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Originally Posted by GudyFishing
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Wow - renderings! Thanks for sharing that article. I've been very busy with work and haven't kept close tabs on things. Here's the associated images -
Source:
Tower Pinkster | WWMT
The 100% private funding will certainly help the case. I think the project backers will need to get buy-in from the KWings and / or WMU hockey & basketball teams to help justify it. Kalamazoo also has a new "professional" basketball team - The Kalamazoo Galaxy (part of the The Basketball League, or TBL). They were not mentioned in the article, but I could see this being a venue for their home games too (currently played at Wings Event Center).
I think this is the first time I've seen an architecture firm's name tied to the design - TowerPinkster (coincidentally the same local architect of the courthouse next-door).
I still have so many questions though -
1. Who are these anonymous private investors? It would be easy to guess that some last names like Parfet and Johnston are in the mix. Maybe it doesn't matter, but I always get nervous when investors remain anonymous on such big developments, because there is usually less transparency about what kind of trade-offs or conditional requirements are being set between them and local officials.
2. What does this mean for the recently unveiled
housing development plans along Arcadia Creek (depicted as community space and parking deck in the diagram in the article)? That housing proposal seemed preliminary but also seemed like it had legs. Is PlazaCorp involved in this arena development now, and if so, would there be a housing component potentially integrated into it? The diagram in the article does imply a little bit of green space, left for a separate housing proposal (though it wouldn't match the footprint of the PlazaCorp one).
3. I'm not convinced that an arena will really benefit the Northside. Jim's comment "I especially appreciate the diversity, equity, and inclusion components of the community benefits, and what it means for Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood" seems incredibly vague (granted, I have not seen the full proposal or watched a recording of it, so maybe there is more context). But what does that really mean? Yes, it will create lots of jobs. But those jobs will not be exclusively for Northside residents. It will create a ton of traffic during events too, and it will further extend the building wall along Kalamazoo Ave. which many already despise when it comes to the adjacent courthouse complex that is under construction. Many already feel like the courthouse is a symbolic and physical barrier that separates the Northside from downtown. Like the courthouse, it appears that this "turns its back" on the Northside neighborhood. What does "transparent activated program" really mean?
4. Where are the community input sessions? Maybe those are still coming? It all seems so secretive.
5. How does this proposed attraction work with the city's active plans to convert major downtown arterial streets to 2-way traffic?
I guess overall, my opinions about this are still very mixed, and I'll probably sit on the fence a while until we know more.