KALAMAZOO / PORTAGE / BATTLE CREEK | Development Thread

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

I keep meaning to get around to posting this. Last month, the city revealed the draft plans it has been working with designers & engineers on, to convert Kalamazoo Avenue from a one-way to a two-way street. The city hosted a few open houses and is still seeking feedback online. You can review all of the documents at the Imagine Kalamazoo website, here. The plans are expected to be finalized later this year, with construction expected to begin in 2024 and last through 2026. The overarching concepts are establishing an "unbalanced", 3-lane traffic pattern along the main commercial stretch, with 2 west-bound lanes and 1 east-bound lane. Wider sidewalks, narrower driving lanes, on-street parking, and curb bump-outs are all intended to slow traffic, and therefore reduce accidents and improve the pedestrian experience.

First viewings of Kalamazoo Avenue conversion project held at Bell's Brewery
Katie Sergent | WWMT News Channel 3
May 24, 2023

[jkazoo]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Kalamazoo -

....... You can review all of the documents at the Imagine Kalamazoo website, here. The plans are expected to be finalized later this year, with construction expected to begin in 2024 and last through 2026. The overarching concepts are establishing an "unbalanced", 3-lane traffic pattern along the main commercial stretch, with 2 west-bound lanes and 1 eat-bound lane. Wider sidewalks, narrower driving lanes, on-street parking, and curb bump-outs are all intended to slow traffic, and therefore reduce accidents and improve the pedestrian experience.

Better late than never.

The PDF shows a date of "--'28" for the Michigan Avenue conversion. Lots of time to fit in more listening and feedback sessions. I support it fully, but enough with all the engagement. Plenty of forums, sessions, and opinion-gathering have been held. Just do it already. By the time this gets built, half the opinion-givers will have expired, and the costs will be triple.

Did anyone notice in the PDF that the current site of Water Street Coffee downtown has a blank triangle over it saying "Future Development".?

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by jkazoo

Did anyone notice in the PDF that the current site of Water Street Coffee downtown has a blank triangle over it saying "Future Development".?

Yeah I spotted that too. No clue what that's about, though it seems to imply they would vacate a portion of E Water St., which I guess I could understand, from a traffic-flow perspective. I'd love to see a developer repurpose this adjacent storage building too. Not even sure if this is 100% vacant or not, but it feels ripe for redevelopment.

[deja vu]

I just saw that site plan review documents have been submitted for the Hawthorne Park development, at 205 / 209 E Stockbridge Ave. This has been quiet for so long I almost forgot about it. Not a lot of architectural detail, but it looks like this went through some redesign. The plans only include the 4-story mixed-use building (and not the 2-story building that would front Stockbridge). I was thinking that maybe they are saving this for a later phase, but it looks like the 4-story building is closer to the main road now, and they wouldn't be able to fit a future 2-story building, without changing the submitted site plans. Anyway, you can view the documents here.

Here's the old rendering, showing both buildings -

Source: City of Kalamazoo | Zoning Board of Appeals

[deja vu]

Some small development updates around Kalamazoo -

First, a well-known Kalamazoo-Based A/E firm with a lot of history, Byce & Associates, has been acquired by Benton Harbor-based A/E firm - Abonmarche. The new "strategic alliance" will allow Abonmarche to better leverage the Kalamazoo market. The new name is a bit of a mouthful though: Abonmarche Byce -

Abonmarche Acquires Byce Firm, Expanding Presence in Kalamazoo Market
Moody On The Market
June 20, 2023

Here are some quick drive-by shots of a small infill project happening in the Northside neighborhood, on Ransom Street, between Park & Westnedge. The first two of four single-family, affordable houses are under construction. There are also plans for a small community / educational training space. This project has been years in the making and is led by the NACD (Northside Association for Community Development). Design services by the aforementioned (Abonmarche) Byce, with construction services provided by AGC. You can see how hazy it is right now in these photos, with the Canadian wildfire smoke -







KENA and Southwest Michigan First had a ribbon cutting for 1802 East Main. Now KENA is looking for a neighborhood partner to occupy this revamped commercial space -




Source: LinkedIn | Southwest Michigan First

The long-discussed project that would finish the interchange connection between US-131 and the US-131 Business Route is one step closer to reality -

$20M for ‘transformational’ Kalamazoo highway project approved in Michigan budget
MLive | Brad Devereaux
June 29, 2023

Source: MLive

[deja vu]

A little bit of this & that, from the long weekend, with updates from both Kalamazoo & Portage. I just felt like driving around and looking at things, and I tried focusing on things that have not been highlighted on here too much. The cloudy skies and rainy weather made for some fun photography too. Presented here in the order that I came upon them.

First, hit play for some moody scrolling music, if you want it -

• Video Link

(1) The future home of the Capital Health Group Drug Rehab Facility is itself undergoing a pretty drastic rehab. This one seemed quiet for a while, but it is definitely moving along now, with evidence of new windows being installed -







(2) The Paterson Street Bridge has been closed while it undergoes structural steel repairs and concrete deck removal & replacement -



(3) The Kalamazoo River, which the aforementioned bridge crosses, is undergoing remediation too, as part of the Allied Paper Superfund Site cleanup. Work on this stretch of the river, around Verburg Park, will go into next year -



(4) The mixed-use Zone 32 / Bogan development at 315 E Frank St. is progressing quickly -











(5) There's definitely something happening at the old Douglass Community Center, at the corner of E Ransom St. & N Pitcher St. There was a fire a while ago that caused me to worry about the fate of this historic structure. But since then, someone has clearly been investing money to stabilize the building. There are signs of ongoing activity at the site, including newly-installed windows -









Here are two historic views of the building, newly completed in 1941, as photographed by Mamie Austin -


Source: KPL Local History Room Photograph File P-807


Source: KPL Local History Room Photograph File P-806

(6) The new Edison Academy looks just about finished and ready to welcome its first batch of students when school resumes at the end of August -

















(7) The new KDPS Public Safety Station No. 2 - also in the Edison neighborhood - is far along already. This is my first time seeing it, and I quite like it - it's a bit different from the surroundings, yet it seems to blend pretty seamlessly with the landscape -















(8) Crews are trying to wrap up work on the new I-94-Portage Road Interchange , which has been going on for years. It's hard to really capture the scope of the new work from a car window, but these drive-by shots are representative of what will be a much-improved experience, once it is all up and running -











(9) I don't think this is incredibly new, but new enough. Just another Lume Dispensary, located along Sprinkle Road. I really could care less about it, but I included it, since I happened to drive past it. It's strategically located directly across the street from one of the poorest manufactured home communities in the county. Good work guys -



(10) The new $100 million KRESA Career Tech Center is hardly much to look at right now, but you can start to get a sense of the scale of this thing, from beyond the construction fences. Foundations are in progress and the first vertical masonry portion has begun to go up. I'll get better photos when it is further along and not raining out -







(11) The new Springhill Suites, in the Trade Centre Way business park, is wrapping up. If you have an unabating love for EIFS, this is probably the right hotel for you -







(12) There's definitely some activity at the shuttered Burger King along Cork Rd. near Sprinkle. I think I recall reading somewhere that this was going to be repurposed into a car rental agency, which makes some amount of sense, given the adjacency of the airport, as well as the many hotels dotting the landscape here -



(13) Speaking of hotels, I totally missed the boat on this 5-story Avid Hotel (IHG budget hotel brand) which popped-up seemingly overnight, right next to the aforementioned BK -





(14) Just to emphasize a point, here's another fairly-new hotel (Fairfield Inn & Suites), which also popped up in this area a few years ago (I just never bothered taking a photo of it, because... y'know) -



(15) On to the epic-hugeness of the new Pfizer MAP Facility, which is truly gargantuan and, at a half-a-billion dollar pricetag, is about 10x more expensive than anything else being erected in Portage right now -









(16) I vaguely recalled seeing something about this new Redwood Apartments community going up near Centre and Portage Roads. If you like garages and endless repetition, this might be the place for you to make your forever home -















(17) Slightly more compelling is the new Tall Timbers housing development that is underway in the Woodbridge Hills area. At least it has a little bit of density and height (well, by suburban Portage standards anyway) -









(18) Heading back into Kalamazoo, here's another smaller development that is effectively finished in the Oakwood neighborhood commercial center. Consisting of two buildings, one with 2nd-floor apartments, Woods Lake Square is a definite improvement over the abandoned structure that sat at this busy corner for years -











(19) Back downtown now, ISK Behavioral Health Urgent Care is also effectively complete. It's not much to look at, but it will bring some critically-needed mental health services to downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods -









(20) Nearby, the Downtown Justice Facility imposes its presence. I noticed that some landscaping work has begun, typically a sign that a project is starting to near the finish line -













(21) I finally got around to trying out Condado Tacos, which opened late last year in the Corner @ Drake development. I'd say that the ambiance is unique, and that the tacos were decent but nothing special (but what else would you expect from something that originated in Columbus, OH?) -









(22) Lastly for this update, I can't say for sure if the below photo is evidence of work going on to support the Arcadia Lofts development, but it sure seems that way to me -



So, what do all of you out there think about these developments? I think the diversity of projects is a good sign. Also a good sign is that there are developments happening throughout the entire metro, and not just concentrated in downtown.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July out there.

[jkazoo]

Nice round up.

Tall Timbers stands out for density, and it's setting. I thought the Avid must have been a rebrand, but nope, Google Streetview confirms it was a new build stared in 2019. Replaced a place single story resto called Bennucci (sp?).

[deja vu]

If only they had built the avid hotel downtown. There's still so many empty lots and surface parking. A 5-story hotel there would have added a little density and a little more foot traffic to the downtown businesses. But of course that isn't their business model. Their model is fast, efficient, cheap, and easy access.

I forgot to take photos of 400 Rose Phase 2 over the weekend. The construction trailer is still there, but it definitely appears finished and I think some of the units are now occupied -







Also, Bruno's Pizza, a staple in Kalamazoo since 1961, is closed. I admit I never dined here and I think I missed the boat, having moved to Kalamazoo long after this place was in its prime. No clear word on what the new owner intends to do with the space, but I figured I should snap a photo of the iconic signage, in case it comes down -

[deja vu]

Here's the new rendering for Hawthorne Park. Not a lot of change in the massing; a little more refinement in the materials. The article is paywalled, but it does imply that there would be plans for future development / building on the site, after this initial 4-story mixed use / 36-unit affordable housing apartment building is built -

36 new affordable apartments may be coming to Kalamazoo neighborhood
Marie Weidmayer | MLive
July 5, 2023

Source: MLive

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

The site plan review application for "The Legacy Senior Living" project at 128 E Frank St. is posted. This was previously tracking as the Mt. Zion Northside Senior Housing Project. There has been some obvious refinement of the details,

from this -


Source: Second Wave Media

To this -






Source: City of Kalamazoo

There was a slight reduction in the overall unit count (from 70 to 66) but the bulk of the development still involves constructing (2) similar-sized 3-story buildings.

[deja vu]

The Dow Science Center at Kalamazoo College is getting a significant remodel, including a new roof, lab and fire system upgrades, and new interior finishes.

The 33,000 SF building originally opened in 1992. The renovation is being funded in-part by a $2 million grant from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, which is also being used for electrical infrastructure upgrades at the college -

K Receives $2M Grant for Dow Science Center, Electrical Infrastructure
Andy Brown | Kalamazoo College News and Events
June 27, 2023

Not new construction, but the scaffolding certainly catches the eye as one travels down West Main Hill towards downtown -

[deja vu]

I finally made time to visit the recently-expanded Bank Street Farmers Market last Saturday. In short, it is a vastly-improved experience, and it is entirely unrecognizable from its predecessor. I would estimate that there were at least 2,000 people milling through the three sheds and the central commons area. There were probably ~ 200 vendor booths. I couldn't believe the amount of cars. Even the new, massive parking lot couldn't accommodate them all, so they were spilling over into adjoining streets. I think this is going to catalyze more development in the neighborhood, in the coming years.







This paddock is the future site of a planned year-round indoor market / community use building -

[DetroitMan]

$4.27M land sale for downtown Kalamazoo arena gets final approval from county leaders

Commissioners voted Tuesday, July 18, to authorize Chair John Taylor to sign closing documents for the $4.27 million sale of county property to Catalyst Development Co., LLC, the developer behind the downtown arena project. Taylor signed a document to finalize the sale after a board discussion in April.

Tuesday’s action authorizes Taylor to sign closing documents, which are typically the final step in a real estate transaction.

The land is located between Park Street on the east side, Westnedge Avenue on the west side, Kalamazoo Avenue on the north side, and Eleanor Street on the south side, consisting of parcels at 411 W. Kalamazoo Avenue, 431 W. Kalamazoo Avenue, 330 N. Westnedge Avenue, and 452 Eleanor Street.

The over 320,000-square foot arena will take up those plots and other adjacent land taking up the majority of a four-block area downtown.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo...y-leaders.html

[deja vu]

Texas Township -

One of the fastest-growing municipalities in Kalamazoo County is Texas Township. I took a drive yesterday evening to check out some of the developments in this rapidly suburbanizing area (relatively speaking) -

Lofts on Q - a 3-story, mixed-use development, which might be the first of its kind in this community (as far as I know). Located in the small "village center" of Texas Corners -









New township hall (much larger than its existing one, reflecting the growth in population and services). This is being built pretty much across the street from the current hall, in Texas Corners. Infrastructure upgrades, including wider road with dedicated center turning lane, can also be seen in the foreground -



Rendering

Source: Texas Township

Redwood Texas Township, a 106-unit apartment development in Texas Corners -







I wasn't sure what this development just south of I-94 on 9th St. was. It looked rather institutional. My guess was a memory-care facility. A little detective work online indicates the property is owned by Houston, TX-based PSY Kalamazoo LLC, a "Dual Diagnosis Drug & Alcohol Addiction Treatment" center. Kinda weird that it was completely unsecured - no perimeter fence, doors & windows wide open, no signage of any kind -









The Bronson Outpatient Surgery Center appears finished (save for a lone ladder outside the main entrance) -









Right next door is one of Bronson's many new primary care MOB's, completed a few years ago, but of which I never got a finished photo of -



Right behind the surgery center, Authentix Kalamazoo - a 240-unit apartment complex - is under construction -





Rendering

Source: Continental Properties

And, right next door to that, a separate, 166-unit "high-end" apartment is planned by Detroit-based Schafer Development. It is still just a field - no pictures taken -

Site plan

Source: MLive | Schafer Development

Lastly, as I was driving back home, I was greeted by Amtrak, and this license plate frame (which I will not claim to agree with) -

[jkazoo]

I know 'lofts' is a meaningless word, but the ones on Q Avenue have the smallest windows of any "loft" I've seen. Looks more like a cold storage facility, but I guess any multi-family in the suburbs is a net gain. I don't even hate the apartments that look like your standard slap-up sprawl-bor-hood. Renters need options too. I approve of almost anything denser than a standalone ranch on a quarter acre, as long as I don't have to live there.

The 9th street area developments are long overdue.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by jkazoo

I know 'lofts' is a meaningless word, but the ones on Q Avenue have the smallest windows of any "loft" I've seen. Looks more like a cold storage facility, but I guess any multi-family in the suburbs is a net gain. I don't even hate the apartments that look like your standard slap-up sprawl-bor-hood. Renters need options too. I approve of almost anything denser than a standalone ranch on a quarter acre, as long as I don't have to live there.

The 9th street area developments are long overdue.

Yeah, I have the same thoughts. "Lofts" is the same as "luxury" and "high-end" these days.

Those tiny windows must be at the kitchen sinks, or perhaps in a bathroom? I agree, the proportions feel off. But, if this project is a harbinger of more 3-4 story, denser apartments yet to come in Texas (and other) peripheral townships, I probably won't complain too much. Texas Twp. is one of just a few municipalities experiencing steady, double-digit growth, percentage-wise. While it's still "small" in the grand scheme of things, across the past-three decade censuses, my quick math shows that its growth has looked like this:

1990: 7,563
2000: 10,974 (45%)
2010: 14,796 (35%)
2020: 17,691 (20%)

It's definitely too big of a stretch to call it the next Portage, but as 9th St. continues to get built-up, and as jobs, residents, and traffic slowly increase, I think it might start feeling more and more like its more heavily-suburbanized neighbor to the east. There are at least 500 new units of multi-family housing being built or in the planning stages.

Sidenote: I presently live in a standalone ranch on a 1/4 acre, so I guess I'm part of the problem. Hopefully I get a small pass for not contributing to further sprawl too much, because our house is approaching 70 years old, and is located in a long-established, post-WW2, middle-ring neighborhood.

[jkazoo]

Ha. I lived on a one-third acre lot in a 100-year old neighborhood until a few years ago. I'm only unhappy about NEW construction gobbling up land while everyone complains about wooded lots in the center of the urban area being developed for multi-story multi-family within walking distance of downtown.



Enjoy the built environment wherever you are people. But please don't bulldoze farmland for a new mcmansion. Fill in some vacant lot somewhere.

[deja vu]

We went to The Crossroads mall in Portage yesterday, just to walk around / kill some time. While it can't quite be put on the "extinct" list (yet), I'd definitely classify it as "endangered / threatened". Some observations:

• From the very beginning of the experience, the ring access road is completely wrecked with potholes. I think the mall was actually trying to sue the city / the public transit system a few years ago, blaming the bulk of the damage on the public buses.
• Only two of four anchor stores are open (Macys and JC Penney). The other two anchor tenant stores, most recently occupied by Sears (closed in 2019) and Burlington (relocated to Maple Hill Pavilion on West Main in 2021), remain vacant.
• Everything is very tired and worn. Finishes are fading, peeling, and cracked. The carpeted areas (near the bathrooms, no less - eww) are so stained it makes you want to gag.
• The food court only has three operating restaurants - a pizza joint, a Chinese food joint, and a wings joint (I guess of those three, I'd trust the wings the most?). All of the other food court establishments and separate restaurants closed years ago.
• The carousel in the food court disappeared a few years ago too, replaced by some "life size" games, consisting of a few decrepit "Connect 4" games, and some giant Jenga blocks. I guess the carousel was too expensive to maintain.
• While I'd estimate that the overall occupancy rate is probably around 75 - 80%, a lot of the stores look to be doing little to no business.
• There's a disproportionate number of shoe stores - these seem to be the most popular thing.
• Quite a few mom & pop stores too (mostly Asian owned / themed).
• There was visible, but light, foot traffic. Granted, we were there on a Monday, late afternoon / early evening. But I've been there on weekends and it isn't much better.
• Several of the vacant stores have been replaced with cheap-looking, poorly-maintained "arcade" games, several of which are broken / damaged, most of which offer very cheap-looking prizes, and all of which are in need of a good dusting.
• Many of the posters throughout the mall are "relics" from the height of the pandemic - promoting face masks and reminding you to wash your hands regularly and get your vaccinations.

Unless things change soon, I regret to say that I think The Crossroads is headed towards the same fate as many other suburban malls. I'd like to see management get a little more creative, because it really doesn't seem like they care. Malls that seem to be doing better are the ones that are reinventing themselves as more of a destination (within Michigan, think Great Lakes Crossing, or Somerset Collection). I guess the Kalamazoo-Portage metro isn't large enough to sustain higher-end brands, nor some of the bigger investments that would be needed to create destination-based, family-centric experiences, like a Lego Discovery Center or an indoor aquarium, etc.

I think I'm just getting old, and feeling nostalgia for the days of my 90's childhood, when going to an indoor mall was pretty much what you'd do on a weekend. Pretty soon, the original "Mall City" might not have a single indoor walking mall left.

[Velvet_Highground]

This is a awesome old building props to whoever is plugging away after the fire.

[deja vu]

^ According to GIS data, it is currently owned by a Matthew J. Norman. It was purchased in 2016 for $55,000, from Christian Life Center, which owned it since 2010. LinkedIn shows he works as a technician for a local fire protection contractor. My best guess is that the building is being converted for some sort of contractor-related business use. But that's the best detective work I've been able to do on it.

I have a backlog of piecemeal updates from around the area. Nothing that feels justified to spend copious amounts of time on or to do an individual post on. Collectively, they do paint a picture of a lot of things happening; there just hasn't been any major development news for a while. Here's some highlights, and I'll post more later -

1. The new $99 million WMU Student Center is officially open to the public, after numerous delays and 4-years worth of construction headaches brought on by pandemic-related supply-chain issues and a costly structural retrofit. The soft opening was on July 31, and there will be a more formal grand opening in late August. I'll check it out in person one of these days and grab a beer in the on-campus brewpub -

New WMU student center opens after 4 years of construction
Aya Miller | MLive
July 31, 2023

Source: Aya Miller | MLive

2. Michigan Avenue officially has bike lanes painted through downtown. One lane of traffic for cars has been taken away, for 2-way bike lanes through the urban core, which then reduce back to 1 bike lane, beyond the city center. As you can imagine, navigating through downtown right now is a hot mess, with ongoing construction, lane changes, and confused motorists. Time will tell how all of this bike lane stuff does. My fear is that the painting is a cheap intervention and will fade very fast, and bikers will still be wary to use them because of the way cars careen through downtown -

Bike lanes, narrowed street painted through downtown Kalamazoo
Brad Devereaux | MLive
August10, 2023

Source: MLive

3. In Portage, City Council has approved a new, 103-unit senior living facility, to be built around the vacant Beacon Pointe Memory Care building on East Centre Avenue. I didn't even realize that Beacon Pointe was empty - it was built just a few years ago. The existing building at 732 E. Centre will remain, and a pretty large addition will be added to it. Several adjacent buildings, including a Montessori Academy at 810 E. Centre and a single-family residence at 906 E. Centre will be demolished to make room for it, and the lots will be rezoned.

Architecturally, it is nothing super-exciting, and about on-par for what you'd expect in Portage. But it's probably better than a vacant building, and will offer one more option for senior living in the area. The article reports that this will yield 22 independent-living units, 49 skilled-nursing units, 12 assisted-living memory care units, and 20 assisted-living care units for independent living -

Portage City Council approves $14.6M senior living facility
Aya Miller | MLive
August 10, 2023

Source: MLive | Henrickson Architecture + Planning

4. Also in Portage, the new SpringHill Suites by Marriott is now open at Trade Centre Way. Sweet EIFS dreams!

Hotel Equities Celebrates Grand Opening of SpringHill Suites by Marriott Kalamazoo Portage
Hospitalitynet | Hotel Development
August 2, 2023

Source: hospitality.net | Marriott