KALAMAZOO / PORTAGE / BATTLE CREEK | Development Thread

[DetroitMan]

Originally Posted by deja vu

I'm fully in support of the idea for an African American Museum in Kalamazoo. I'm not convinced that all of the right players are involved yet to make it a reality, but it seems to be gaining some momentum. Rev. William Stein is one of the individuals behind the effort. I don't know him personally, but he seems like a character. Recently involved in this rather odd scenario -



Maybe it was just a case of poor communication, but the whole thing seemed a little shady to me.

I agree 100%. While the idea of a museum is great, I'm not sure myself that the right parties are involved. I think the city and folks involved in this effort should reach out to folks in Detroit, Chicago or even DC to see how they got their museums off the ground.

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo's two major N-S arterial roads received some quickly-implemented changes this week with significant implications. As part of its ongoing complete streets program initiatives, the city resurfaced Westnedge Ave. and Park St. north of Michigan Ave., and re-painted them with reduced driving lines, dedicated biking lanes, and dedicated on-street parking.

Commuting this week has mostly been a s**t-show as motorists try to adapt to the new traffic patterns. The blowback from drivers is about what you'd expect (waste of money, there's no cyclists, this will make traffic congestion worse, poor signage, traffic calming is a myth, how will they plow roads in the winter, I hate this city, etc. etc.). But they will get used to the changes, like everything else.

I think these are positive changes. I don't want to live in a static city that forever puts the car on a pedestal above other forms of travel and pedestrian / bicyclist safety. Temporary lane closures aside (for building construction projects), Kalamazoo's downtown streets are mostly oversized for the vehicular traffic volume that they support. Thankfully, Kalamazoo leadership is more open-minded about the future than some of our drivers.

I drove up and down the two streets and snapped some photos this morning. It was a smooth ride with light traffic, right after rush hour.

Westnedge Ave. heading south toward Michigan Ave. (revised from 4 driving lanes to street parking, bike lane, and 2 driving lanes) -





Park St. heading north from Michigan Ave. (revised from 3 driving lines to a bike lane, street parking, and 2 driving lanes, one of which is a dedicated left turn onto Kalamazoo Ave. now, though when the courthouse lane closure opens back up, there should be two dedicated northbound lanes (this is the 131 business loop) -







This is all only for a few blocks extending north from the downtown core for now. But my understanding is that they are going to extend these lane changes south of Michigan Ave. (not sure how soon). My one wish would be that they physically separate the bike lane from the driving lanes, with a raised median and give it a different color so it is very clear to motorists what it is for. I occasionally ride my bike into work, and even with these changes, I feel like these two roads are still quite dangerous for cyclists (along with the E-W arterial streets, Kalamazoo Ave. & Michigan Ave.). This of course would cost more time and money though. I do my best to stay on trails and side streets to avoid the speeding cars, only crossing these arterials at clearly marked intersections.

[deja vu]

A few other updates, from yesterday & today -

I walked the new Children's Nature Playscape yesterday. Still feels a bit sparse, but what a difference from an empty lot. The sound of children laughing and playing downtown is nicer than the sound of traffic whizzing by on Michigan Ave. & Park St. I'm told that phase 2 will include more trees, a sensory garden, and some other programming too. It will look a lot better once that grass starts growing in -





Another positive side-effect of the demolition of 302 Academy is that First Congregational Church has direct daylight from the east for the first time in basically forever, which I've heard is pretty transformative from the inside sanctuary -





A different perspective of the new justice facility and its impact on the skyline -



Exterior finishes are going up on 400 Rose Phase 2-



Lastly, some drive-by shots of the new Edison Environmental Science Academy -

[deja vu]

Some miscellaneous Kalamazoo updates. Sorry, nothing super sexy this time - mostly smaller things that have been piling up. Still, it reflects investments & progress in neighborhoods throughout the city -

Factory Coffee's downtown location officially opened Friday in the corner retail spot of 400 Rose Phase 1 -




Source: Instagram | discoverkzoo




Source: LinkedIn | AVB

As I was detouring about (because Parkview is all torn up), I noticed that the redevelopment at the corner of Parkview and Oakland is FINALLY underway in the Oakwood neighborhood center. The below-grade plumbing and some floor slab work, as well as the north wall are underway. "Woods Lake Square" is going to be a mixed-use development anchored by a new Consumers Credit Union Branch -














Source (for above 3 renderings): Second Wave Media | Courtesy Bosch Architecture

The Knights Inn to LodgeHouse conversion is almost complete in the Vine neighborhood -








Source: Facebook | InForm Architecture

Campus improvements at Graphic Packaging International - including new infrastructure, signage, landscaping, and unifying finishes - are wrapping up -






Source: LinkedIn | The Wieland Corporation

WMU Dunbar Hall renovation renderings -




Source: LinkedIn | WMU

[deja vu]

Portage -

850 Trade Centre Way (new hotel) construction progress -






Source: LinkedIn | AVB

Kalamazoo -

A little more info now on the Mt. Zion Northside Senior Housing Project (still unofficially named). The article includes an illustration of two 3-story apartment buildings (70 units total), constructed in the 100 block of East North Street -

The Lord will provide: Efforts underway to build affordable senior housing in Kalamazoo’s Northside
Al Jones | Second Wave Media
July 26, 2022

Source: Second Wave Media | Courtesy Byce & Associates, Inc.

Ribbon-cutting was held yesterday for Westgate Apartments. This one is officially done -

July 27 ribbon cutting for mixed-use Westgate Apartments development
Jerry Malec | WKZO
Jul 26, 2022

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by deja vu

I had the opportunity to attend a hard hat tour of the under-construction downtown justice facility yesterday. Here are some photos from that tour. It's still hard to believe that this much progress has been made in a little over 1 year, during a pandemic with soaring inflation and supply chain issues. Harder yet to believe that they are scheduled to be complete in just 12 more months (July 2023) -

I just heard on the radio a few days ago that they are now about two months behind schedule, which makes a lot more sense. So looking at something closer to September 2023 now. The news story also mentioned that the county will need to lease their current courthouse space from PlazaCorp due to the extra time overage, so there must be something written into the agreement that PlazaCorp assumes ownership next summer, no matter what. Curiously, the live construction camera feed seems to be down now. Not sure if this temporary.

Separately, I forgot to mention that I drove by 1430 Alamo Ave. a few weeks ago, and to my surprise, construction is definitely underway on the new drug rehab facility, which was submitted to site plan review back in March
2020. I couldn't get a photo, but they were clearly working on replacing / restoring the roof. I am glad that this mid-century structure is getting new life. I first mentioned this in post #586.


Source: Kalamazoo Site Plan Review

[BrewInKzoo]

Just noticed this on the city's site plan review page - a seemingly big overhaul of 203 Rose, across the street from the Radisson:

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/files/...an07202022.pdf

i can't figure out how to embed images, but some good stuff there!

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by BrewInKzoo

Just noticed this on the city's site plan review page - a seemingly big overhaul of 203 Rose, across the street from the Radisson:

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/files/...an07202022.pdf

i can't figure out how to embed images, but some good stuff there!

Thanks for sharing this! That is quite a sizeable proposal. Easily a $20 - 30 million project. I know some folks that work in the architecture studio (Intersect) that occupies the ground floor of the historic Lawrence & Chapin Building (the one fronting N Rose St). I heard a rumor about something that was in the works a few years ago, but I didn't realize it would involve all 3 of these connected buildings of varying age.

A 3-story addition to the 2-story building on the west? Wow. I am not crazy about the aesthetics of the addition, but I think some more permanent residential of decent density (not just hotels) in this district is great. All three buildings have been under-utilized / under-occupied since before the pandemic. I hope the finishes get refined a bit more, if this actually gets built.

It's interesting to see how the designers approached the middle building, which is entirely obscured by the over-the-street Radisson parking garage on the south. They are proposing 2-level lofted units, with a circulation corridor on the south, so that all of the windows & views are presumably to the north. Aside: I have no clue how that garage was approved back when it was built (I think in the early 70's), but it would never fly today.

The question still remains" what will be come of this vacant parcel, across from the new Home2 Suites?

Here are all of the sheets from the site plan review drawing submission packet -




















Source: City of Kalamazoo | Bosch Architecture

[deja vu]

New federal funding has been secured that, in part, will help fund the conversion of Kalamazoo Ave. from a 1-way to 2-way street -

Millions in federal infrastructure funds will improve downtown Kalamazoo
Andrew Dominianni | WWMT
August 8th 2022

Almost $6 million dollars in federal infrastructure funds were awarded to Kalamazoo Monday. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, announced the grant of $5,974,694 for the Downtown Kalamazoo Transportation Network.

“It’s no secret, Michigan’s roads and bridges need serious work,” Upton said. “I’m thrilled that this nearly $6 million grant will completely reimagine Kalamazoo Avenue, redesigning the downtown transportation network, and making the area more accessible.”...

In other transportation news, more (temporary) bike lanes are coming to downtown as soon as next week, "along the southern section of Westnedge Avenue and Park Street." (source - Twitter | Fox 17 News). This will provide a continuation of the dedicated bicycle lanes that appeared a few weeks ago with the restriping on the northern sections of Westnedge and Park.

[deja vu]

The final concrete pour (for the penthouse floor) was completed earlier today at the downtown justice facility -

(yesterday)

Source: LinkedIn | Sam Weaver

(today)







Source: LinkedIn | Jonathan Cooney

The Park Club is receiving some upgrades, including a new parking lot with a new stormwater management system -






Source: LinkedIn | Miller-Davis

Framing's going up fast at Woods Lake Square -










Source: LinkedIn | AVB

[deja vu]

Portage -

I forgot to post these when I saw them. There are some more developed renderings for two of the the Portage Public Schools 2021 Bond projects (which includes the replacement of 5 elementary schools + remodeling of one more) -

Visions for new Portage elementary schools begin to take shape
Kayla Miller | MLive
June 16, 2022

Central Elementary -







Haverhill Elementary -






Source: MLive | provided by PPS

[deja vu]

Exterior finishes are going up fast at 400 Rose Phase 2 -






Source: LinkedIn | AVB

[deja vu]

Pavilion Township -

Pavilion Township is a very rural township, located just east of the City of Portage (just ~ 6,400 residents in total). So this 344-unit, 11-building, $65 million housing development is pretty big news for them. Called Abbey42, the new apartment complex would be built on an 195-acre, defunct farm property located at 5283 East O Ave. (east of Sprinkle Road). The finished development is expected to house up to 1,232 individuals (that equates to roughly 19% of the entire current population of the township) -

Huge new apartment complex may open in fourth quarter of 2023 in Kalamazoo County
Al Jones | Second Wave Media
August 18, 2022

Source: Second Wave Media | Courtesy Westwind Construction

[deja vu]

Portage -

This is probably not an exciting update for most readers here, but sharing it anyway, as it is fairly substantial. Industrial Partners USA just recently broke ground on a new spec building in the 800 block of E. Milham Ave. in Portage (presumably to be accessed off of the Tech Park Way). At 240,000 SF, it is the first true spec building that the city has seen in decades, and represents a furthering of investment in the area by IPUSA (see their recently-completed, similarly-sized spec building that was finished in Battle Creek last fall) -

Industrial Partners USA Breaks Ground on Modern, Industrial Facility in Portage, Mich.
Mason Everett | First & 42
August 22, 2022

Source: First & 42 | Greg Dilone

[deja vu]

Oshtemo Township -

There is finally a tentative schedule to demolish & replace the U.S. 131 bridges that span KL Avenue and the Amtrak tracks. They are decades older than their original design life. The work will involve constructing a third span to re-route traffic while construction occurs. The third bridge may be temporary or permanent, depending on what deal gets worked-out with Amtrak -

Two U.S. 131 bridges near Kalamazoo to be demolished, rebuilt in 2023
August 22, 2022
Marie Weidmayer | MLive

I read that the shuttered Finley's Grill & Smokehouse was being demolished so I drove by it yesterday to check it out. I can't tell yet if it is a complete demolition. It looks more selective (like they might be gutting it and re-purposing the structure). But it might be too soon to tell. I searched the Oshtemo Township Planning Commission agendas and I couldn't find any clues on a new development here -







Kalamazoo -

I was a little bit disappointed to see that they are demolishing the unique single-wythe curved brick wall that wrapped the parking lot of the Park Club, as part of their ongoing exterior upgrades. I'm not sure if it will be replaced in-kind (but assuming not) -


Source: Facebook | The Park Club of Kalamazoo


Source: Facebook | The Park Club of Kalamazoo


Lastly, one of the strangest site plan reviews I've ever seen was just posted. It is for a new "coffee shop and office" at 1023 Riverview Drive, in the Burke Acres neighborhood. Everything about this submission just seems weird to me.

First, the location - it will be situated in-between a car shop and an auto-parts store, and across the street from a police station, along a noisy, high-traffic road with zero pedestrian foot traffic. There is a drive-thru, so maybe they aren't planning on that many people sticking around to sip their coffee, but there is indoor and outdoor balcony seating. Who is going to want to sit there and work on their computer?

Second, the coffee shop design itself - it is an 8' x 20' x 2-story building, with an exterior stair and second-floor seating area. I can't tell from the drawings, but it seems to approximate the proportions of two stacked shipping containers, so maybe that is what is going on here. The drawings were done by a person / company called savvibuilt.com. I've never heard of them, and their website doesn't seem to exist. The exterior elevations and renderings look incredibly bleak. Maybe that is just the render quality though.

Third, what is up with that separate office building in back? Is it to support the coffee shop in some way, or is it a totally separate function? There is literally zero info on the office building, aside from the floor plan that can be seen in the site plan drawings.










Source: City of Kalamazoo

[deja vu]

Some good views of the crane and construction from overhead, at the downtown justice facility -










Source: LinkedIn | All State Crane and Rigging, LLC

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

The site plan review packet for the proposed $100 million KRESA Career Tech Center was recently posted. Included in the packet are some detailed plans, elevations, and more refined renderings. The original schedule had construction starting in early 2022 at 5322 S Sprinkle Rd. (adjacent to Wings Event Center). Obviously that timeline didn't pan out, but it is good to see that this is still moving forward, and it is a pretty neat-looking design (especially the central commons space) -


























Source: City of Kalamazoo

[deja vu]

Portage -

I missed this when it was approved by City Council this past spring. A new 180-unit, $47 million apartment development named "Tall Timbers" is now one step closer to reality, thanks to $4.7 million in state brownfield tx incentives. The site is a former dumping grounds, located at 3413 W Centre Avenue. It will include below-grade parking and community "Zoom Rooms" for remote work -

Former dump site to become development first for Portage
Christa Ferguson | Wood TV 8
Sep 7, 2022

Source: Wood TV 8 | MEDC


Source: MLive | City of Portage

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo was looking fine today -

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

Get ready for a pretty random smattering of updates. Some of these might not even be post-worthy here. But, it's been a long week, it's late, I'm bored, and I can't sleep. So here ya go -

There are site plan reviews from August that I'm just getting around to. The first is for 1616 E Main Street, part of the multi-phase, mixed-use Eastside Square development. There are two connected buildings proposed. "Building A" is a 2-stories, with 4 condo units. "Building B" is 3 stories, with ground floor commercial and 8 total condo units on floors 2 & 3. The architecture firm is INFORM Architecture -

"Building A"



"Building B"




Source: City of Kalamazoo

The second site plan review is for 315 E Frank Street, a.k.a. Bogan Development, LLC. This has been posted about previously. At an earlier point, it was reported to be a nine-unit housing development with a mix of affordable and market-rate units as well as an on-site daycare center. Now it looks like 13 units and a daycare center, still split across two buildings. The renderings are pretty plain, but just about any development that promises affordable housing in the Northside is welcome news. The architecture firm is TowerPinkster and the builder is AVB -








Source: City of Kalamazoo

The third site plan review is also for a Northside housing development. 5 units are proposed for 718 N. Burdick Street, the site of a very dilapidated, single-story structure. A change of use is required, and impressively, they propose to restore the existing building and feature its unique barrel-vault structure. This is pretty amazing to me. Usually a building this far gone (half the roof is missing) would meet the wrecking ball in our town. The architecture firm is Battle Creek-based Driven Design Studio -










Source: City of Kalamazoo

In other news, all lanes of Stadium Drive reopened last week, after extensive work over the summer. There will still be some intermittent lane closures while signage is installed and painting is completed, but the project is nearly complete. Trees will be planted in the new medians next spring 0









Source: LinkedIn | City of Kalamazoo

Milham Park is getting a new playground. Work started earlier this month and will wrap up in November. There will be spaces designed for children ages 2-5 and 5-11, a quiet playscape for children with special needs, and a concrete path and ramp leading to the play area -


Source: City of Kalamazoo

And in food-related news, there are at least 3 new restaurants that are open, about to open, or announced -

JungleBird opened a few weeks ago in the ground floor of The Exchange.


Source: MLive | provided by JungleBird

WP Diner @ Washington Square just had a soft opening at 1324 Portage Street. This is the newest KPEP (Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program) food venture, which provides training and employment for former offenders. Other KPEP programs include both Walnut & Park coffee shops. Its opening seems to have been delayed by the pandemic. The renovated building sat empty for a while. Here it is, pictured in November 2019 -


Source: MLive | Sophie Hillmeyer

News broke this week that a new taco joint will open in a long-vacant commercial space downtown. Barrio Tacos + Tequila + Whiskey is slated to open on the first floor of 215 E. Michigan Ave. next spring. The future use of the second floor is still TBD. This represents a pretty significant investment, with total development costs estimated at $4.2 million -

Barrio Tacos + Tequila + Whiskey coming to Kalamazoo
Brad Devereaux | MLive
September 20, 2022, updated September 21, 2022

Source: MLive | Brad Devereaux