Mavcon cracks bricks to signify work’s under way at $11.3 million Metropolitan Center

Four buildings in the 100 block of East Michigan Avenue built in the 1800s in downtown Kalamazoo will maintain the look of their historical past as they are outfitted with modern amenities by Mavcon, a Kalamazoo-based developer and general contractor.

Fifteen layers of financing have come together for the $11.3 million redevelopment project.

Now known as the Metropolitan Center, the 30,000-square-foot mixed use development will feature retail on the ground level and residential apartments and suites on the second and third floors. A total of 28 residential units — one-bedroom, two-bedroom apartments and residential suites — will be available.

Construction will be LEED certified to assure sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

A host of city, state and Mavcon officials gathered in the parking lot to the rear of the development Dec. 14 to celebrate the redevelopment project. Since the ground already was broken and the event was in a paved parking lot, Mavcon decided to have a “brick-breaking” instead and offered officials ceremonial sledge hammers to break the bricks.

Mavcon’s CEO James Dally, joking about the cold and the number of people on hand for the celebration as a result of the complicated financing arrangements called the event an icebreaker. He went on to express his gratitude for the “awesome amount of talent and resources it takes to get jobs done like this. We appreciated the group lent to us to pull this together over the past three years. It’s nice to be part of a winning team.”

The properties were previously owned by Downtown Tomorrow Inc., a private non-profit body that serves as the real estate development and fundraising arm of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. Ken Nacci, president of DKI, said it took a decade for the financing of the project to come together and he offered thanks especially to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation for its support of the project and its patience over the years.

Ron McKay, from the Michigan Historic Preservation office, said he remembers when the city believed the buildings would be lost altogether, so he was pleased to be part of the state’s commitment to the success of the project.

Mavcon began actual work on the project in November. The company also was ranked No. 813 out of 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. by INC Magazine this year.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: James Dalley, Mavcon