KALAMAZOO / PORTAGE / BATTLE CREEK | Development Thread

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

There's a "new" site plan review packet for the 508 Harrison / 600 Gull Road (River Caddis Development), a.k.a. "River's Edge". It's actually dated 7-20-2022, but was just posted yesterday. I'm not sure what the delay may have been, but it doesn't look like the design has changed substantially from what we saw in December 2020 in the Zoning Board of Appeals minutes. The development still includes four buildings, including (2) 4-story apartment buildings (222 units total), a much smaller 4-unit building, and a community building -






Source: City of Kalamazoo | Byce & Associates

[deja vu]

A little more context to my previous post - the BRA has reportedly been awarded a $1 million grant from EGLE to clean up the property for development. So with that assurance, maybe now the developers feel it is the right time to proceed with site plan review -

$55M project with 222 apartments planned in Kalamazoo gets state financial support
Brad Devereaux | MLive
November 22, 2022

Source: MLive | Byce & Associates

[deja vu]

Battle Creek -

Bronson Behavioral Health Hospital progress - October & November (right before all of the snow) -




Source: LinkedIn | CSM Group

[DetroitMan]

Condo development on vacant lots aims to revitalize Kalamazoo’s Eastside neighborhood

A new condominium development is planned in Kalamazoo, with a goal to revitalize the neighborhood while providing much-needed housing and commercial spaces.

The Kalamazoo County Land Bank, which will initially manage the residential development, is spearheading the plan to fill these vacant properties in Kalamazoo’s Eastside Neighborhood.

The development will bring six condos and two commercial spaces to a vacant site at 1601 E. Main Street, Kalamazoo County Land Bank Executive Director Side Ellis told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo...ghborhood.html

[deja vu]

There's really not been much to report on lately. I did notice that the tower crane for the downtown justice facility came down yesterday. This marks the first time in a long time that a tower crane hasn't graced Kzoo's skyline. Pretty much since this thread's inception, there has been at least one crane consistently on the skyline. I wonder what & when will be the next occasion to see one...

I was unable to get a photo of the crane dismantling yesterday, but I walked by it today at lunch -



Also, 400 Rose Phase 2 looks nearly complete from the outside. One curious difference with this second phase is that all of the first floor units have balconies, instead of concrete patios with stairs that connect to the public sidewalks. There is a perimeter fence around all of the balconies. I wonder if tenants of the phase 1 units have had issues with random people wandering up their steps, even with the squat, locking gates at the stair landings -

[jkazoo]

Originally Posted by deja vu

...... I wonder what & when will be the next occasion to see one...

I'm crossing my fingers for this one:
https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazo...ention-center-

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by jkazoo

I'm crossing my fingers for this one:
https://wwmt.com/news/local/kalamazo...ention-center-

Agreed. That seems like the mostly one to go next, at least based on what we know right now.

[deja vu]

Portage -

The Pfizer MAP facility - this building has some serious girth. Drive-by from this morning -

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

Restaurants come and restaurants go. That's been especially true in Kalamazoo as of late. Here is some local restaurant news. Probably not all of these will succeed. Which ones will you frequent?

1. ThunderBird River Ranch

Newly opened, I give this place a year, tops. It's basically just Arcadia Ales 2.0. I think it will suffer from the same challenges that killed the original prospect. An over-saturated downtown restaurant market, less-accessible and less walkable than the nearby competition, riddled with nearby homeless encampments, persistent labor shortages, just average-looking food, and bad décor / overall ambiance. Plus, a stupid-sounding name -

ThunderBird River Ranch now open at former Arcadia Ales site in Kalamazoo
Brad Devereau | MLive
January 13, 2023

...An updated website and menu show cocktails, cans of beer and “Big Ol’ Buckets” of alcoholic drinks, shooters, bombs and frozen drinks...

2. HighDive Kitchen + Bar

This one might have a better chance, centrally located in the former Olde Peninsula Brewpub (and maybe eventually expanding into the adjacent Grand Traverse Distillery with SideBar) -

HighDive bar looking to make a splash in downtown Kalamazoo
Marie Weidmayer | MLive
January 15, 2023

3. The Hub Tavern & Grill

I'd give this one a 50/50 success rate. Good location, but just a rehashed version of Central City TapHouse -

The Hub Tavern & Grill opens its doors in downtown Kalamazoo
Ryan Boldrey | MLive
December 21, 2022

4. Apoptosis Brewing Company

This one is scheduled to open in the former Big Apple Bagel shop on South Westnedge. Not sure if its location away from the concentration of downtown restaurants will help it or hurt it (it didn't seem to help the bagel shop) -

New Kalamazoo brewery, Apoptosis, opens this weekend
Ryan Boldrey | MLive
January 11, 2023

5. Theo & Stacy's

In closure news, a long-term staple is finally shutting its doors -

Theo & Stacy’s in Kalamazoo closing down after 50 years
Madalyn Buursma | Wood TV 8
January 8, 2023

[DetroitMan]

228-unit apartment complex proposed near Portage City Hall

Preliminary designs for the complex from Integrated Architecture show two mixed-use buildings along Shaver Road, featuring four live-work, one-bedroom units on the ground floor, along with four one-bedroom flats and four two-bedroom flats split between the second and third floors in each of the eight buildings. The live-work units are anticipated to feature small retail or service industry-type businesses.Five of the remaining six buildings would include 24 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units, while the sixth building would feature simply 24 one-bedroom units. Each building would feature parking spaces around the buildings with a total of 359 parking spaces for the overall proposed 228 units, resulting in a 1.51 ratio of spaces per unit, according to planning documents.

According to Corby, there are four floorplans for the one-bedroom flats, ranging from 570-820 square feet, each with a different price point. The two-bedrooms will be offered in a 950-square-foot floorplan or a 1,050-square-foot plan, he said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo...city-hall.html

[deja vu]

^ Wow that's big, and about time we saw some higher-density housing in Portage's "core" area. Can't really call it a downtown in the traditional sense, but this is a good step in the direction of a denser, more walkable city center. Looks like River Caddis Development is doubling-down on the housing market in the region, with both this one and the 508 Harrison / 600 Gull Rd. proposal in Kalamazoo, mentioned at the top of this page.

I took this picture of the Kalamazoo Justice Facility about a week ago, from the top level of The Exchange. I always assumed you needed some sort of card access credential to get to the 15th floor, but it is very much open to the public (at least during business hours) and you can get a pretty good view looking south and north from windows in the common area. Not visible from this view, but the TAKTL UHPC rain screen cladding is finally starting to go up, on the west façade -

[deja vu]

^ You can just barely make it out in the previous photo (top-left). Integrated Services of Kalamazoo’s new Behavioral Health Urgent Care and Access Center is making rapid progress -


Source: LinkedIn | Miller-Davis Company

Also, as I was driving yesterday, I noticed it looks like they are staking out the new Boys & Girls Club on Portage Rd. so this one might finally get going -


Source: MLive | TowerPinkster - provided by BGCGK

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

The small Woods Lake Square mixed-use development at 3110 Oakland Drive, seen yesterday. Right across from here, the Country Club is undergoing a somewhat controversial expansion, mainly because some natural green space is being cleared -

[jkazoo]

Yes, a positive development! We're gonna have to swallow another credit union to get six whole residences, I guess. The country club is a waste of land close to several neighborhood centers, and while I support natural green areas around and outside the city, anything adjacent to a bus line and neighborhood shopping zone should be developed with more multifamily housing. Six more short golf holes for "training" is perhaps the worst use of land I can imagine, other than a parking lot.

But billionaires will do billionaire-ing.

I'm trying to hold on to the knowledge that many golf courses are going under and being redeveloped as something other than lawnspace in much of the rest of the country.

I nominate the block occupied by the strip mall and the Comerica branch to be torn down for a four plus one stick-built 100+ unit apartment building. This node needs density.

Sadly, I'm resigning myself to Kazoo being a large parking lot with occasional niceties---much like that recent Portage City center development noted above.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by jkazoo

Yes, a positive development! We're gonna have to swallow another credit union to get six whole residences, I guess. The country club is a waste of land close to several neighborhood centers, and while I support natural green areas around and outside the city, anything adjacent to a bus line and neighborhood shopping zone should be developed with more multifamily housing. Six more short golf holes for "training" is perhaps the worst use of land I can imagine, other than a parking lot.

But billionaires will do billionaire-ing.

I'm trying to hold on to the knowledge that many golf courses are going under and being redeveloped as something other than lawnspace in much of the rest of the country.

I nominate the block occupied by the strip mall and the Comerica branch to be torn down for a four plus one stick-built 100+ unit apartment building. This node needs density.

Sadly, I'm resigning myself to Kazoo being a large parking lot with occasional niceties---much like that recent Portage City center development noted above.

I guess they need a place to train the city's future billionaires on how to properly golf (without clogging up the varsity links).

I honestly haven't kept up with it. But it seems like the process has been less than transparent. Is this on a portion of the shuttered Lakeside Academy property?

I saw there was a petition circulating social media, expressing neighborhood dissent. Also, a new Facebook group to galvanize the masses and rally around stopping the planned development. Maybe too little too late, based on images like below. But this is gaining momentum, and watch for another MLive article, reportedly coming soon too -


Source: Mlive | Gracie Smith

[deja vu]

News article on the Kalamazoo Country Club Expansion, including renderings. I didn't realize that it was this expansive, some (not any news outlets) are saying the total investment will be north of $100 million -

Kalamazoo Country Club plans for massive expansion, but residents have concerns
Brad Devereaux | MLive
January 25, 2023

Source: MLive | City of Kalamazoo

Separately, groundbreaking is set for tomorrow for the planned mixed-use development 315 East Frank Street, on the northside -

Multi-million dollar housing project underway in Kalamazoo's northside neighborhood
Anthony Sylvester | WWMT News Channel 3
January 30, 2023

[subterranean]

Gotta love all this infill. Looking good.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Gotta love all this infill. Looking good.

A lot of the recent infill is aided by the County's new housing millage. The county is the only one in the state with such a millage. Last year was the inaugural year, and $6.7 million was invested into housing developments and supportive services. Time will tell if this system pays off. But early signs look positive to me. The Bogan Development (315 East Frank Street) that broke ground on Friday received $400K from this fund -

New Kalamazoo County tax helps spark $114M in housing developments
Brad Devereaux | MLive
January 9, 2023

This chart is from the article and shows the county distribution of the first year's-worth of funding -


Source: MLive | Taylor DesOrmeau / Created with Datawrapper

[deja vu]

Kalamazoo -

The $95 million Zoetis expansion just north of the airport set its last beam a week ago -


Source: LinkedIn | Schweitzer Incorporated

[deja vu]

The dream of a downtown arena is still alive in Kalamazoo -

County reenters discussions on proposed downtown Kalamazoo sports arena and concert venue
Ken Delaney | WIN 98.5
February 10, 2023