Vicksburg Village Marketplace Vicksburg, Michigan

The Vicksburg Village Marketplace Project was innovative because of its reuse and redevelopment of a brownfield site which existed within their community into a viable, aesthetically pleasing, job producing entity.  In addition, the innovative planning efforts and approach involved a public/private partnership between State agencies, local government, local community foundation, Building Authority, private developer, and retail businesses.  The basis of the plan was a partnership between State agencies, local government, local community foundation, the Building Authority, private developer, and retail businesses.  the project converted a contaminated industrial site to 28,000 square feet of retail space that includes a large restaurant/banquet facility, a small fast food restaurant, fitness center, bank, optometrist, laundry/dry cleaners and video/tanning facility, as well as a farmers market pavilion and public park like space for such uses as vegetable produce sales, festivals and concerts.  The Vicksburg Village Marketplace project is also Southwest Michigan's first brownfield site reclaimed under the Michigan Site Reclamation Grant Program.

The Vicksburg Village Marketplace is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Prairie Street and Kalamazoo Street within the Village of Vicksburg.  Vicksburg is located approximately 14 miles southeast of the City of Kalamazoo, and is now a rapidly growing suburb.  Redevelopment in Vicksburg began in 1970 when a group of young citizens decided to improve the area.  Out of that initial effort grew a strong interest within the community regarding the welfare of the downtown.  The Village had not changed much since 1900 and was in need of improvements, but not necessarily a change of style.  One neglected area of the Village was the East entryway to the downtown at the intersection of Kalamazoo and Prairie Streets.  This eyesore comprised old industrial buildings, metal shelters and a brownfield contaminated site of four acres.

The redevelopment of the brownfield site would be an enormous task for the small Village of Vicksburg to accomplish.  An innovative style of planning was implemented that would bring together divergent resources in an organized functional manner and the the project to fruition.  The development and planning for the Vicksburg Village Marketplace were unique in that they involved a partnership of public and private ownership.  The land and infrastructure are owned by the Village and the building is owned and operated by a private developer.  This was accomplished by the Vicksburg community forming a Building Authority to acquire the six parcels of property that the brownfield site encompassed and spearhead the redevelopment effort.  The Building Authority then acquired short-term financing from a local bank under Michigan Act 99.  The community then applied for and received three grants: a Site Reclamation Grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, a Community Development Block Grant for the Michigan Jobs Commission, and a grant from a local community based foundation.  With this funding package in hand, the Building Authority solicited proposals from private developers to construct, lease and own the 28,000 square feet building which would be the private portion of the project.

Because the development was located in a contaminated site, monitoring wells were installed and groundwater flow and hydraulic conductivity were calculated.  A soil vapor extraction system was designed and installed as well as the removal of contaminated soils.  This plan which was developed was bold and ignited the imagination of the community and became a shared vision.  The developer worked with the Village in designing the building facades so as to match the 1800's style of architecture the surrounding buildings reflected.  The site plan laid out the building in an "L" shaped fashion fronting the streets and located the parking behind the structure.  An arcade bisecting the building at a 45 degree angle provides pedestrian access as well as a visual linkage from the parking area of the development to the rest of the Central Business District.  Three public courtyards as well as a large covered shelter (farmers market) were incorporated within the plan so as to provide the community with a festival/gathering place as well as an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere that replicated the Victorian design theme that had been established throughout the community in other redevelopment efforts.
 

This information is provided courtesy of Mr. Karl Freed, Gove Associates and Mr Don Flanders, Village of Vicksburg Village Manager.