KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The City of Kalamazoo is launching the Design It! phase of Imagine Kalamazoo 2035, with city officials saying it marks a key step in transforming the community’s shared vision for the future into concrete plans and strategies.
Design It! builds directly on a year of community engagement through the Imagine It! and Plan It! phases, during which thousands of voices shared ideas, priorities, and hopes for Kalamazoo’s future. That input is currently being compiled into a Draft Strategic Vision, which outlines what the community has said it wants Kalamazoo to become.
They say the Strategic Vision will be shared for community review and presented to City Commission in early 2026.
While the Strategic Vision defines the destination, Design It! focuses on the journey.
“The Design It! phase is where vision becomes action,” said City Commissioner Alonzo Wilson. “This is our opportunity to work side-by-side with residents to identify the real, practical steps needed to bring the community’s vision to life. This phase is especially important for anyone who wants to help shape how that vision is carried out in neighborhoods across Kalamazoo.”
Design It! will feature more than a dozen open house-style neighborhood meetings held in neighborhoods across the city from mid-January through early March. Conversations will focus on how priorities like housing, streets, parks, transportation, businesses, and neighborhood spaces can translate into strategies and design concepts that will inform the City’s Master Plan.
Design It! Meeting Schedule:
Edison
Friday, January 16, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Washington Writers Academy (Cafeteria), 1919 Portage Street
Burke Acres
Tuesday, January 20, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
New Life Fellowship Church, 1912 Birch Avenue
Westnedge, South Westnedge, & Southside
Wednesday, January 28, 6–8 p.m.
Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, Purple & Blue Rooms, 601 W Maple Street
Oakland Drive/Winchell
Friday, January 30, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Winchell Elementary School (Gym), 2316 Winchell Avenue
Vine
Wednesday, February 4, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Community Education Center/Chenery Auditorium, Reception Room
(use Dutton Street entrance), 714 S Westnedge Avenue
Stuart & Douglas
Thursday, February 5, 6–8 p.m.
Woodward School (Gym/Cafeteria), 606 Stuart Avenue
Milwood
Tuesday, February 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Milwood Magnet Middle School (Cafeteria), 2916 Konkle Street
Arcadia & Westwood
Wednesday, February 11, 7–8:30 p.m.
Arcadia Elementary (Cafeteria), 932 Boswell Lane
Oakwood
Thursday, February 19, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Community of Christ, 2523 Amherst Avenue
Parkview Hills, Colony Farms, & Hill n Brook
Wednesday, February 25, 5–7 p.m.
Parkview Hills Clubhouse, 3707 Greenleaf Circle
Northside
Thursday, February 26, 6–8 p.m.
Northside Association for Community Development, 612 N Park Street
West Main Hill
Wednesday, March 4, 7–9 p.m.
Hicks Center, Banquet Room, 1200 Academy Street
Eastside
Details will be announced soon
Additional meetings for other neighborhoods are still being scheduled. A large citywide downtown event will also be held at the conclusion of the Design It! phase later this spring.
More information about Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 and upcoming Design It! events is available at kalamazoocity.org/IK2035.
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