I don't get down to Portage as often as I used to, but was driving around Sunday and noticed a few things.
Portage North Natatorium
Construction is well-along on this new pool structure. This project is very similar to the recently completed pool at Portage Central. The main difference is that this one is a separate, detached structure. It's interesting to me that in the past few years, the Kzoo / Portage area has gained three new top-notch natatoriums (this one, Portage Central's, and K-College's). I think swimming & diving must be increasing in popularity.
Portage North Middle School
Right next door to this is (and sharing a vast parking lot) the recently completed Portage North Middle School. It's actually a pretty "urban" design for a decidedly "suburban" area. I say that mainly because of the density and the stacked program, which makes me picture this in a much denser setting. Same story as above, this is almost a copy of the new middle school wrapping up at Portage Central, just with different finishes and site layouts.
I particulary like this moment of stacked program & massing at a side entry to the commons -
City of Portage Fire Station No. 2
Lastly, I noticed that the replacement City Fire Station No. 2 is quite far along. It's a pretty different aesthetic from the adjacent, current 1970-'s-era structure. It seems to reference some of the common tropes of earlier fire stations, including the tower. All of the overhead doors / bays for the new building are located off of the street-side elevation, so other than the tower, this looks more like any of the other office suites in the area. I think the plan is that the old station will be demolished once the new one is up and running.
There's much more going on in Portage I'm sure, and maybe I'll catch some more of it eventually.