Redevelopment of the Southern Gateway to Downtown Kalamazoo, Ml
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Authors
Latchaw, Rayline
Issue Date
1997
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In undertaking my SIP with Vine Ventures Incorporated of Kalamazoo, it was
not at first clear what my work would constitute or what kind of project would
develop out of that work. However, after getting my bearings within the
organization during my first few weeks of work, I began focusing my time and
energy on a single project that VVI was planning. That project came to encompass
a wide variety of tasks concerning the redevelopment of the Park Street
neighborhood in Kalamazoo.
The redevelopment of this particular area is of special significance to the
City of Kalamazoo as a whole due to the location of Park Street in relation to the
downtown area (see Appendix A) . Park Street is one of the most efficient ways to
reach Kalamazoo's center. It most effectively links Interstate 94 and US 131 to the
central business district. It also connects important resources such as the
Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport to this core of business and
government activities. However, because Park Street has come to be in a serious
state of dilapidation and disrepair, travelers are for the most part directed to
circumvent the area by means of Oakland Drive or other routes (see Appendix A) in
order to avoid the eyesore.
Through involving Park Street residents and businesses, it was Vine
Venture's objective to create a citizen group that would undertake the task of
designing, promoting, and carrying out a revitalization campaign that would target
an area roughly three blocks in length. By making general exterior improvements to
residential properties, cleaning up and providing general landscaping for these
properties, and improving streets and signage in this area, we hoped to create a
more pleasant neighborhood to live and work in as well as travel through. In
addition, it was hoped that the success of this project would have a "spill-over"
effect on other blocks near this gateway. Ideally, our goal was to inspire a widespread
redevelopment of the area which would allow Park Street to flourish as
Kalamazoo's primary gateway community to the downtown.
In the related field in which I conducted the research portion of my Senior
Individualized Project I examined the ways in which the government provides
financial support or incentives for redevelopment projects such as the one on Park
Street. I found that most assistance comes in the form of tax abatement or grants
with specific project criteria. It was encouraging to find that several of the
programs that I researched were already being utilized here in Kalamazoo. Other
programs hold promise for future use here, possibly through the initiative of
organizations like Vine Ventures, Inc. Examples of how each of these programs
have been put to use were abundant and always inspiring. These examples were
useful in envisioning the prospects for areas like Park Street as well as other
similarly dilapidated neighborhoods. It was clear, however, that along with
assistance from local, state, or national government programs, it would always be
necessary to conduct a substantial amount of fundraising as well as coordination
with financial institutions. In order to embark successfully on a project even as
physically small as a three block area requires a combination of these three financial
resources, as was demonstrated by the Park Street Redevelopment Project.
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92 p.
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