|
MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 2005
KALAMAZOO
Karen Stone, CCIM
Like other Michigan cities, Kalamazoo’s economy is diversifying from primarily manufacturing-based industries. Since 2000, there has been increased growth in the entertainment, education and medical sectors in the metropolitan area, and downtown Kalamazoo is seeing increased investment and development.
 |
The Kalamazoo Commons in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
|
|
In the entertainment sector, Kalamazoo is focused on bringing people downtown. Kalamazoo-based Meyer C. Weiner Company is building The Kalamazoo Commons, a mixed-use project that is expected to draw 800,000 visitors downtown annually. The project, which is expected to open next June, will include 25,000 square feet of retail, 18 residential loft units, a 14-screen RAVE theater and a 500-space parking deck.
The Kalamazoo Commons will complement a 2-year-old, 100,000-square-foot facility that hosts the symphony and art and cultural events. “We have paid attention to enhancing the physical environment and creating a unique boutique retail presence downtown,” says Ken Nucci, president of Downtown Kalamazoo, Inc. “This has created an increase in demand for residential units in our City Center area.”
Down the street, the Radisson Hotel & Suites is in the final stages of a $3.5 million renovation that added a new tower to the complex. “The architecture of the new tower is pushing the skyline of Kalamazoo into the 21st century,” says Vicki Kettner with Kalamazoo Downtown, Inc. “This Radisson is one of the most exclusive hotel and conference properties in southwest Michigan and it is known for its incredible, high-line customer service.”
Bronson Methodist Hospital also is expanding its downtown presence. In June, the hospital announced it is investing $50 million in a campus expansion program. The first phase of the expansion will be the construction of a $38 million North Pavilion, which is scheduled for completion in early 2007. The second phase, which is scheduled to break ground in 2007, will add 40 new in-patient rooms in an $8.8 million expansion of the existing South Campus. An additional $2.5 million will be spent on streetscape improvements along the existing healthcare plaza that will connect the North and South Campus areas.
Also, Kalamazoo has been courting private investors with financial incentives, updating its public infrastructure and managing necessary amenities like parking. “We are taking advantage of our lifestyle-oriented amenities and the natural beauty of our area that make our city unique,” Nucci says, “We are paving the way to the future.”
Southwest Michigan First, an organization focused on the area’s future, is trying is to increase the presence of the biotech and biomed industries in Kalamazoo. By capitalizing on the presence of Western Michigan University, Southwest Michigan First is building bridges between higher education, businesses, sources of financing and local and state governments to assist people in growing and expanding biotech and biomed businesses in the Kalamazoo area.
©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication
or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization
from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints
of this article contact Barbara
Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
|
