KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo’s Arcadia Creek Festival Site needs a do-over, and city commissioners have gotten an update on plans to do just that.
Deputy City Manager Rebekah Kik says they formed a steering committee and asked stakeholders and the public what they want to see happen at the site downtown.
She says they have been holding sessions and talking about it since the beginning of the year.
She says their mission statement calls for a more family-friendly park that is less expensive and more flexible for a variety of events and a real city park that could be used year-round.
Kik says it would have two performance stages. A large one could double as a open air pavilion and would be connected to green rooms to accommodate all kinds of acts. The second would be a smaller stage on the other side of the park, in a natural amphitheater along Arcadia Creek.
The plan calls for incorporating Koopson’s Alley, which runs along the west side of the park, into the festival site, if required, to increase their options.
Kik says they would also remove the tall black railing that currently surrounds the park, and install a fencing system that could be erected when needed.
She says the new structure for green rooms, bathrooms, concessions and possibly a restaurant would act as a buffer from Kalamazoo Avenue, and upper stories could be added for other uses as well.
It would have a larger playground, a splashpad and better access to Arcadia Creek, maybe an ice-skating rink, in the winter.
Kik says they still have some final planning to do and she hopes to have a better handle on cost estimates by this fall, with possible completion in a few years.
She says they have about $4 million set aside for the project, and may need to do more money raising to get the rest.
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