KALAMAZOO — One of the busiest sections of Western Michigan University campus is about to get a makeover.

Along with the new Sangren Hall, the entire east-to-west strip of campus south of the building — stretching from the Computer Center and the campus flagpoles to the Administration Building — will be transformed from asphalt to green space by fall.



“It's a heavily traveled area that could be a signature piece for our students, families and the people who visit our campus and it's important our campus looks good and has a nice feel," WMU President John M. Dunn said. "It enhances the visits and it enhances how students feel about their university."

Dunn said the additional green space to be created through the West Michigan Avenue Pedestrian Mall also aligns with the university's commitment to sustainability.

The asphalt part of West Michigan Avenue between McCracken Hall, Kanley Chapel and Sangren Hall will soon be replaced with wide walkways, a three-tier fountain with granite outcroppings and landscaping.

“This university has and will continue to plan to move vehicles to the edges of campus and people to the center. Vehicles and people don't mix,” said WMU Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Peter Strazdas. “It's an area where students interact and I think they interact better in a green space rather than an asphalt space.”

The blueprints for the pedestrian mall include wide walkways parallel to the new Sangren Hall, with a large "flexible lawn area" separating the two sidewalks. Salvaged granite pavers will be used to connect the sidewalks and inside a water feature, which is meant to feel like a flowing creek. A turn-around loop will be paved to redirect traffic instead of the current dead-end that currently ends the roadway.

“I can see Frisbees, blankets and many students sitting there with their laptops on the grass and it will have an internet connection,” Strazdas said. “I can see a professor taking a class out there. I can see students gathering around the water feature. You'll hear the water cascading down the different elevations.”

Strazdas said the estimated cost of the architecture, engineering and construction is about $1.25 million, to be paid by the university as part of the Sangren Hall project. The entire Sangren Hall redevelopment is a $69 million project, with about $30 million coming from State of Michigan capital funding.

Strazdas, who is also the mayor of Portage, said the university acquired the granite in the demolition of the former Upjohn Company headquarters in Portage. He said the university received the granite at no cost, other than paying to transport it.

WMU hired architectural firm Hamilton Anderson Associates to design the space and Miller-Davis Company to construct it.

Coming to fruition

The West Michigan Avenue Pedestrian Mall will bring a 42-year-old goal for WMU to fruition, according to Archives & Regional History Collections Director Sharon Carlson.



West Michigan Avenue was a major road dividing a growing part of the university until 1973 when the university closed the road and rerouted traffic by opening the Howard Street extension.



Carlson said the university was experiencing booming enrollment numbers, with more than 13,700 students attending WMU, and was trying to expand in the early 1970s. The university began developing campus where the road was blocked and eventually created rows of parking spaces.

“It's interesting, because making a pedestrian mall was part of the 1970 master plan. They called it the West Michigan Center Mall," Carlson said. "For years (after they adding parking spaces) you could tell it was the street they turned into a parking lot. It was the same surfacing.”

She said the death of June Lawson in an car accident on West Michigan in October 1964 sparked public dissent for a road being in the center of campus.

Officials said less vehicular traffic on campus would become a priority as they continued developing the university.

'Major cone zone'



Strazdas said another fence will be erected around the future mall site this summer as construction begins.

"That's when the campus will be a major cone zone," he said.



The bulk of the work will take place between May and June and the final phase should be completed by August, according to Strazdas.

Watch the video below to hear a brief history of how W. Michigan Avenue has evolved at WMU from Archives Director Sharon Carlson.

Contact Ursula Zerilli at uzerilli@mlive.com or 269-388-8412. Follow her on twitter.