Downtown Developments

Downtown Kalamazoo: The Outdoor Experience

Downtown is more than a place. Downtown is an experience. And that experience is spilling outside. 

In mid-late June, our team distributed a Back to Business Downtown Visitor survey to downtown visitors to assess customer comfortability as businesses begin to reopen and adopt new practices and operations in response to COVID-19.

We heard the community loud and clear: outdoors is where most are comfortable right now amid the pandemic.
 
This is why we are thrilled to announce that our team has worked with the City of Kalamazoo to allow downtown businesses the opportunity to use both the sidewalk, and in most locations, the on-street parking in front of their business to conduct dining, retail sales, or services in that space.

You can now shop, dine, and patronize many downtown businesses in a socially-distant, outdoor format!

If you are a downtown business, you can view details on the process to use public space here.

COVID-19 Downtown Business Impact Assessment

In addition to conducting a downtown visitor survey, our team distributed a COVID-19 Downtown Business Impact Assessment survey in mid-late May to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the downtown economy.

The results from this survey were used to identify how the Partnership can advocate on behalf of downtown businesses, and inform our initiatives and services to support downtown businesses going forward.