August 18, 2005

Muskegon Chronicle
Dave Alexander

The last time community leaders gathered for a downtown redevelopment celebration, the dignitaries cut the chains to reopen the parking lots surrounding the Muskegon Mall.

A lot has transpired since the community-based Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. gained control of the 23-acre former mall site in September 2002. Now street construction should begin next month, which will allow for initial property sales to be completed.

Since the parking lots were reopened after the mall closed, citizens developed a conceptual plan for the downtown, the mall was demolished except for five buildings and a master plan for the property was approved by the city of Muskegon.

For the past year, however, since the mall was razed, a weed patch has grown on the fill sand that once was the mall concourse -- prior to that it was West Western Avenue, the heart of the downtown commercial district.

When local officials gather Aug. 30 for a groundbreaking ceremony for redevelopment of roads and utilities for the downtown site, the event will mark the end of demolition and the beginning of building the community vision found in the conceptual plan, called Imagine Muskegon.

"The beginning of this project is a great step forward for the city of Muskegon," Mayor Steve Warmington said. "We are sure this will be a real catalyst to the rebirth of downtown Muskegon."

City officials will be joined by Michigan transportation officials, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and members of the Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. -- the consortium of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Paul C. Johnson Foundation and the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce that owns the mall site. The public is invited for the 9:30 a.m. ceremony near West Western Avenue and Third Street.

Downtown Muskegon Development officials are anxious to get road and utility work under way because it is expected to trigger the first land sales.

"I cannot overstate how exciting this is -- for the project, the downtown and the entire community," said Chris McGuigan, president of the community foundation and a Downtown Muskegon Development partner. "The commencement of a new Western Avenue is the event that triggers several land closings. As this new street grid is constructed, the framework for a new city is being created."

The only announced pending land sale is for the three buildings that were Daniels Office Plus, the Century Club and the Muskegon Savings Bank. Gary Post, president of Muskegon Construction Company, is buying those structures, but will not close on the deal until street construction begins

The community currently has secured $4.637 million from a combination of public sources to rebuild roads and utilities downtown. Hoekstra will formally announce a $2.32 million grant for downtown Muskegon road development, included in the recently approved federal transportation bill.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. already has announced a $1 million Community Development Block Grant through Muskegon County for downtown road development. The city also has secured a $700,000 urban land assembly loan from the state. The city will contribute $617,000 to the initial road and utility efforts.

The city has secured bids from four West Michigan contractors for the first phase of the road and utility work. The plans are to have Western Avenue reconstructed from Third Street to Terrace Street and all the underground utilities needed to serve the commercial district.

The Muskegon City Commission has directed staff to negotiate a final contract with the low bidder, Milbocker & Sons of Allegan. Milbocker submitted an initial bid of $2.538 million, but city commissioners directed staff to remove work on a proposed snow-melt system to lower the cost of the final contract. The construction contract is expected to be considered by the commission Tuesday.

Community leaders have wanted cutting-edge, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient features in the design for the new downtown, including a steam-powered snow-melt system under sidewalks and roads. When built into the initial construction bid, such a system was too costly for the available funding and created large operating expenses in the future, according to city officials. The snow-melt system remains on the back burner.

If Milbocker is hired, city officials said they hope that work on Western Avenue could begin by mid-September and the underground work could be completed by winter.

Actual road work would have to wait until March, said Cathy Brubaker-Clarke, director of planning and economic development for the city. The road work will include building a boulevard for West Western Avenue and a traffic circle at Western and Third that will be part of a public plaza along Third Street.