A culinary school, urban farms, spaces for artists, retailers and entertainers could be neighborhood spinoffs of an event center planned for downtown Kalamazoo, reports the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Kalamazoo County Commissioners must decide whether to proceed with the project by asking voters whether they can agree to a 1 percent tax on food and drink at restaurants and bars, and an increase in the hotel tax from 5 to 6 percent to fund construction of a 6,800-seat, $81 million arena. The county has until May 25 to make a decision on whether to place the question on the August ballot.
Commissioners began weighing their options after a committee recommended proceeding with the event center.
Excerpt: The proposed downtown Kalamazoo arena is feasible because of conservative cost estimates, said Bob Beam, the retired vice president of business and finance at Western Michigan University.
The committee took a conservative approach, estimating the restaurant tax would generate about $4 million a year initially and grow by 1.75 percent a year, Beam said.
"We think we have been careful in our revenue estimates," he said.
To find out more, read
the whole story on the downtown arena proposal.
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
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