Kalamazoo downtown troubles?

[suydam]

Is Kalamazoo's downtown resurgance of recent years hitting a bump in the road?

District 211 closed down a couple weeks ago, and now the comedy club underneath Shakespeare's is closed too.

I would hate to see one of my favorite little cities in trouble.

Are other projects still on track? (movie theater, condos, etc.)

[Kayak1]

I think that the "Kalamazoo Promise" will keep the growth in Kalamazoo going. With new families moving into the city, I think we will see more development like the theatre downtown and other family related things. Western can only support so many bars and clubs. Other than a selected few, the bars seem to have a 5 year shelf life.

[GR8scott]

I dont think the kzoo promise will have as much of an affect on the city as people think, Oshtemo township maybe. Unfourtunatly Oshtemo isincluded in the city school system and that is where the subburbia growth is. People might not be as likely to move away but when a family moves to kzoo they are probably going to look to Oshtem which is also where a lot of retail has moved to from downtown.

[RustTown]

Yeah, the Kazoo Promise is going to be great at slowing down an exodus/retaining citizens, but I don't think it's going to attract many new residents to Kalamazoo. Still, retaining citizens quite an accomplishment for a Michigan city when most or still bleeding residents.

[MJLO]

From what I understand, isn't the promise, kind of an economic experiment/ study being done by some unnamed Kalamazoo philanthropy? I think Kalamazoo, sits in a much better position than most Michigan cities. It's downtown, is resurging if not vibrant. It has a progressive citizenship, and WMU is a huge asset. I'd say a couple bars closing is nothing more than cyclical. Last time I was down there which was only a few months ago, the city was pretty alive the bars were full, and it was only a random weekday night.

[suydam]

[Removed unintentional quote. Sorry about that Lmichigan]

I asked specifically about District 211 because it wasn't "just a bar." It was a major restaurant downtown (one of the 2 or 3 nicest in Kalamazoo) that also had a bar downstairs from it. It was one of the poster children for the downtown revival a few years ago, and occupied about 30% of the Globe building's total square footage by my estimate (with the Globe Building being the leader of the east end's redevelopment 5 or 6 years ago wheni t was the only building actually finished).

Oh well, glad to hear other stuff is still progressing well. Has Gazelle moved into its new digs in the old Piranah Alley yet?

[RustTown]

Why'd you quote me, specifically?