100% - you should be proud! My wife is a masters student at WMU now, and we were talking about the bridge and parking deck the other day. A lot of people have cast shade on the design of both, but as an architect myself, I know what goes into these types of designs, and honestly, they both turned out great - especially when you consider the limitations of cost, construction schedule, and material. I can think of far uglier parking decks and pedestrian walkways that have been put up in our region in recent years. This is a positive addition to the campus! :tup:

Kalamazoo -

Geopier (the foundation contractor) has been on the site of the downtown event center for the past few weeks and it looks like they have started to install rammed aggregate piers. These photos are from Facebook, 12/18/24 -




Source: Facebook | William Dolak

Kalamazoo -

The first phase of the Tiny Houses of HOPE project (447 W North St.) wrapped up earlier this month, bringing three 400 SF houses to people who earn 30% to 60% of the area's median income. There are plans for a second phase, consisting of three more homes, on the opposite side of the intersection -


Source: Facebook | Abonmarche

Oshtemo Township -

KPS will soon begin construction on its new central kitchen facility (the groundbreaking, originally scheduled for December 5, was cancelled due to weather). The estimated $8.5 million, ~ 17,000 SF project is funded through the 2018 public school bond, and it will be constructed on the site of the former Chime Elementary School, which was demolished earlier this year (6750 Chime Street). The project was delayed due to pandemic-related supply chain issues and challenges in acquiring a site. Construction is expected to wrap up in early in 2026. From the district's Facebook announcement, the new facility -


Source: Facebook | Kalamazoo Public Schools

Chime Elementary School (1953 - 2008) was demolished this past summer, after the district hosted one final walkthrough for alumni and friends of the school -

Former students and staff said goodbye to Chime Elementary School on Tuesday, July 9 -


Source: MLive | Aya Miller

Portage -

The first building at Tall Timbers is complete and units are occupied -






Source: Facebook | AVB

Battle Creek -

Another chunk of Battle Creek's industrial past is fading, as the old, 350,000 SF Graphic Packaging International (GPI) facility at 79 E Fountain St. gets torn down. The site was originally home to the Michigan Carton Company, founded in 1907. Field Container acquired the company in 1984, and it merged with Graphic Packaging in 2008. GPI closed the Battle Creek plant in August 2022, when its operations were merged with those of the newly-expanded Kalamazoo location. The site, located along the concrete embankments of the Kalamazoo River falls within the boundaries of the ongoing river naturalization / restoration project, and the property will be donated to Battle Creek Unlimited by New Mill Capital Holdings once it is cleared. It will be made into green space while it awaits future plans -

Prior to demolition -


Source: Battle Creek Unlimited

And during demolition, a few weeks ago -








Source: LinkedIn | Battle Creek Unlimited


Source: Facebook | Gary Baker

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping that 2025 brings some big, positive development news! :cheers:

To send out the old and ring in the new, here's a few (brilliant) drone shots of Kalamazoo, taken by William Dolak, back in November, after Daylight Savings Time ended (so, around 4pm :haha:) -


Source: Facebook | William Dolak






Source: Facebook | William Dolak

And here's one more bonus shot by Bill, of Bronson Park, all decked-out for the holidays, in early December -


Source: Facebook | William Dolak

Some restaurant news -

Texas Township -

Cravings Corners, a spinoff of Craving’s Deli (housed within Pacific Rim Foods) opened in a new, standalone building in the ever-suburbanizing Texas Township this past November (8107 Vineyard Pkwy). It was originally scheduled to open in November 2022, but COVID-related delays ensued -


Source: Google | Cravings Corners

Portage -

Demolition on the first Arby's constructed in Kalamazoo County started last week. It was built in 1968, in the original vintage "barn" style. It went through several remodels, but the iconic cowboy hat sign was eventually removed and it has sat vacant for the past decade. No word yet on what will replace this property in the heavily-trafficked Westnedge / I-94 strip (5333 S Westnedge Ave.) -


Source: Facebook | Edward Newhouse

Kalamazoo -

This is a bit older news, but the old Brewster's Restaurant (at 5135 Portage Rd.) was also demolished in November. It originally housed a Bill Knapp's restaurant. We know that this was necessary work to make way for the proposed hotel-adjacent Residence Inn -


Source: Facebook | Christine Orozco

Portage -

Some pretty interesting news for The Crossroads mall, specifically, the vacant Sears store, which has been vacant since 2019 -

The exact address is 6780 S Westnedge Ave. (south end of the mall). I think it will do well, at least initially. There is some nearby competition from similar entertainment venues like Airway Fun Center and Revel & Roll, but not on this scale. And even if it only makes it a few years, this is the kind of development I think will help redirect the mall's longer-term future - from a precipitous decline to a more stable and inventive future as an entertainment destination (vs. purely a shopping one).

Here's a similar venue, opened in Ypsilanit in 2022. This one will reportedly be ~2x the size -


Source: Annie Barker | Detroit Free Press

Now, if they could just secure a Lego store and an aquarium...

Kalamazoo -

These photos are a few weeks old now, but they show foundation progress and the first few cores rising at the River's Edge housing development -







Source: LinkedIn | Abonmarche

Kalamazoo -

More older development news that I'm getting around to posting here... Last fall, El Concilio - a Hispanic community support and advocacy organization, celebrated the opening of its new headquarters at 2501 Millcork St. (the former Kalsee Credit Union HQ). The $5.5 million renovation houses a bilingual preschool, folk dance studio space, offices, and meeting spaces. The organization is still raising funds for additional improvements, including a planned soccer field. The below images are from the grand opening on Friday, October 4, 2024 -










Source: NowKalamazoo | Reid Williams

Kalamazoo -

Lofts at Ironworks progress shots, from December and January (this is the residential conversion project where they are adding three levels atop an existing 2-story building) -




Source: LinkedIn | PlazaCorp

Comstock Township -

Local manufacturer Landscape Forms has announced a big expansion to its headquarters in Comstock Twp. When complete, the $70 million, 300,000 SF addition will add manufacturing space, storage space, and related office space, and it will bring an estimated 125 additional jobs to its current workforce of ~500. SmithGroup is providing A/E services, and construction will be led by Miller-Davis. The project is expected to break ground in Q2 of this year, and it is estimated to wrap up in Q4 of 2027 -

While it might not be the sexiest of developments, it is great news from a local economic perspective -



Preserving and restoring 58 acres of natural wetlands / habitat is also a critical part of the work -


Source: Landscape Forms | SmithGroup

Kalamazoo -

After a deal fell through to purchase a former Holiday Inn Express and convert it into a homeless shelter, a new location has been announced by Kalamazoo County. The former Country Inn & Suites (1912 E Kilgore Service Rd) is the new target property for conversion to an 80-unit temporary family shelter. It must have closed pretty recently, because as of my writing this, you can still book a room online. The $5.7 million conversion project is expected to include comprehensive support services, things like job training, childcare, mental health counseling, and life skills development. It is scheduled to open sometime in mid-2025. The hotel is already furnished and is located near a bus stop and other resources (like a Salvation Army). It is basically kitty-corner to the recently-proposed Residence Inn along Portage Road -


Source: booking.com

Well I guess this is better than a surface parking lot -

Kalamazoo -

Renderings of WMU's new Residence hall - which will replace the recently-demolished Valley 3 dorms - have been shared publicly. WMU approved $85 million in bonds to help fund the estimated $110 million project, which is planned to provide housing for more than 1,000 first-year students upon its scheduled completion, in time for the fall 2026 semester. The hall will offer pod-style rooms, workspaces, and a central lounge. More info at WMU's website -

Unofficially, I rank this in the top 5 'current' construction projects within the city proper (based on estimated total construction cost). The exterior renderings I like. The interior views look a little, well... understated. Perhaps just underdeveloped -
















Source: WMU | Hanbury

WMU Master Plan approved
 

Lots of plans, but a declining number of HS grads in Michigan is may lead to the same result as the 2018 Hilltop Village plan: not much change in campus "feel", only a building or two replaced. Not sure the "Multicultural Center" will get far in this climate. For a plan that mentions "density", there's a lot of open space in the middle of a small metropolitan area.

Here's the PDF approved by Trustees.

https://imgur.com/a/SlvbmlX

Hotels may foot bill for new $40M youth sports complex in Kalamazoo County
https://www.mlive.com/resizer/v2/ECB...280&quality=90
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo...oo-county.html

Thanks for the updates guys and for keeping this thread alive. I'm still alive too; I've just been out of it for a while. I was at Western this morning, and noticed that the Ellsworth Parking Garage is almost completely demolished. It is unclear if it will be replaced with a new parking deck or something else. It is just listed in the master plan as a future opportunity for potential replacement. So we will keep an eye out.

In other news, foundations for the downtown event center are moving along. I think we can expect to see steel rising out of the ground within a few weeks and I will try to get some more-current photos soon.

Kalamazoo -

I have a backlog of updates to get to. First - and you can probably tell from the snow on the ground - these construction photos; which are over a month old now (74 F yesterday!) -

River's Edge -





Lofts at Ironworks -





Event Center -