KALAMAZOO / PORTAGE / BATTLE CREEK | Development Thread

[Velvet_Highground]

Detroit’s comeback story may be the marquee event with Grand Rapids as the large mid-sized city trying to break out on its own in terms of national identity taking up a lot of the bandwidth. Kalamazoo is arguably just as important and astonishing the Kalamazoo promise of two years of free secondary school really helped to rejuvenate the city while the aggressive expansion & redevelopment of WMU which has really solidified itself as a good major sort of first choice school in the state.

Well for something besides drinking. Though it’s had a good music program for a long time while business is looked down in academic circles if it’s a good program that prepares students for the world good on em. I was listening to History after Dark and it was interesting hearing their perspective on how well some students are prepared. Not being able to read was the complaint, lol. There was some hyperbole but a couple really sad cases laid out. But that’s a K-12 issues and we haven’t invested in it nationally in over a generation at a time when teachers were famously broke.

The new event center is a great project downtown has come a long way and I think this could be the first step to moving onto the next level. It’s been cool to see other cities take up different versions of the Kalamazoo promise which is a great opportunity for those students. I know I had a completely different positive experience learning in the College setting vs K-12 the freedom to go in-depth on subjects I was curious and or a strong subject where I wanted to and walk out and have a smoke break or even leave early if I needed it.

[airforceguy]

Kalamazoo to consider $19 million in contracts for one-way street conversion

The Kalamazoo City Commission will consider two contracts totaling nearly $19 million at a Monday, June 1, meeting to fund the reconstruction and redesign of Kalamazoo Avenue. he construction is a part of Kalamazoo’s Streets for All initiative, a multi-year project to convert multiple one-way streets to two-way streets. The reconstruction of Kalamazoo Avenue will be done in multiple parts over three years beginning in July 2026. Construction was originally supposed to begin in 2025, but the city didn’t have necessary funds.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/202...t-funding-one-way-street-conversion.html

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

Detroit’s comeback story may be the marquee event with Grand Rapids as the large mid-sized city trying to break out on its own in terms of national identity taking up a lot of the bandwidth. Kalamazoo is arguably just as important and astonishing...

Not that it's a competition. And I am definitely biased, being a resident here, by choice, for the past decade plus... But Kalamazoo does alright for itself. It continues to punch above its weight in various sectors, including arts, entertainment, education, healthcare, industry, cost of living, diversity, progressive policies... I firmly attest that everything that Grand Rapids has, Kalamazoo also has. Just at a smaller scale. The biggest difference is GR has a metro of ~ 1.2 million, while Kzoo has a metro of around 25% of that.

[deja vu]

Portage -

The Portage Zhang Farmers Market opened to the public this weekend -








Source: Facebook | Jake Taylor






Source: Facebook | Abonmarche

[deja vu]

Some misc. project updates from around the region -

Kalamazoo -

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kalamazoo had a ribbon cutting on Friday. I will keep an eye out for finished photos -


Source: Facebook | TowerPinkster

At WMU's Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE), construction is moving fast, with masonry work, warehouse steel erection, underground plumbing and electrical installation, & steel roof framing underway -






Source: Facebook | AVB

An update on Zone 32 Phase II -

Kalamazoo County Commissioners Approve $2 Million in Housing Millage Funds for Zone 32 Phase II
38-Unit Affordable Housing Development in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood on Track for Summer 2026 Groundbreaking
pments Press Release
June 3, 2026

Kalamazoo, MI – Bogan Developments announced today that the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners has approved a $2 million allocation of 2027 Housing Millage funds for Zone 32 Phase II, a 38-unit affordable housing development located in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood. With this approval, the project is on track for a summer 2026 groundbreaking. Zone 32 Phase II will expand on the success of the original Zone 32 Development, adding 38 units of affordable housing — including studios, one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom/two-bathroom apartments — to a reclaimed brownfield site at the intersection of Pitcher and Myrtle Streets. The project is part of a broader three year strategic plan to revitalize the area and deliver long-term community impact...

Source: Bogan Developments

The corner storefront / ground-level retail space of the 1885 McHugh Block (corner of E Michigan Ave. & Edwards St.) is being remodeled and pitched for prospective tenants. It most recently housed a beauty salon. Might this become another bar that adds to the growing nightlife scene along this stretch?






Source: LinkedIn | Rob Peterson

Hawthorn Landing at Heritage Community of Kalamazoo just wrapped up a renovation. The pictures aren't that compelling, but it's still worth sharing. The work included 11 resident memory care apartments and a new corridor -








Source: LinkedIn | AVB

Although already complete, I found these drone photos of Lofts at Ironworks and found them to be worth a share. I particularly like how dense these angles make downtown feel -






Source: Facebook | Jake Taylor / Building Capture

Portage -

Groundbreaking for PPS' new Amberly Elementary was this past week -


Source: Facebook | TowerPinkster

[deja vu]

The new Kalamazoo Country Club had its grand opening on June 5. I'm looking for more completed photos. I'm surprised there aren't too many posted online yet (I might have an opportunity to get in there myself soon, and if I do, I'll take some) -

Kalamazoo Country Club celebrates grand opening of expanded amenities, clubhouse
Donny Ede | WWMT News Channel 3
June 11, 2026

Source: GHG / WWMT

[deja vu]

Battle Creek -

This past week, ground was broken for Riverbend at Capital (formerly known as "Project Blue Light" because the site was a former KMart near downtown). The first phase of this multi-phase development involves 2 separate buildings - a four-story apartment complex that will bring 80 new units of affordable + workforce housing and a community center / early childcare center. Total construction cost: $30.2 million. Project address: 10 Fountain St. -
















Source: Edison Community Partners

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

Event center main arena bowl, taking shape. Click here for a higher-res image -


Source: Kalamazoo Event Center

[airforceguy]

Deja Vu, thanks for all the hard work you put into keeping this forum updated on developments across the state of Michigan. Speaking of developments in Kalamazoo, have you heard anything about the Hard Rock Hotel in Kalamazoo. There hasn't been any news since 2024. I have a feeling this project is dead, but I'm still hold out hope. I saw this development in today's Kalamazoo News. Allen Edwin Homes is proposing a 120-unit single family housing development in Oshtemo Township.

120 new homes planned near Kalamazoo on 39 acres of land

The Oshtemo Township Board of Trustees rezoned 39 acres of land in the 6000 block of Parkview Avenue at a Tuesday, June 23 meeting. The property is about a three minute drive from I-94. The land is currently vacant and located next to the Huntington Run mobile home park west of U.S. 131.

Allen Edwin Homes requested the rezoning to build a new development called “Fruitport Village.” Mike West, lead project developer with Allen Edwin Homes, said the development will have 120 to 130 single family homes.

The home styles will include ranch, two-story and bi-level homes, ranging from two to four bedrooms in size, West said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/202...-near-kalamazoo-on-39-acres-of-land.html

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by airforceguy

Deja Vu, thanks for all the hard work you put into keeping this forum updated on developments across the state of Michigan. Speaking of developments in Kalamazoo, have you heard anything about the Hard Rock Hotel in Kalamazoo. There hasn't been any news since 2024. I have a feeling this project is dead, but I'm still hold out hope.

You're very welcome! I've heard nothing about Hard Rock either. My guess is it is dead, and PlazaCorp is going to focus its energies on converting the old courthouse into a boutique hotel instead.

[DetroitMan]

BATTLE CREEK
Vacant building will be transformed into apartments, restaurant, rooftop venue

A building that has sat empty for nearly two decades in downtown Battle Creek will be transformed into a $12.7 million mixed-use development featuring affordable housing, restaurant space and entertainment venues.

Michigan Community Capital, a nonprofit, is providing $10 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits to support the Bean Tower project at 99 W. Michigan Ave. The 25,000-square-foot development will include 10 affordable residential units, a fine dining Creole restaurant called Solace, a basement game room and a rooftop event venue. Local entrepreneurs Percy and Carla Bean are leading the project. Battle Creek Unlimited, the city’s economic development organization, sold the building to the Beans for $1 after identifying them as the preferred developers to rehabilitate the site.

“We have deep roots in Battle Creek and have dreamed of contributing to its revitalization for years,” Percy and Carla Bean said in a news release.

Percy and Carla Bean have more than 30 years of experience in real estate development, including ground-up construction and renovation in the Southwest Michigan region.

Bean Tower is expected to be completed in late 2027.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/202...apartments-restaurant-rooftop-venue.html

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

Updates from the past week or so -

"Restoration" work continues at 400 Rose, where the sheathing appears to be rotting beneath the cladding. They've been working on this for months now, replacing sheathing and adding an air / vapor barrier that seems to have been entirely missed in the original construction -











Exterior facade restoration is also occurring at the shuttered State Theatre, a promising prequel to its scheduled reopening sometime in 2027 -






Source: Facebook | Kalamazoo Gazette

Shoring, foundations, and vertical formwork are going, at the new Kalamazoo County parking structure (first photo by Miller Davis, the rest are mine) -


Source: Facebook | Miller Davis









And cladding is going up on the new event center parking structure -





A bit older (from end of June) - some "insider" views of Kalamazoo College's new West Main Residence Halls -










Source: Facebook | ASAM

[deja vu]

Barry Township / Hickory Corners -

Michigan car museum ‘in the middle of a cornfield’ breaks ground on $3.6M expansion
Devin Anderson-Torrez | MLive
July 9, 2026

...The Gilmore Car Museum took two steps into the future on Wednesday, July 8. The Museum broke ground on two cornerstone projects of its “Fuel the Future” capital campaign, marking the start of construction on the Performance Car Gallery expansion and the new Education and Engagement Center...

Source: MLive