Happy Thanksgiving, all! Couple of things happened these past few days.
First, The Exchange reached another milestone - the final concrete pour on the building occurred Wednesday. It was a chilly day for such a feat. This is the equivalent of the topping off ceremony for the building.
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Construction on Kzoo's 'The Exchange' hits milestone
24 Hour News 8 Web Staff (Wood TV8)
November 21, 2018
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Downtown Kalamazoo’s largest mixed-use development under construction has reached its peak. Developers Wednesday celebrated the ceremonial “topping off” of The Exchange building with the final concrete pour on the 15-story, 340,000 square-foot building...
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In addition to the anchor tenant, Chemical Bank, the article states that RX Optical has also signed-on to lease space in the new building.
Source:
24 Hour News 8 Web Staff (Wood TV8) | Courtesy Orion Construction
Second, crews have now completely removed the dam that once spanned Portage Creek at Alcott Street, in the area of former paper mill operations. With combined funding from the Kalamazoo River Natural Resource Damage Trustees and DEQ, crews were also able to decontaminate soils in this area, which is slowly being developed into a new health and social services campus for the region. This is just one part of a much larger effort that has been going on for years to clean up Kalamazoo's waterways.
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Crews wrap up removal of 90-year-old Kalamazoo dam
The Associated Press
November 22, 2018
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Crews have wrapped up removal of a roughly 90-year-old dam in southwestern Michigan as part of an effort to help restore habitat for native fish. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced this month that the work was completed to remove the Alcott Street dam in Kalamazoo. The dam, which impounded Bryant Mill Pond on Portage Creek, was built in 1927 but no longer had a function...
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Third, the City unanimously approved the first of many new neighborhood development plans in the works. This one, for the North Side, is linked to two decades of work. Most of the neighborhood plans that are now in-progress were spurred by Imagine Kalamazoo 2025, which kicked off early 2017. Crucial to the North Side plan are some zoning changes that will try to establish three more distinct commercial corridors (along Westnedge, Burdick, and between Ransom & Nort Streetsh)., as well as a cultural district. There are similar draft neighborhood plans in the works for other spots in the city, including the Eastside Neighborhood, Edison Neighborhood, Oakwood Neighborhood and Vine neighborhood. These plans are intended to pair with other, city-wide reforms that are in-development, including a new "Complete Streets" plan and more Form-Based codes.
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Kalamazoo's Northside neighborhood leads city planning efforts
Malachi Barrett | MLive
November 19, 2018
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Multiple efforts for neighborhoods, streets and parks across the city of Kalamazoo are coming to fruition. All of Kalamazoo's neighborhoods are working on individual plans meant to guide zoning, investment in infrastructure and development during the next several years. Monday, the City Commission took steps to implement the Northside neighborhood's spin on Kalamazoo's broader master plan...
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Source:
MLive | Courtesy City of Kalamazoo