That's a dramatic change for the consortium of Muskegon institutions that own the city's commercial heart. When they made that decision, they dismissed the developer who won the bidding for the project in December 2002.

In pursuing this "evolving" strategy, Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. told Charter Development LLC of Southfield in late April that it would not be the only firm to redevelop the 23-acre downtown parcel, according to Muskegon Downtown Development officials.

Charter has been involved with the property owners and the city of Muskegon for more than two years, pursuing a mixed-use residential and commercial redevelopment project.

Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington said Friday the city stands ready to work with any number of developers and ideas, but is not necessarily in a hurry to refill the vast, empty space that once was Muskegon's central business district.

"The city commission wants to make sure we have the right project or projects," Warmington said. "What we want to do is make sure that what fills that space is correct for this community for years to come."

The city has designated the former mall property as a low-tax "Renaissance Zone" in the hope of attracting new investment there.

The new strategy would thrust Downtown Muskegon Development into the role of general developer of the site. The consortium of non-profit institutions will pursue a mixed-use development that is in concert with the ideas of Imagine Muskegon, a community-driven downtown design concept group.

Unlike Charter Development, Imagine Muskegon has been advocating keeping as many old downtown buildings as possible, even as many of them have disappeared over the past few months.

Terry MacAllister, the group's co-chairman, said he was "absolutely delighted" by the change of direction and the new willingness to consider its ideas.

"I've always stressed that those buildings establish the height and depth and dimensions of what our new downtown should look like," he said.

Rather than allowing an outside developer to come up with a vision for the downtown, the community must arrive at its own vision, he said, as Imagine Muskegon has tried to do.

Downtown Muskegon Development has been working on reestablishing the historic street system of the downtown. Officials want to formulate a "master plan" to present to the Muskegon planners and commissioners as well as interesting various developers to take on parts of the overall property.

MacAllister said he believes existing structures like the eight-story Comerica building are perfect for residential development.

"The residential component is absolutely critical," he said. MacAllister believes living in the new downtown "has got to be diverse, and it's got to be intense."

Downtown Muskegon Development is trying to drive a community consensus in putting mall property redevelopment and overall downtown improvement as the No. 1 economic development priority in the county.

The delay in getting the Charter agreement with Downtown Muskegon Development and getting Charter to finalize its plans so they could be submitted to the city has been a problem. Downtown Muskegon Development's Chris McGuigan said delays were caused by all three parties.

For example, the "historic" building debate caused a six-month delay in coming up with a specific master plan for the property, McGuigan said.

"It is no longer the DMDC's desire to sell the entire parcel to Charter," McGuigan told The Chronicle late last week. "We do not think (one developer) would be in the best interest in the long-term for the project nor for the community."
Officials at Charter Development were unavailable to comment on Downtown Muskegon Development's strategy change.
"Charter's work moved the process substantially ... we are very grateful for the work they've done," McGuigan said. "They are a high-quality developer."

McGuigan left open the possibility that Charter again might re-enter the development by working on a parcel or two.
"The change is that the DMDC is taking an active role in seeing that this vision happens," said Frank Bednarek, the former Muskegon County administrator who is now a consultant to Downtown Muskegon Development. "They will remain the owners of the 23 acres."

Downtown Muskegon Development is a consortium of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce and the Paul C. Johnson Foundation, which purchased the mall property with the assistance of the city of Muskegon.
The property owner has removed all of the old mall buildings except the five deemed to have some historic significance. Bednarek said the purchase of the property and demolition represents an investment to date of nearly $3 million.
A number of issues have the mall property owners thinking differently about their development strategy. Community concerns and frustration at the apparent lack of progress on redevelopment have registered with Downtown Muskegon Development officials.

"It is disappointing month after month to see nothing happen," said Ted Fricano at a recent meeting of the Downtown Muskegon Business owners Group, an advisory body to the Main Street Initiative of the Neighborhood Investment Corp. Fricano owns and operates Fricano's Pizza in Muskegon.

"The current downtown business owners and the community wonder who is moving the Imagine Muskegon ideas forward," McGuigan said. "We are going to see this vision through and rebuild our downtown. We are not going anywhere until it's done.
"It is up to us to connect with the investor groups and make our vision happen," McGuigan said.

Besides speaking with interested developers, Downtown Muskegon Development also has been in contact with several parties interested in redevelopment of the remaining five structures: The Comerica Bank tower, former National City Bank, old Savings Bank building, the Daniel's building and the old Century Club.

None of the five structures are occupied and Downtown Muskegon Development has the ability to take down the Comerica tower now. With city site plan approval as to what would replace the other four buildings, they also could be removed.
McGuigan said the Downtown Muskegon Development will pursue negotiations with interested redevelopment companies on all five structures. If no redevelopment plan can be found, the buildings would be removed, McGuigan said.
"We'll satisfy the market," McGuigan said.

Downtown Muskegon Development is in the process of hiring an urban design firm to complete the downtown master plan. McGuigan said she could not yet name the design firm.

Most critical in attracting developers is reestablishing road and utilities. West Western Avenue and all of its side streets from Third Street to Terrace were removed in the early 1970s when Muskegon Mall was built.

© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission