It was a year for investment in downtown Allegan and while it’s mostly a work in progress, the momentum is building and leaving many in anticipation of a renaissance.
While Lumberman Lofts is on the verge of completely renovating the former J.C. Penney Store, they’ve also purchased a building next door for commercial space and apartments as well as the Something Sweet candy store building across the street. The beloved candy shop will stay while Lumberman Lofts renovates the upstairs to add apartments there too.
The Sassy Olive store outgrew its location on Locust Street, moving into a much larger building down the street where the former Springgrove Variety closed. It was sad to see the old five-and-dime go, but Sassy Olive is bringing another generation downtown.
Schaendorf’s opened where the Redtail 412 departed and continues redevelopment as well as 136 Brady St. JML Real Estate has purchased the building next door known as the flat iron building, which has a triangular front at the southeast corner of Hubbard and Brady.
But that’s not all Jim and Michelle Liggett (JML) have purchased. Among the real estate along the riverfront is 137 Brady (the former Montage Market) and 145 and 149 Brady (the buildings between the new Hartman Ellis Agency and Matt Flora’s Hair Studio).
JML has also purchased 213 and 217 Hubbard to the west of the riverfront walkway and 245 Hubbard to the east of the riverfront driveway. These buildings all hug the riverfront where the Liggett’s zipline is established and Allegan Event will be tied into. We’ve caught a glimpse of a conceptual drawing for the former Montage Market to be a restaurant-style building with a wraparound deck for outdoor seating and anticipate more plans in the future.
The Allegan County News office has had a front row seat to the final riverfront construction phase—watching the new splash pad, outdoor fireplace and a plaza area installed towards the end of the year. While it will be the place to be on New Year’s Eve, when warm weather returns, the riverfront will be better than ever.
While this is all something to look forward to in 2019, my favorite stories of the year were ones capped with happy endings.
For the full Year in Review, pick up a copy of the Dec. 27, 2018, issue of The Allegan County News or subscribe to the e-edition—which is currently only $15 per year! The Year in Review will conclude in our Jan. 3, 2019, issue.