Building downtown’s future
Investing in downtown
Owners and developers are restoring landmarks and building new. Here’s the private investment taking shape in downtown Kalamazoo.
In shortThis page lists private investment in downtown Kalamazoo: restorations and new buildings by owners and developers. Projects led by the City or the DEGA are on the Projects page.
Private investment
Kalamazoo Event Center
Where: 411 W. Kalamazoo Ave., between N. Park St. and N. Westnedge Ave.
A privately funded, $515 million arena and event center developed by Catalyst Development, seating 6,500 for hockey and basketball and 8,000 for concerts, with a 1,176-space parking deck at Park and Water streets. It will be home to WMU hockey and basketball and the Kalamazoo Wings, and is expected to host more than 230 events a year.
Kalamazoo State Theatre restoration
Where: South Burdick Street at Lovell Street
The 1927 movie palace on South Burdick has new owners, who plan to restore it and reopen in 2027, the theater’s 100th year.
209 W. Cedar St.
Where: 209 W. Cedar St., including 219 W. Cedar St.
The City approved the site plan for this property in September 2026.
PlazaCorp Transformational Brownfield Plan
Where: Former Michigan Avenue courthouse, 619 Porter St. and the Speareflex building on Kalamazoo Ave.
About $96.5 million from PlazaCorp to turn three vacant buildings into a 127-room boutique hotel in the former county courthouse, a five-story building at 619 Porter St. with 58 apartments and about 5,000 square feet of commercial space, and 57 apartments in the Speareflex building. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved about $54.6 million in incentives over 30 years.
401 E. Michigan Ave.
Where: 401 E. Michigan Ave.
The City approved the site plan for this property in October 2026.
The Lofts at Ironworks
Where: Along Arcadia Creek, between Water St. and Eleanor St.
PlazaCorp's $32.7 million conversion of the 1872 Lawrence & Chapin Iron Works, later Vermeulen's Furniture, into 82 apartments, more than 40 percent of them priced as attainable housing, with about 6,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Residents began moving in as phases were completed.
Kalamazoo State Theatre
Where: 416 S. Burdick St.
Dan and Holly Carmichael bought the 1927 theater and the neighboring Harvey's on the Mall building in 2025 and plan a privately funded, multimillion-dollar restoration that preserves the historic look, makes the theater accessible and expands backstage space. They hope to reopen for the theater's 100th anniversary.
Rose Phase III
Where: 116 W. Cedar St. and 427 to 433 S. Rose St.
The third building from AVB and the Hinman Company on Rose Street: 71 apartments, including income-restricted units, and a small ground-floor commercial space, with about $19.3 million in private investment.
Rose Place senior apartments
Where: 530 S. Rose St.
A $19.9 million, five-story building by P.S. Equities with 64 apartments for residents 55 and older, 51 of them rent- and income-restricted. Built by AVB with city, county and state housing support.
Radisson Plaza Hotel renovation
Where: 100 W. Michigan Ave. (Kalamazoo Center)
Greenleaf Hospitality Group's multimillion-dollar renovation of downtown's 340-room convention hotel, covering guest rooms, the lobby, social areas and 50,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
400 Rose
Where: 400 S. Rose St.
AVB and the Hinman Company turned a 2.15-acre brownfield a block from the Kalamazoo Mall into 236 apartments in two buildings, 135 in 2020 and 101 in 2023, with workforce-priced units in each and underground parking. The first was Kalamazoo County's first LEED-certified apartment building, and the second earned LEED Gold.
Warner Building and 180 E. Water
Where: Water St. and Edwards St.
Catalyst Development's seven-story, roughly $70 million building on a former parking lot, home to Warner Norcross + Judd, Southwest Michigan First, The Kalamazoo Promise and Communities In Schools, with 45 apartments and a 300-plus-space parking deck. It opened alongside the new Haymarket Plaza.
Hilton Garden Inn and Home2 Suites
Where: 309 N. Rose St. (former Masonic Temple)
PlazaCorp and Dora Hotel Co. restored the 1915 Masonic Temple, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and added new construction to create a 114-room Hilton Garden Inn and a 106-room Home2 Suites with a restaurant, pool and banquet space.
The Exchange
Where: Michigan Ave. and Rose St.
PlazaCorp and Phoenix Properties' $52.7 million, 15-story tower on a corner that had been a parking lot since 1971, with 133 apartments, about 60,000 square feet of office and commercial space, a rooftop terrace and 289 covered parking spaces.
The Foundry
Where: 600 E. Michigan Ave.
Treystar converted a former metal foundry along Portage Creek into a 53,000-square-foot office building with a restaurant and a creekside patio, with CSM Group as the anchor tenant.
The Depot Building
Where: 427 E. Michigan Ave.
PlazaCorp's full renovation of the Depot Building brought in HopCat and Maru Sushi, an enclosed deck along the west wall, office space and improved parking and landscaping.
Thinking about investing downtown?
Talk with the City of Kalamazoo’s downtown team about sites, site plan review and support for downtown businesses. Email downtown@kalamazoocity.org or call (269) 337-8993.
Public investment
See the projects led by the City and the DEGA, and the DDA & DEGA budgets and reports.