Kalamazoo Leverages Historic Preservation As Economic Development Tool

"If Sharon Ferraro could persuade her husband, they'd live above one of the businesses on Michigan Avenue between Portage and Pitcher Streets.

"It's like stepping back into 1910," she said, mentioning Kalamazoo has more than 2,000 historically designated buildings. Most are residential, but there are historic commercial buildings, too, and that section of Michigan Avenue is thick with them.

Because so many downtown Kalamazoo businesses are open nights and weekends, the area is lively, she added.

"I've been in other cities where the minute the business day is over, people are gone," Ferraro said. "Here, downtown is always moving. I see this mix of people of all ages and economic levels. We're not perfect, but it's lively down there."

Kalamazoo's historic preservation director thanked a series of coincidences for making that possible, and for making historic preservation a tool for Kalamazoo's economic development.

"If you look at the businesses unique to Kalamazoo, they all started in historic buildings," Ferraro said. "They didn't have tons of money to move into brand-new buildings. They took old buildings, fixed them up and grew into the unique businesses they are today."

In addition to lower initial rents, well-maintained old buildings create a sense of community stability and character."