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Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground
I’ve said it before but I’m definitely a fan of the new WMU Student Center. I like the Dunbar Hall renovation the landscape architecture takes what is a new glass addition to a rather bland building and makes it into a cool inviting lower entrance area.
I like Miller Auditorium in general the new accessibility set up is well done. For a building of its time period it’s aged well ascetically speaking. The new stairs and ramp are understated& use of grey stone looks nice and fresh without standing out. As a matter of fact they did a good job making it look like it’s meant to be there.
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If you want to browse through some far-more professional photos of the finished student center (which I highly recommend doing), check out the link below:
https://www.archdaily.com/1013546/we...m=projects_tab
Yeah, Miller is visually OK. The new accessibility features are a definite improvement. The existing interior (and exterior) is pretty plain, and the interior support spaces are showing their age. Having played on that stage a few times, it is still functional, but not great for certain types of productions. Still, it manages to pull in some good traveling Broadway acts. I think much of the upgrades & investments since its inception have been directed towards continuing that possibility.
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Originally Posted by jkazoo
I drove down Walnut and Rose today, and I have to say 530 S. Rose is going to look very large. I can't recall when Kalamazoo has built anything so close to existing buildings. And the core looks taller in person. Maybe they added another level since that pic?
The photo you posted shows a very ragged 120-year old house next door to the south. Can't imagine it will be there very long in the condition it's in. We're so used to seeing anything new in Kzoo surrounded by new parking lots (400 s. Rose), this comes across as ... different. I like it!
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I agree with your thoughts here. I am glad that the zoning allows such tiny setbacks along this corridor. I'm not sure how the neighbors feel (I imagine not great), but I think many of them are rentals, so they may have less long-term sentiments about the shadows and the soon-to-be obstructed views out their back window. My guess is that the two houses immediately south of here (534 & 536 S Rose) are not long for this world. I'm about 95% certain that the pink house (534) is vacant. This is the worse of the two, at least visually from the exterior. GIS shows it was built in 1911. I think the blue house (536, also b. 1911) is currently occupied. I think it's a similar story for the two houses to the north (514 and 518). 514 is an occupied rental (year built is N/A on GIS but presumably similar timeframe). I think 518 is vacant, and is in worse condition (b. 1915). 514 is zoned 201 COMMERCIAL-IMPROVED. The other three homes are zoned 401 RESIDENTIAL-IMPROVED. I could see all of these eventually vanishing and being replaced by denser, mixed-use development.