August 28, 2003
The Muskegon Chronicle
By Dave LeMieux

Muskegon Heights community leaders were looking with optimism toward the future Wednesday.

At a special joint session, the Muskegon Heights Downtown Development Authority showed the city council with a pair of projects which could radically revitalize the city. At the same time, a time capsule was buried to mark the city's centennial.

A Grand Rapids developer said he is ready to go with a multimillion-dollar shopping center at Sixth Street and Broadway Avenue. A Detroit architect showed detailed plans for an $8.1 million restoration of the Strand Theatre on Broadway.

However, there are no dollars or theater developers in place to do the Strand project.

These are the steps we need to take to move into the next millennium and take our place in Muskegon County, said DDA Chairman David Glover. Both projects could qualify for tax breaks.

Outside city hall, retiring Department of Public Works director Willie Watson finished up the city's centennial celebration by patting the dirt over the time capsule the city council had just buried beneath the city hall lawn.

Ed Francis of the Detroit architectural firm Kessler, Francis, Cardoza showed the council a study that included an $8.1-million restoration and redevelopment plan for the historic Strand building.

The Centennial Plaza project is planned for a site in the city's Renaissance Zone and could qualify for tax breaks under the federal government's Brownfield redevelopment program.

The two sites are within a few blocks of one another on Broadway and fit nicely into City Manager Melvin C. Burns II's vision for the city.

Burns hopes to have a downtown where someone living nearby could attend a performance at the Strand, then walk a few blocks to a restaurant, window-shopping along the way.

The Strand project would encompass the existing retail and residential portions of the building and include the only arena style theater in the state, Burns said.

The layout has proven popular with performers and audiences at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ont., said local theater consultant Tom Harryman. Harryman was involved in Muskegon's restoration of the Frauenthal Theater.

The DDA used a Community Foundation for Muskegon County grant to pay for the Strand study. Francis' company will now begin putting together blueprints for the projects while the city seeks a developer interested in the project.

Councilman Darrell Paige gave voice to the council's enthusiastic response to the project when he answered the roll call vote to approve the project with, most definitely!

The Centennial Plaza project's developer say he is much closer to becoming a reality, although no site plan has yet been submitted for review by the city planning commission.

That didn't slow the enthusiasm being expressed by some.

We're ready to go, said a delighted DDA Executive Director Franklin Fudail. Once the sale of the land is approved at our next meeting and (Centennial Plaza LLC) signs a lease, construction can begin.

Of course, first will have to come site plan approval by city officials.

Ojo and DDA officials would only say it was a multimillion-dollar project. He presented an artist's conception of the shopping plaza but few other details.

Burns says the plaza's location will draw customers from the inner city corridor which extends from downtown Muskegon Heights into Muskegon.

Ojo says the new county transit center nearby on Sixth will make the plaza easy to reach by public transportation.

© 2003 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission