Sewer to Babbling Brook: $38 Million

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The city that gave America the downtown pedestrian mall unveiled a $38-million plan Thursday to turn a subterranean storm sewer into a babbling brook lined with lush gardens, shops and town houses.

The Arcadia Creek Project, which could take a decade to complete and change the face of this southwestern Michigan city, is aimed at turning a stagnant section of downtown into an urban showplace.

“It could be the major catalyst for downtown revitalization,” said James Visser, executive director of the Kalamazoo Downtown Development Authority.

Backers equated the project with the city’s decision in the 1950s to turn a downtown avenue into a pedestrian mall, an idea adopted by scores of cities.

Visser and various civic leaders unveiled final design and engineering plans at a news conference. They said the next step would be to secure the $38 million needed to complete the project. Visser said construction could begin in 1988 if financing is nailed down this year.

The project initially was planned as a relatively modest flood-control project aimed at opening an underground, concrete-lined creek coursing beneath buildings and streets in the largely decaying northern section of downtown.