...king.jpg?raw=1
Source: WIN 98.5

Wow, 400 units! That’s great for Kzoo. I hope the design improves some before ground breaking though.

Indeed. The design is a bit clunky. I would take it as-is though, if it means we can move on from the barren, undeveloped landscape that has been there for decades.

Fall is always the season for ribbon cuttings. Here's another one that will have positive community impact -

The 60 studio apartments have been completed for several months, they were just waiting on delayed furnishings. Units are now officially getting occupied.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z2jlasrwo3...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rpgmzmvlhk...202.jpeg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdx59oftia...%203.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dqsd84but7...%204.jpg?raw=1
Source: Maria Serrano | WWMT

How confident are you that this will become a thing without any major changes to the overall project? Two buildings of that size at one time will be a big change to the over all feel of downtown. And also, do you think the city is inching closer to a stadium downtown with all this development being built?

My confidence on the housing development proceeding without substantial modification is maybe... 60%. On the one hand, PlazaCorp is usually pretty reliable about following-through with things that they make public, and they usually only take on one big project at a time. They did The Exchange, then the Hilton Garden Inn, and now...potentially this. This shows focus and intention. The exception to that rule might be whatever is happening (or, more accurately, not happening) at the old Gibson Guitar factory. But a Hard Rock Hotel / enterprise center / museum in the Northside is a very different prospect from some badly-needed apartment units downtown. Plus, the city has wanted denser housing developed on these blocks for years, so they will generally be supportive in the process. And as mentioned previously, virtually zero nearby residents to complain about height, shadows, traffic, or any other NIMBY nuisances.

On the other hand, securing funding for projects like this has gotten harder and harder as of late, and material escalation and labor shortages are still real concerns. Several other big projects proposed around Kalamazoo in recent years have either been cancelled or gone cold. The 10-story proposal on South Burdick St. comes to mind, as well as the stagnant attempts to develop the surface lot at S. Edwards St. and Bates Alley. No doubt the pandemic killed some projects. But the market is still very unpredictable right now. If anything changes / kills this proposal, I don't think it will be a lack of demand or the visual impact. It will be the funding.

For what it's worth, I don't think I've seen or heard anything that indicated both would necessarily be built simultaneously. It might be a Phase 1 / Phase 2 kind of thing. So maybe they build the shorter, less expensive one first, see how it does, and then adjust the height as necessary for the second one, depending on the outcome.

I'm much less confident about the multi-purpose event center / arena. I'd give it 10-15% confidence rating, max. I don't understand who would use it. From what I've read, neither the Kalamazoo Wings nor WMU's hockey team have any interest in using the space, having invested millions in their own venues. And the County already has the Expo Center. Granted, it is not centrally-located and certainly not a landmark piece of architecture, but it is functional and heavily utilized. I haven't seen any real proposal, or even a sketch, put out in years for a downtown arena. No one has explained how the parking and traffic would work. I actually feel the opposite way: with each new development on the west side of downtown, it seems increasingly unlikely that an arena / event center (with its inherently large footprint) would be built. There are just so many other more pertinent needs (housing, housing, housing). And I don't know of anyone in the general public that honestly supports the idea, apart from employees at Southwest Michigan First, some county officials, and maybe the nearby hotel owners / operators.

Disclaimer: I'm forming all of these opinions with zero insider information. But since you asked.

Cool shots from the tower crane operator at the justice center site -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ujuqxczstf...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mzsgw0uixt...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vio33msqgf...%203.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7a764liaf...%204.jpg?raw=1
Source: LinkedIn | All State Crane and Rigging, LLC

Thanks for that detailed response! Hearing that even the new justice facility had problems with getting the materials needed to stay on schedule you might be spot on with thinking funding and labor would hurt this project.

With your Phase 1 and 2 idea with those building made me think of the apartments on Rose St that had the first part built then now the second addition is being built. That would make more sense to do rather than build both at the same time and hope that they would be occupied quick.

Just my personal opinion I wouldn't mind the taller/bigger developments in the city. Coming down the hills towards downtown and seeing a more developed skyline with some bigger building would be nice! Although I might be in the minority in that opinion. Lets get a 30 story building in downtown haha!:shrug:

You & me both! I've always thought that the approach down the hill toward downtown is the most un-flattering perspective. The city skyline is actually quite dense and pleasing, from certain vantage points. But yeah, Michigan Ave. heading east toward the core - not so much.

This one flew under my radar. Water Street Coffee Joint has opened its 6th location at 527 Harrison St., just a stone's throw away from their downtown location, and within spitting distance of Walnut & Park's second coffee shop too. It is the building next to where MacKenzie's bakery used to be. With the parking & drive-through capabilities of this one, it makes me wonder if they are planning to keep both locations long-term. It's literally a 2-minute drive from one to the other (0.4 miles) -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vfhvtzja4t...n%29.jpg?raw=1
Source: Second Wave | Courtesy Water Street Coffee Joint

Portage -

A week ago I went to get my flu vaccine and COVID booster at the Bronson clinic in Portage, which is directly across Romence Rd. from Pfizer's new Modular Aseptic Production building (MAP) that is under construction. It was a bit surreal getting jabbed for my booster while gazing out the window toward the very location where the vaccine came from. I assume they just deliver the vaccine through pipes right under the street at this point. Anyway, that project is going gangbusters now. Here's a few drive-by shots -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y8k3wd68b7...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6regs32mp...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tu8lco3xqk...%203.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/agdtky6bxd...%204.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vmt2wvydo3...%205.jpg?raw=1

Had to get outside and enjoy the 70+ degree weather this weekend. Fron yesterday -

400 Rose Phase 2 -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c41e1kpmm8...02-1.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g66nljyo9l...02-2.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5vc05alry6...02-3.jpg?raw=1

The new parking lot at The Park Club is almost done -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b9ferrhmbp...Club.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/60e1pgfcc1...%202.jpg?raw=1

Crews at the Downtown Justice Center were also taking advantage of the nicer weather -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0v1uqfxs98...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yr93e8liq5...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/99mmvx6zbz...%203.jpg?raw=1

Still have not tried JungleBird. They were closed this early in the day, but I took a peek through the window. The bar looks cool -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lpgww2470n...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d7qz71utir...%202.jpg?raw=1

Separately from development, Kalamazoo gets into the spirit of Halloween with its downtown "SkeleTour". Here are just a few scenes -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x5gf9pu6nl...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bs70dvg8az...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zyq2chtx3...%203.jpg?raw=1

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https://www.dropbox.com/s/czz2dggx00...%206.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w7mk7e3epb...%207.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wwozx7d096...%208.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6s9y1xyf8d...%209.jpg?raw=1

It's been a quiet few weeks, development news-wise. A few things popped up in the past few days though -

1. Maybe "4th time's the charm" when it comes to cracking the code for a lasting downtown theater complex -

It's reported that the doors might reopen sometime in 2024. I don't know what would take them so long - AMC heavily remodeled & updated the facilities just 5 years ago. My best guess is they are just being conservative with the timeframe, in order to align financing, a theater management partner, etc.

2. This article worries me. It sounds like instead of getting any building development on the block bounded by Westnedge, Kalamazoo, Cooley, and Eleanor, we might end up with another surface lot, to support the new justice center. This just runs contrary to everything in the city's master plan, for bringing dense, mixed-use, walkable development to Arcadia West. I don't know what is being discussed between the city and the county and WMU behind closed doors. But there is already an entire block of new surface parking to serve the new county building, immediately east of here. I hope I am wrong, or, at the very least, that any surface lots are short-term -

3. The Kalamazoo National Guard Armory will undergo a ~ $5 million renovation to bring more gender equity. The current facility, at 5353 Parkview Ave., was built in 1977 -

The new residence hall fronting West Main would go where the surface lot is, here. There's some other interesting things in the 2022 Master Plan, like the realignment of Academy Street, which would create space for the "Academy Gateway Building" -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5u6uhfxx1...Plan.png?raw=1
Source: Kalamazoo College Facilities

The Downtown Justice Facility at sunrise -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7lddavdqie...lity.jpg?raw=1
Source: LinkedIn | Blake Nichols

Kalamazoo -

I thought The Heritage Community's new "Revel Creek" independent senior living complex was finished months ago, but it just celebrated its unveiling on Wednesday -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h1auqb3ngr...eek.jpeg?raw=1
Source: WWMT | Pat Hagan

KPEP's newest project, WP Diner, was finished a few months ago and had a soft opening in September, but it held a more public grand opening yesterday. Hopefully this will be a lasting addition to Washington Square, which has had some ups & downs -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0n7nw5i637...201.jpeg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jestyn2wh6...202.jpeg?raw=1
Source: WWMT | Troy Truxton