General Profile

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What's in Store for You in Downtown Kalamazoo?

If success in business is being in the right place at the right time, then see what's in store for you in downtown Kalamazoo. This cultural, retail, and commercial center is in the heart of a dynamic, healthy metropolitan area — and we're making bold, strategic moves to create an even more vibrant city hub.

This is Your Marketplace!
Metropolitan Area

• Largest metropolitan area in southwestern Michigan.
• City population of 80,000 in a county of 235,000.
• 45% of residents visit downtown Kalamazoo at least once a week.
• About 850,000 people come to Kalamazoo each year, spending approximately $180 million annually.

Workforce

• Nearly 17,000 people work in downtown Kalamazoo.
• Employee spending potential is $27.5 million yearly for nearby food and retail products.

Residential/Students

• Loft apartments and condominiums are being developed at a record pace in downtown Kalamazoo.
• Vibrant historic neighborhoods are within walking distance of downtown Kalamazoo.
• Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College create a student population of over 31,000.
• 360 downtown residential units, approximately 1,200 residents.

Accessibility

• Conveniently located on Interstate 94 between Detroit and Chicago.
• Served by seven airlines through the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, a 15-minute drive from downtown Kalamazoo.
• Five major routes carry traffic into downtown.
• Train and bus service from downtown to all major midwestern destinations and beyond.
• Plans to convert one-way streets to two-way in 2005. Click here for a map.

Parking

• 6,000 spaces available.
• 3,200 spaces in Central City Parking structures, an award-winning system administered by Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.
• 1,400 metered spaces on the street, and more than 1,200 in surface lots.
• Free evening and weekend parking.
• Nearly 200 free, 90 minute on street parking spaces available within core retail area.

Culture/Entertainment/Sports

• The restaurants, nightclubs, microbreweries, and specialty shops downtown create the kind of energy that only a vibrant city center can offer.
• Kalamazoo's Radisson Plaza Hotel and Webster's Restaurant is the only hotel-restaurant combination in Michigan to receive "four diamonds" — AAA's highest rating.
• The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is the state's third largest orchestra, and performs free summer concerts in Bronson Park.
• Five, live-stage theatres draw more than 150,000 people downtown each year.
• The Epic Center, a performing arts collaborative center in the heart of downtown, houses a dozen or more independent dance and theater companies.
• Downtown is home to a major art center, newly renovated and expanded, as well as many smaller galleries.
• Kalamazoo hosts a major International Keyboard Festival every other year, with performances at many downtown sites.
• The $20 million Kalamazoo Valley Museum attracts visitors from throughout the Midwest.
• The Kalamazoo Library's stunning downtown facility registered 10,000 new users last year and features Internet-connected computers.
• Semi-professional baseball, soccer and football games are played in a newly renovated sports/river park on the edge of downtown.
• The city is also home to a semi-professional hockey team.

Consumer Trends

• Almost half of all area residents visit downtown every week.
• 36% of those who visit downtown make the trip specifically to shop.
• Downtown employees have a spending potential of more than $27.5 million annually.
• 30% of recently surveyed residents dine downtown once a month.

Infrastructure/Support Institutions

• Pharmacia Corporation global research center.
• Bronson Methodist Hospital.
• County government seat.

Living Downtown

The demand for residential space downtown is strong, and growing stronger. In fact, the number of people currently looking for downtown housing exceeds the number of apartments and condos available.

In downtown Kalamazoo, 300,000 square feet of above-main-floor space is available for residential property development. Additionally, several large warehouses are available for redevelopment into residential or residential/working space. The central business district also offers several locations for in-fill housing — in most cases, new town homes that would occupy now vacant land. Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated encourages developers to investigate these tremendous opportunities.

Exposed brick wall, cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, and a flood of natural light welcome home those who live in Kalamazoo's downtown loft apartments and condos. They're always just steps from festivals, parks, galleries, a live theatre district, shops, cafes, and restaurants.   

Live/work loft spaces provide the ultimate home office for those equipped to telecommute. Have the heart of the business district and the comforts of your own home — all in one space.