Kalamazoo Commission creates downtown redevelopment and rehabilitation districts to enable three brownfield projects

The Kalamazoo City Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to create two tax‑abatement districts intended to enable a three‑site “transformational” brownfield redevelopment in downtown Kalamazoo.

The commission adopted a resolution to establish a commercial redevelopment district that includes the former Michigan Avenue courthouse parcel and a separate resolution creating a commercial rehabilitation district for 261 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Both actions were approved by roll call; each passed with all voting commissioners recorded as "yes." The vote only establishes the districts; any tax‑abatement certificates or final project approvals would return to the commission and, for one program, to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

City staff and the project team described the package as a linked set of projects that would reuse historic and underused downtown buildings and leverage state brownfield incentives alongside local tax tools. Development manager Jamie McCarthy told commissioners the courthouse site is envisioned as a historic rehabilitation of “just around…