Spring is finally in the air! Here are some updates from yesterday.

The Exchange is becoming visible from more angles / vantage points. This is one of my favorite views of the skyline, from the top of the Epic Center ramp.
https://frsgyw.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Also just starting to peak out from the Haymarket District parking lot.
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Partway done with the 7th floor pour. This is where the building transitions from parking ramp to residential.
https://ghtrvg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

216-220 Michigan Ave. from the alley.
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Bronson Park. Alas, the fountain and statuary are no more.
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Site is cleared for The Foundry, Phase 2.
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Too bad this is all we will be getting. A big waste of a near-downtown site in my opinion.
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381-383 South Pitcher Street rehab is crawling along.
https://fbtrvg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

The future County Health building looks amazing though.
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And the small dam nearby, beneath Alcott Street, that once served the paper mill is now gone.
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Meanwhile, restoration work on Portage Creek just south of the former dam is in progress. There are future plans to develop the land along these banks.
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https://ghumag.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Jumping to Portage. The new Stryker Corporate HQ, though not tall, is just massive in scale. Looking straight on at the main entrance.
https://gxumag.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://hhumag.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Exciting to see glazing going up already.
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Looking from the side opposite the main, public entrance. I guess you'd call it the back.
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Lastly, some Portage Schools updates. Here is the new Central High School Natatorium, which is nearing completion.
https://frumag.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Earth has been cleared for the new Central Middle School. Should start picking up speed soon.
https://hbvx9q.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Northern Middle School is 'topped out'. This is similar to what Central Middle School will be like, in form and layout.
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https://ghvx9q.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Portage Northern's new football stadium, which should be ready in time for the fall season. This will mark a huge turning point for the school's athletics / football team, which will no longer have to play its home games at their rival's (Portage Central's) field.
https://gxvx9q.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

In a further effort to encourage some private development of affordable housing downtown, the city is trying to pass a resolution to define a two-block 'neighborhood enterprise zone'. If passed, this small area would receive additional tax benefits. Within this proposed zone, we recently heard about a proposed 6-story, mixed-use affordable housing development at 116 W. Cedar St. I'm guessing there's some conversation happening behind closed doors in an effort to make that a reality.

Kalamazoo Public Schools just passed their largest bond proposal in the District's history - $96.7 million for upgrades and new construction throughout the school district. Yesterday's vote wasn't a complete landslide, but a full 70% were in favor of the proposal, which involves a 1.25-mill property tax increase.

Nearby Gull Lake Community Schools also passed a $64 million bond proposal, for a 1.63 mill increase to property taxes. In fact, all over Southwest Michigan, the vast majority of school districts that had bond proposals on the ballot passed them. What this means in a nutshell is that most districts are trying to invest in their facilities (nearly $200 million total), most communities are majority in-favor of the investments, and we will see increased / substantial activity in school-related construction in the coming years.

In a big win for Paper City Development, MDEQ has announced that it will award the developer behind the massive Vicksburg Mill redevelopment $1.35 million. Most of that is a loan, with a $100,000 grant thrown in.

I noticed on Monday that Bierlien has begun demolishing this four-story structure at 251 E Lovell Ave. downtown (across from Bronson Hospital's main campus). I can find no information on why it is being demolished, or if there are any immediate plans for the space that will be created. If anyone knows anything, I'm curious. Initially, it looked like they were just doing abatement / remediation / remodeling. But now I think the whole thing is coming down because the demo work seems pretty indiscriminate. It certainly is not a beautiful structure, and has absolutely zero street level interaction along Lovell. I think it housed a combination of medical offices and WMU-related space most recently. It is on the original Upjohn Campus and maybe played a role for the pharmaceutical company back in the day (hence the blank streetwall).

Anyway, I took a few photos after work today -

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deja vu, are there any interesting projects occurring in Battle Creek besides the Heritage Tower renovation? There's a possibility I might be out in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area later this week.

I love those uncovered posters!

Nothing else very large-scale that I am aware of. If you go, you might see some activity downtown with storefronts being remodeled for new businesses. I doubt anything has started for New Holland's announced location yet (64 W. Michigan Ave). 15 Carlyle St. is also going to be getting a renovation, but I don't think it has started yet, since it was very recent news. There is a new Police Department HQ under construction that must be pretty far along. I need to get out there too. For being just 20-some miles away, I hardly go to Battle Creek. If you are there Friday / this weekend, there is the annual Spring into the Arts festival which might be neat.

Go to the Air Zoo, it's the best part of K-Zoo

Well...Damn! Apparently this project has quietly been in the works for three years. This will fill in a nice gap downtown (google streetview). This would be within the proposed two-block "neighborhood enterprise zone", which was recently pitched by the city. The property deal is contingent upon the creation of this zone. With the nearby four-story structure at 251 E Lovell Ave. coming down, I'd say this is a fair trade.

Some more info...


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Source: MLive (edited by me)

Thank you very much deja vu!

Seabee1526, I'd love to go to the Air Zoo. I've never been but always wanted to. I'll be on my way to Chicago though and probably won't have more than an hour or two around Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

135 units is a big deal for downtown Kalamazoo. I was shocked when I saw it on MLive. I really like that they are requesting a variance for the ground-floor residential units. I'm a big mixed-use fan, but I've seen too many times in developments were they put in so much ground floor commercial space it never gets filled which always gives the vibe of these developments as being unfinished.

Exactly my thoughts. I knew that the City had their eye on getting it developed, but didn't know something had been in the planning stages for so long. AVB and Hinman really kept it under wraps until they got most of their ducks in a row. There are some spots where it does not make sense for ground floor residential downtown. But I think with this location, it is a good link to the more residential Vine neighborhood. There is some light ground-floor commercial (with apartments above) across from this site, and an adjacent church.

Hey I'll be in Chicago this weekend too! Only Saturday - I have a gig that I'll be performing in downtown.

Air Zoo is really worth the admission if you've never been. But you need a few hours to do it right. I especially enjoyed going over to the older portion of the museum, which is a separate building on the edge of the airport's property, that you can drive to from the newer facilities. That older building is less organized, less crowded with people, and more interesting, imo. It's like exploring an old attic filled with decades worth of hidden treasures. Except that those treasures are old engines and WWII-era airplanes just strewn about. There's usually a restoration or two happening that you can peek-in on too.

Adding 135 apartments downtown will be great. From the rendering the building looks a bit flat. It would be nice if they made the corner a bit taller to help it stand out. The rooftop deck is a nice touch though!

Demo progress from yesterday for 251 E. Lovell -

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These articles are from a few days ago.

The first talks about the state's recent purchase of brownfield land off of E Alcott Street, near the soon-to-be finished new home for the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department. This whole stretch is becoming quite the public health campus. Right next door is the recently-finished Family Health Center and the Kalamazoo Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services building. I only wish that there was a more cohesive effort to somehow unite the aesthetics of these four entirely different buildings.

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Source: MLive

This second article discusses the planned south neighborhood developments at WMU. No designs or renderings have been released yet, but the $45 million price tag is further evidence that we should be expecting something significant for the proposed new housing. Pre-demolition activities have begun for the old WW2-era bunker dorms.

In other news, ground was officially broken for the new Portage Central MS yesterday. This will be a three-story structure.

Here is a somewhat unique perspective of The Exchange (screen shot taken from the below news story, which also talks about the recently announced 135-unit apartment project at the corner of Lovell and Rose). The video footage is from the top of Peregrine Tower, which is a higher perspective than I can get.

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Source: WWMT

Mobilization is already underway for the 7-story Catalyst mixed-use development downtown. Equipment began showing up on site yesterday, and the crane that will be used for boring activities was assembled today. A small perimeter fence also went up today, which I expect will expand in perimeter as work gets going.

Photos from Tuesday, 5/29/18
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Photos from Wednesday, 5/30/18
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(The Exchange crane in the distance, the pile boring rig in the foreground)
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This article explains more about what's going on with the demolition of 251 E Lovell Ave. Owned by Bronson, this vacant research lab will be entirely demolished and the site will become green space until Bronson decides what to do with it. The article also gives a hint at the timeline for the new Bronson consolidated labs project, which will be adjacent to the old Kahn-designed Gazette Building on S. Burdick. Construction for that could begin this Fall. It sounds certain that this new lab will be entirely separate from the historic 1920's Kahn structure, and that there still is not a definitive plan for what will be done with that building, which is currently being stabilized.

I don't know how I missed the Catalyst, but went back and saw the renderings two pages back. That's some fairly exciting architecture, and at seven stories will make for quite a solid piece of mid-rise infill.

BTW, which intersection is generally considered the "center" of downtown Kalamazoo, or does it not have one? Is activity layed out along the mall, or more so Michigan?

Great to see Kalamazoo's surface parking lots being developed.

I think the intersection of Rose Street and Michigan Ave. is generally considered the focal point, although I would say that an equal argument could be made for where the Mall intersects Michigan Ave. A study was conducted in the recent past that determined that the Rose / Michigan intersection is the most highly-trafficked pedestrian node in the City / County. Having the Radisson and the Courthouse at this node is a big factor in that. That said, I would say there is still more general pedestrian-oriented businesses and restaurants along the Mall, but more and more has been coming to Michigan Ave. (and even Kalamazoo Ave. - to a lesser extent) recently.

Agreed!

From yesterday:

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Western has begun demolishing the Elmwood Apartment complex, in preparation for the future Stantec-designed housing development. Bierlein is the demo contractor (they're just tearing it up all over the city right now). Really hoping for something stellar to come out of Stantec for the replacement housing.

Footage from MLive, taken yesterday:

• Video Link

The first of 16 apartment buildings comes down on Thursday, 5/31/18 -
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Abatement is ongoing at other structures prior to full demo -
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Check out all the AC units (set aside for hazardous materials / freon disposal) -
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Source: MLive | Rebekah Welch

Pretty busy week for development news! Significant upgrades are coming to two prominent senior living communities in the Edison neighborhood.

This is a rendering of the renovated Washington Square Co-Op. Before I clicked on the full story, I almost thought I was seeing a new 14-story tower proposal. I have to say that the upgraded exterior, while better than what is there now, is not super-exciting. It looks like just painting over the existing metal panels, in-between the windows. But the fact that they are planning on doing so much more than just a facade overhaul is good -

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Source: WWMT | Courtesy CSI

An older MLive photo shows what it looks like currently:
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Source: MLive | Scott Harmsen

Every year, the Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission presents several awards to projects / organizations that promote historic preservation in the city. This years winners were celebrated a few weeks ago. There were seven winners total - 3 residential projects, 3 commercial / institutional projects, and one organization / developer. You can read more on the details of each project at the link below.

1. Charles and Susan Crandall House, 716 Minor Avenue -
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Source: MLive

2. 1304 Merrill Street -
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Source: MLive

3. George and Ella Reed House, 928 South Rose Street -
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Source: MLive

4. J.W. Bosman Building, 627 South Burdick Street -
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Source: MLive

5. Civic Theatre Auditorium, 329 South Park Street -
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Source: MLive

6. Park Club, 219 West South Street -
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Source: MLive

7. Plazacorp - A local developer - recognized for the revitalization of six historic buildings, including the Shakespeare, United, Speareflex, Gibson factory, and Illinois Envelope Buildings -

Gibson / Heritage Guitar Factory -
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Source: My own photo

Illinois Envelope Building -
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Source: My own photo

I didn’t even realize Kalamazoo had its own thread. Great to see. As always, thanks for the updates.

Thanks! And welcome to this humble little corner of SSP. If you take the three tallest buildings in Kalamazoo that are under construction / soon to break ground, we are still only at 26 stories total height!

But hey, there really is quite a bit happening here for a lesser-tier city, and I enjoy providing the updates. You won't find any adrenaline-inducing skyscraper updates here, but it seems like at least a few enjoy reading and contributing about the numerous urban developments that steadily keep coming.

I've always liked Kalamazoo. Its history, having the two colleges there, its proximity to GR and Chicago, and being on the 2 Amtrak lines have done good things for it I think.

A friend of mine with whom I worked in urban revitalization programs at the state recently bought a house in Kalamazoo and she loves it, especially compared to Lansing. I always thought if I would have stayed in Michigan it would've been on my short list as well.

So great that this is happening in Battle Creek, and starting to pick up the pace through the summer. I think this will turn out very well and be a huge success / improvement to BC's downtown.

^Thats fantastic news! I had no idea. Its been several years. Downtown was overwhelmingly dead last time I visited. Im glad activity is returning, although I much liked the zombie apocalypse atmosphere

I really hope they can get this rezoning done. Looking at aerials, this is such a strange mix of uses in this part of town, and we need to see some way better site plans than the stuff currently there. This sounds like this would allow for that.

Even by sprawl standards the orientation of the buildings on their sites, here, look to be poorly place and undertilize their large parcels. Do you know whether this was originally zoned for industrial usage, or if the hotels were developed first? I'm just trying to figure out how you get hotels in the middle of an industrial district. It seems like either the hotels should have never been allowed or that it shouldn't have even been zoned for industry.

Yes! Slowly but surely, Battle Creek is trying to rebuild a robust downtown core. It has some assets that I personally think Kalamazoo should be jealous of (like two gorgeous Art Deco towers, nice streetscaping, and better connections to a less industrialized river). Might need to revise this thread title to be KALAMAZOO / PORTAGE / BATTLE CREEK if it keeps up. I guess I could post BC updates in the general WEST MICHIGAN developments thread too, but I just associate it more with Kalamazoo.

Beat me to the post! It is very odd around there. Honestly, the whole stretch of Sprinkle Road from Kilgore to E Main has always felt bizarre to me. It has a very unplanned feel. Not quite city, not quite suburb, and a little rural thrown in. It's a hot mess. Just north of E Michigan Ave, for example, Consumers Concrete has a massive operation right across from single family residential. There are some massive greenhouses too, arrayed along River Street. Random traffic improvements like roundabouts and raised medians make it all feel even more haphazard. I am pretty sure that the area with the hotels was mostly industrial first, and then the hotels starting popping up, variance by variance, due to the high traffic counts and proximity to I-94, the airport, Pfizer Stryker, etc. I know at least some of them cater to visiting, extended-stay business folk.

In other semi-zoning-related news, the City formally approved the 2-block "neighborhood enterprise zone" downtown. This will hopefully kick start planned developments within this boundary (there are at least 2 planned mixed-use projects with affordable housing conponent).

If there really is that big of a shortage, they are going to need more than 2 blocks of enterprise zone.

Here are a few photos from building tours on 5/30/18 of (a) Portage Northern Middle School and (b) Portage Central Natatorium. The MS is scheduled for completion next fall; the natatorium is close to complete and will open later this summer.

Portage North Middle School Construction Progress, 5/30/2018
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Portage Central Natatorium Construction Progress, 5/30/2018
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That's a really interesting story about how that area formed, and a perfect example of the abuse of the variance process. Variances are supposed to be just that, to allow for variances. You know, when a project needs a little more height, here, for a less stringent front yard requirement there. If you start allowing them to cover fundamentally different changes in uses and then do it again and again and again, that's how you get that mess of development down there, and why the rezoning should have happened a long time ago, quite frankly. lol

Speaking of zoning, what's the land zoned within this new south-of-downtown enterprise zone?

It's currently Zoned CC, which is Community Commercial. Just north (across Lovell) it is CCBD (Central Business District). These are similar zones, and both allow multi-unit dwellings if certain conditions are met.

And that's just a guess on my part regarding the variances for the many hotels that have popped up on the city's southeast side. But it is all zoned M-1 and M-2, which is manufacturing. Under the zoning code, hotels in M-1 and M-2 are "Conforming Use", meaning that the use may not be established after October 18, 2005, but if the use was legally established and in existence on / before that date, it may continue to exist as a legal conforming use. I think some of those hotels are newer than 13 years old.

Another potential big development in Portage by Stryker may break ground this fall, with ample tax credits.

Wow, I thought this ship sailed a looong time ago. Apparently the idea of a downtown arena is being resurrected by some of the local powers that be.

If it were to happen, I would want to see it downtown, far-better integrated into the "urban scene" a bit more than if it were near WMU or Heritage Guitar.

Neat to see this 44 year old mural being restored, and by the original artist, no less. Colleen Rockey, A WMU alum who originally painted the mural on a Corporation Alley wall facing the Comerica Building of the in 1974 (the same year that she graduated college), is restoring the mural at her own expense. The below image shows the mural restoration in progress, with The Exchange rising in the background.

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Source: PBS / Twitter

What what this do to Wings Event Center? It seems like Kalamazoo has a similar problem to Lansing in that they are cities in their own right apart from their university, but the universities are so large relative to the city and just close enough to the city center that it's always a debate over whether there is a need for a seperate arena. So many of Lansing's cultural amenities are actually MSU-based. Like, Lansing got lucky in that MSU never built a big multi-purpose convention center, because it wouldn't have even had that to itself.

BTW, it looks like MLive finally picked up on the the new downtown apartment building:

$1.1M land deal will bring 135 apartment units to downtown Kalamazoo

https://expo.advance.net/img/3ffb685...may1120181.jpg

Good question / points. The article doesn't say much and it still sounds very speculative. In addition to Wings, The Expo Center would probably falter too if an arena were built in the city with the intent / capacity to host convention-style expo events. I don't know that Kzoo should try to compete with GR / Van Andel arena for concerts and such. The data from studies done in 2008-2009 are not very confidence-inspiring, either. I just don't see it happening, the demand for it doesn't seem to be there.

Well, 251 E Lovell is history, folks. All that remains is the pile of detritus that fills what was the basement up to about street level, and they have been clearing it pretty fast.

I heard from someone in the know that Bronson Methodist Hospital will be making an announcement in the not-too-distant future about a downtown project. No more detail than that though, so I am not sure the scale of it, or if it would be for this site, or possibly the former Gazette Building, or maybe even their vast surface parking lot bounded by E Lovell, Portage St, E Walnut, and Jasper St.

Wouldn't it be cool to see this underutilized space developed into a mixed-use community anchored by a mix of health services, retail, and residential?

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In other silliness (and not news at all, by any stretch of the imagination) Kalamazoo has successfully landed a spot as a finalist in two categories (a) one of the top 50 worst American cities to live in, and (b) one of the top ten nicest cities in America. These 'lists' are by 24/7wallst.com and Readers Digest, respectively. S0 you know that they're credible, right?

Pro's that were cited include lots of local philanthropy, like the Kalamazoo Promise, and non-profit community involvement. Con's cited include high poverty and crime rates and bad air quality.

Well, this made for a fun commute this morning, and all signs are pointing to continued road closures through downtown for this afternoon / evening rush hour. Downtown Kzoo's two busiest through ways are both shut down as well as various feeder roads while crews work to clear the tracks of derailed train cars, right on the cusp of the holiday.

I don't know how, but if this proves to be Grand Elk's fault, maybe it can somehow further the discussion / consideration between city officials and the RR company about how trains move through downtown.


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Source: Daniel Vasta | MLive

Just a few captures around town from the past few days.

6/29. The Exchange continues to rise (slowly) downtown. At the moment they are on the 8th / 9th floor. The 8th floor is the first residential floor, and it involves a bit of a transition from the parking deck levels below. It is about 50% total height now.
https://sej8bq.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

6/30. I noticed this while driving through Vicksburg. Called The Rim & Rail, it will be a new event space in an old Chevy dealership. Looks pretty cool. Vicksburg is a happening place these days, with a new brew pub and coffee shop recently added to its growing list of attractions and the repurposed mill project on the horizon.
https://qugrea.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

7/1. A new hotel going up near Sprinkle Road and I-94. Honestly haven't paid enough attention to even know what brand / chain this is. Whatever, it is what it is.
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Some development news updates from the past few days -

1. Kalamazoo Downtown Arena / Event Center

A Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners meeting was cancelled last night due to the train derailment downtown. The meeting was meant to be a chance for project leaders to pitch their ideas to the county about reviving a 6,000 - 8,000 seat multi use arena / event center. While several sites are still referenced, it sounds like they are leaning heavily towards the 'downtown' location, which would be Arcadia Commons West, in the same vicinity of the originally pitched arena ten years ago (killed by many factors, including the recession).

This could be quite a gymnastics event to watch (again), with the County, the City, tax payers, local businesses, WMU, PlazaCorp, Catalyst Development, SW Michigan First, Discover Kalamazoo, DKI, DDA, BRA, etc. all having staked interests in what happens in this area. The cost is currently estimated at $110 million. Project backers want the Commissioners to agree to adding a ballot item this fall for voter approval of a 1% food and beverage tax at all restaurants and bars in the county.

This is an old concept site plan, circa July 2009.
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Source: MLive

And a concept rendering, from the same time.
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Source: MLive

2. DDA Budget Shortfalls

Speaking of the DDA, they are struggling financially due to declining revenue. The Downtown Development Authority receives some of its revenue from a long-established tax increment financing (TIF) district (about 30 years old), which is suffering due to a dwindling pool of downtown businesses. (Related, Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. - a private, non-profit entity geared towards generating downtown investment and economic development, which regularly works with the DDA - is also suffering because it receives some of its funding from the same source).

The City Commission announced on Monday that it intends to try and create a new Downtown Kalamazoo Economic Growth Authority, which would be overseen by the current DDA, and which would collect taxes from a catchment area larger than the current TIF district. A map of the proposed new boundary is below. It notably excludes properties owned by Zoetis and former Upjohn research buildings.

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Source: MLive / City of Kalamazoo

3. First Tenant Opens for Business at Midtown Marketplace

The new Ace Hardware is the first business to open at the site of a former Harding's, near the Westnedge Hill neighborhood. It opened yesterday. This development was previously called Shops on South Westnedge, but it is now referred to as Midtown Marketplace (only slightly less / more? generic sounding). A 28,000 SF grocery (Midtown Fresh), operated by the Shina Group, is scheduled to open later this month. Quite suburban in style, but better than an empty big box store rotting away, and both fill a need for retail in this area.

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Source: MLive | Brad Devereaux

4. New Breweries

Wax Wings Brewing Co. opened last Friday at 3480 Gull Road. The young owners wanted to create a neighborhood brewery for the east side / Comstock area. Food is provided by the neighboring Mexican restaurant for now.
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Source: MLive | Emily Monacelli

A new brewpub was also announced for Portage a few weeks ago. Presidential Brewing will occupy the property at 8302 Portage Road (close to Latitude 42), which was a former mini golf course / laser tag / arcade space, called Laser Land. The beers will have president-themed names like "Lincoln Lager", "Oatbama", and "O-Cezanne-Can-You-See". It will be family-friendly, with a kid's area called "The West Wing" and they plan to maintain 9 mini golf holes for patrons. This sounds like a pretty unique / cool concept, and a much better fate than that which befell the former Putters Family Fun Center, along S. Westnedge Ave, which is being turned into a used car dealership lot. They had a pre-opening event on Friday with a beer tasting. Grand opening is planned for October.

This new Portage Brewery is partially the result of a new ordinance by Portage City officials intended to allow new breweries, microbreweries, and brewpubs to move into more areas of the city. The recent ordinance adds zones B-2, CBD, and CPD to the list of zones where brewing facilities can now be located.

The lot today. The building in the background will be converted into the brewpub.
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Source: MLive Media File

It's blowing my mind that the DDA is losing money, though I guess it does go to show how much of the development downtown has been residential. Does the current DDA boundaries cover Upjohn? It seems crazy to avoid them given that's where all of the money would be. I know they don't want to antagonize them, but they are the biggest private downtown employer by far, right? Perhaps more effort needs to be focused on growing the downtown private employer base with the residential development having largely taken care of itself. I think the Exchange is good in that it has some commercial space, but a nice, speculative Class A office building would probably be more the speed to kick things off.

Back from a few days camping up north. I have decided that I like vacation more than work...

The current DDA boundaries do cover what was once Upjohn property. Some of that is now current Zoetis and WMU property. By 'biggest private downtown employer', if you are referring to Upjohn's modern 'successor' / purchaser - Pfizer, then no, because Pfizer is technically Portage-based. The largest downtown employer is Bronson Methodist Hospital, which employs upwards of 8,000 total employees, and I think around 3,000 at its main downtown facilities. But they're tax-exempt.

I too am somewhat surprised that the current market hasn't driven development of more class A office space in the downtown core. But with the 7-story Catalyst development supposedly breaking ground soon (they did expand the perimeter construction fence last week), and with Phase 2 of The Foundry supposedly kicking off soon as well (pretty boring-looking 1 - 2 story office space), there is some stuff on the horizon.

But I would disagree that residential development has largely taken care of itself. Apart from The Exchange (billed as market-rate / 'luxury' living) I would say it seems the opposite. Private development of housing downtown is slow, and small-scale. There is tons of prime land and incentives out there for developers willing to consider a public funding component, but despite the many pleas for affordable and varied housing options in downtown and in its surrounding neighborhoods, the city can't get much kickstarted, even with local and state incentives (the new 4-story, 135-unit, mixed-use affordable housing proposal at the corner of Rose St. and Lovell being the apparent exception, for now). The BRA continues to issue RFPs for their many sites and can't seem to get anyone to bite. At least not anyone that they are confident working with.

I read or heard recently (on the radio maybe?) that there is something like 10,000 daily commuters who work downtown, and something like 2,000 residents downtown. But of those 10,000 commuters and of those 2,000 residents, only about 100 or so fall into both categories (living and working downtown). I don't remember who did this study, but will try to find out. If it is remotely close to true, it says something about a city of 75,000 if only 100 downtown employees actually live downtown.

In other 'news' -

It's neat to see Kalamazoo's Burdick street featured on this PBS special, alongside roads like Woodward Avenue, Detroit, and Fifth Avenue, NY.

And this recent article does not do much to inspire confidence for the 'revived' downtown arena plan. WMU didn't even know about it until the media broke the news, and they would likely need to be a stakeholder in it, in order for it to succeed. I'm surprised to say that I am inclined to agree with many of the commenters on the article, who point out that right after the earlier proposal lost steam when the recession hit, Western and KWings invested lots of money into their own, existing facilities. Why now would these entities want to entertain a completely new investment when they have current facilities that are adequate? Either way, I think the PR for this has been handled rather poorly so far.

Shows you how behind I am. I thought Pfizer still had a major downtown presence if even greatly reduced. I guess then it's not really a big deal if they leave out the former Upjohn complex, as I between WMU (tax-exempt) and Zoetis, I imagine that that's not a lot of money and they'd likely want to be able to keep it out of the DDA to market it more easily.

As for residential development, I guess I also overstated the amount of it. But what I was getting at is that relative to commercial development in say the last 15-20 years, that most development downtown - and I was talking mainly conversions into lofts and such - has been more residential than commercial, right? Development of housing may be slow, but I can't really remember the last time there was any significant office building built downtown. More than that, as you revealed it seems the city has spent much more of its time and effort into developing housing downtown than it has commercial space.

It just seems to me that it'd be easier for Kalamazoo to try and land some bigger downtown employers to spur larger-scale residential developers, because it seems doing is it the other way around hasn't been working. But this is true of most of Michigan's cities. I think we've reached a point in a lot of these cities where attracting residents for "downtown amenities/living" instead of attracting downtown jobs to lure residents has kind of diminishing returns; we've kind of maxed out the "people who want to live downtown because of the cool shops/parks" category of potential downtown residents.