The owners of the former Muskegon Mall property share the frustration in the community about having a demolition site at the heart of downtown.

But members of the Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. are asking for community patience and support as the drawn-out process of recreating a downtown commercial center proceeds.

Realistically, it will take 11/2 to two years just to get the streets around Western Avenue -- Muskegon's historic "main street" -- back in place. New construction or renovation of five remaining older buildings on the 23-acre site cannot begin before the streets have been restored.

Some estimate that developing a new downtown on the old mall site may take a decade or more and require $200 million worth of private-sector investment.

"We understand that there is a frustration in the community," said Chris McGuigan, a member of the Downtown Muskegon Development and president of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County. "It takes such a long time to get this work done.

"Things are happening. People need to be patient."

The old mall site contains piles of twisted metal and old slabs of concrete that were once Muskegon Mall; some see devastation, others see great potential. The ongoing clearing of the site is great progress, McGuigan said.

"This is so much better than a closed mall sitting and being vandalized," McGuigan said. "Those piles are progress toward an empty site from which our future will rise. This is the No. 1 economic development priority of our community."

In the meantime, officials of Downtown Muskegon Development and others are trying to make the former Muskegon Mall site more pleasing.

Final demolition cleanup and recycling operations on the east side of the property should be completed in a month, owners said. The cleanup will continue with efforts to turn the current sandpits into green space, according to Jim Edmonson, president of Muskegon Area First, the economic development agency assisting on the downtown project.

Downtown Muskegon Development has been making the rounds of downtown property owners, downtown cultural institutional boards and community leaders to provide an update on redevelopment progress.

Originally, the site was to be developed by Charter Development LLC of Southfield. But that plan fell through when Charter pulled out.

The consortium of civic groups that own the mall property have decided to move the redevelopment effort forward by rebuilding the original streets removed when the mall was built in the early 1970s. They then plan to sell parcels of the site to individual developers.

Downtown Muskegon Development -- the Community Foundation, Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce and the Paul C. Johnson Foundation -- purchased the mall site from the former owner with the assistance of the city of Muskegon in 2002. Demolition started last winter

A site plan is being developed by the planning firm of Langworthy LeBlanc Inc. of Grand Rapids in conjunction with Hooker/DeJong Architects & Engineers in Muskegon.

Downtown Muskegon Development consultant Frank Bednarek said the site plan will be developed soon and decisions on zoning will be made with city officials.

The "vision" for the downtown property is contained in the community-inspired Imagine Muskegon plan, which will be the guide for the final site plan, McGuigan said.

To provide parking, McGuigan said the property owners have asked the city of Muskegon to put its 582-space parking structure on the corner of Clay Avenue and First Street into the overall mall redevelopment plan. The city currently has the closed parking structure up for sale.

The property owners have embraced the "new urbanism" approach of creating a combination of residential, office and retail developments in a city center or historic "main street" design.

"What we want to develop is Western Avenue for commercial activity," said Cindy Larsen, chamber president. "Outside of that, how much residential there will be is dependent upon the market."

Downtown Muskegon Development hopes to attract developers interested in reclaiming the five remaining buildings: Daniel's Office Supply, Federal Savings Bank, National City Bank, Comerica Bank and the Century Club.

"There is interest in the historical buildings, but it is going to be tough because they are in such bad shape," Bednarek said.

Downtown Muskegon Development is a private organization and is not releasing the names of the developers who have approached the group with ideas for portions of the property, McGuigan said. But she indicated developers have proposed affordable housing, senior housing, office, medical and retail buildings for the site.

"We are not courting that type of (subsidized housing) development," Bednarek said.

Muskegon city planners and engineers are working with Downtown Muskegon Development on a plan and financing arrangement to rebuild the streets like Western, Second, First, Jefferson and possibly Market. Bednarek said the streets, curbs, gutters and sidewalks may cost $1.2 million and the total street project could reach $3 million. Some government grants could be found the help with the cost.

The task facing the Downtown Development Corp. is understood by the ownership group. In a meeting with school board officials, Muskegon Public School Board Secretary William Ashley put it all into perspective.

"You may need $250 million to $500 million to complete the downtown and it is going to come in a timeframe of five to 15 years," Ashley told a group of downtown cultural institutional board members. "This will evolve from private entrepreneurs who will see this as a good place to invest. I think we have a tremendous future."

© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission