Two other items of note, in recent news.
Quote:
Vicksburg gives green light to $60M paper mill redevelopment
Malachi Barrett | MLive
October 30, 2018
VICKSBURG, MI -- An ambitious $60 million plan to transform a long-vacant mill complex into a sprawling entertainment and residential development is moving forward. Vicksburg native Chris Moore and Paper City Development LLC. are planning multiple breweries and taprooms, indoor and outdoor event venues, restaurants, offices and residential space at the former Lee Paper Mill off E W Avenue. Monday, the Vicksburg Village Council voted unanimously to approve the developer's application for a relaxed zoning designation that allows more flexible uses on large properties. The $60 million project would be completed in four phases during the next six years. Individual site plans will need to be approved by the Village Council...
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Included in this news report is (a) the headline-indicated increase of $10 million, compared to previous stories that mentioned $50 million (inflation? increased scope?), and (b) a new site plan (well, new to me anyway) that reflects some changes, like expanded parking to the north and a second drive from the south - likely determined necessary by preliminary zoning and / or market analysis. There's also some more small outbuildings and a paved clearing to the far north. It's tough to read the text at this resolution - but I think that those are a bus drop-off area, a building maintenance facility, and an equipment shed.
Source:
MLive | Courtesy Paper City Development LLC
Compare to the earlier version -
Source: My own photo
Quote:
Tribe-owned architecture, engineering firm moving to downtown Kalamazoo
Brad Devereaux | MLive
October 25, 2018
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Seven Generations Architecture & Engineering, a tribe-owned architecture and engineering company, has announced it will move its headquarters to The Foundry in downtown Kalamazoo. The relocation will accommodate Seven Generations A+E's expansion and will help to increase productivity, efficiency and client service, the company said in a news release. For four years, the firm has been located in the Business Technology and Research Park on Western Michigan University's Parkview Campus, also home to the university's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The planned date for moving is Dec. 1, 2018, the company said...
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Somewhat ironic to me is the fact that this firm will move into a practically brand-new space designed by another local firm. But that's also encouraging in a way, because I think it demonstrates on some level a mutual respect between Architecture firms, which are generally notorious for wanting to demonstrate their core design values by designing their own workplace environments. That said, from the renderings, it does look like 7Gen will customize this to fit their particular style.
Source:
MLive | Courtesy | Seven Generations Architecture & Engineering
Counting 7Gen's announced move and Wightman & Associates planned relocation to downtown from Portage, this puts the number of downtown, or near-downtown Architecture firms around 10. And I'm talking within just a square mile or two, and also excluding the dozen-or-so sole practitioner studios and small-to-medium-sized firms in surrounding areas like Portage and the townships. That's pretty significant, and I think, in-part, yet another sign of how healthy (and competitive) the A&E industry area is right now.