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Print Article: Ground broken for downtown Kalamazoo redevelopment Page 1 of 1 X Logo I Ground broken for downtown Kalamazoo redevelopment 2010 -12 -14 17:29:20 KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) — Downtown Kalamazoo is about to get a facelift. On Tuesday developers broke ground on what's called the Metropolitan Center Redevelopment Project. Downtown Kalamazoo has a section that looks out of place, being in much worse shape than the rest of the street. That's the metropolitan center group of buildings and it is getting some attention. With the breaking of a brick, crews are starting to turn back the clock on a piece of real estate in the core of downtown Kalamazoo. The city hopes to move forward by restoring four buildings in the 100 block of West Michigan to the way the looked in the 1800s. "Structures that had been empty for a number of years, in bad condition, now have this grand opportunity that will bring new life to the structures and downtown," said Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell. For more than ten years the buildings have been largely unoccupied and untouched, an eyesore in the middle of a redeveloping downtown. "It's at one of our 100 percent corners," said Ken Nacci, Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. "We have three out of four developed, this one was sitting there waiting for something to happen." At a cost of more than $11 million, the buildings will be transformed into business space and 28 apartments. To make the project happen took federal tax breaks, state funding and developer MAVCON doing the work. "We basically developed the area around this," said James Dally, MAVCON, "now we're coming back for what was the original downtown." Downtown advocates say they hope the redevelopment is just another step toward a new downtown Kalamazoo. The project is expected to take 15 months to finish, along with the cosmetic improvements, the buildings will be going green with grass growing on the roof and less energy use overall. © Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy I User Agreement I Site Mao http: / /www.wwmt.com/ common /printer /view.php ?db= wwmt &id= 1384949 6/7/2011