*Downtown Kalamazoo Residents and Leaders Gather for Week-Long 'Design It!' Series*

Kalamazoo community members are invited to participate in a week-long series of events centered on shaping the future of downtown Kalamazoo. The events comprise hands-on workshops, walking experiences, panel discussions and open houses as part of the Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 process.

The Design It! series runs from April 28 through May 4 and includes multiple events across different neighborhoods and downtown locations. According to Deputy City Manager Rebekah Kik, each event offers opportunities for the community to get to know the spaces, ideas and investments shaping downtown Kalamazoo and what could come next.

A Great Downtown Doesn't Happen by Accident

"A great downtown doesn't happen by accident," Deputy City Manager Rebekah Kik said. "It's shaped by the people who use it every day. This week is an opportunity for our community to come together, share ideas, and help create a downtown that reflects who we are and where we're going."

Among the upcoming events are:

From Plans to Place Open House

Tuesday, April 28 | 5-7 PM | Catalyst Center, 180 Water St

This open house-style event highlights upcoming improvements, including Arcadia Creek Festival Place, Rose Street Plaza, and key street redesigns. The evening will also include remarks from downtown and city leaders.

First 16 Feet Workshop with Yard & Co.

Wednesday, April 29 | 3-6 PM | Intersect Studio, Exchange Building, 155 W Michigan Ave Ste 1508

This hands-on workshop explores how storefronts and street-level experiences shape how people interact with downtown. The session includes a guided walk and practical strategies for activation and placemaking.

Downtown Business Breakfast (Stakeholder Event)

Thursday, April 30 | 8-10:30 AM | Invitation-only event for stakeholders

Business owners and stakeholders will come together for a focused discussion on downtown opportunities and challenges, including economic development, business mix, and parking. The session will feature a presentation from Yard & Company on storefront, activation, and programming strategies.

Walking Audit

Thursday, April 30 | 12-1 PM | Meet at South St & Farmers Alley

This interactive walking experience invites participants to explore how downtown works for everyday trips while identifying opportunities for better navigation and connectivity. The walk ends with free coffee and conversation at Caffè Casa.

Design It! Downtown Meeting

Friday, May 1 | 5-8 PM | City Centre, 125 S Kalamazoo Mall

This drop-in, open house-style event features interactive activities and opportunities to connect with City staff as part of the Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 process. This event also serves as the downtown neighborhood meeting for the Design It! phase of Imagine Kalamazoo 2035.

Arts & Culture Panel Discussion

Monday, May 4 | 3-5 PM | KNAC, 315 W Michigan Ave

An engaging panel moderated by Troy Thrash, CEO of the Air Zoo, and organized by Crawlspace Comedy Theatre, explores how arts, culture, and placemaking shape a vibrant downtown through creative spaces, public art, and programming.

Building on Community Engagement

The Design It! series builds on previous phases of the Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 planning process. The early stages started in August 2024 with the Imagine It phase, where residents were asked to reflect on what has worked, what has not, and what they want Kalamazoo to become by 2035. That was followed by the Plan It phase in the spring of 2025, when the city reviewed feedback and refined high-level priorities.

From there, the city established eight specific strategic goals, including arts and culture, community safety, economic vitality, effective city operations, environment, housing, transportation and youth.

The Design It! phase is about making those goals tangible, neighborhood by neighborhood. Christina Anderson, city planner and deputy director of Community Planning and Economic Development, told News Channel 3.

"We start pretty high level, right?" Anderson said. "We took all that information and kind of ran it through the wash again, understood what was rising to the top and what we had. That information is being directed towards our updated strategic vision document, which we will be releasing soon as a draft for the community to review."

The draft is expected to be released to the public within the next month. While the Strategic Vision sets high-level goals for the city, the Master Plan translates those goals into the tangible.

"I like to think of the strategic as 30,000 feet up, the Master Plan is like 10,000 feet up," Anderson said. "It's still city-wide, but it's really focused on land use and transportation."

Neighborhood Voices

During neighborhood meetings, residents and business owners have provided input on various topics. Concerns raised included housing affordability, walkability crossing Westnedge Avenue, lighting and parking, and how to better use green space.

Stephen Walsh, executive director of the Vine Neighborhood Association, said this type of engagement has helped shape projects in the past.

"I've lived in Vine for 22 years," Walsh said. "I think originally it was formed as an advocacy group, to address some of the issues that were pervasive in the neighborhood, whether it was crime or mostly, really honestly, mostly crime. And I think now we're really looking at aspirational things."

Walsh pointed to the Davis Street Skate Park as an example of community collaboration.

"When Parks and Rec said that they were going to redo Davis Street Park they asked us for some input," Walsh said. "Residents voiced interest in having a skate park, and Parks and Rec moved forward with it. When the park was built, it had all these things that residents and neighbors had wanted, so they loved it and they really helped kind of self-police it and make sure the norms of the park were being honored. That was a collaboration that came out of something very similar to this."

Business Perspectives

Business owners have also attended meetings to share ideas and see how the city is planning to improve neighborhoods. Business owner Shimonta Dickerson attended a meeting to share ideas and see how the city is planning to improve neighborhoods.

"I don't live in the neighborhood anymore, but I own a business in a neighborhood, so I want to see, what is the city cooking up, that they want to do for the betterment of the community," Dickerson told News Channel 3.

Dickerson recommended green space along Westnedge Avenue be activated and used for events, with parking added so people do not have to cross the busy road to get there.

"This particular park on Westnedge is primarily green space, so when you drive by it, it's kind of dead," Dickerson said. "They can add other small bandshells and things to attract more people to come. So it's always vibrant and busy over there and people hang out all day."

Looking Ahead

City planning staff said this process allows them to write a master plan that is aligned with the community's wants and needs.

"These meetings have, we can draw direct lines from what we have heard that go into our strategic vision, that go into our master plan, that go into a neighborhood plans or budgets," Anderson said.

The city plans to release a draft of the updated Strategic Vision within the next month. The Master Plan is expected to be drafted by fall of this year. The neighborhood open houses will continue across Kalamazoo through early March.

A large citywide downtown event will also be held at the conclusion of the Design It! phase this spring, according to the city's website. Additional meetings for other neighborhoods may also be scheduled.

Residents can also participate in the design phase virtually through the Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 page on the city's website.