MSU planning students provide a path forward for Pine Street corridor

May 18, 2023

MUSKEGON, MI (May 18, 2023) — A group of five Michigan State University urban planning students have informed, challenged and inspired the Pine Street corridor stakeholders.

 

The MSU practicum team spent the winter semester investigating, engaging and dreaming about the future of the Pine Street Business District and all of northeastern Downtown Muskegon. The students – Alex Johnson, Ahmad Behzad, Faith Vignola, Shuangshuang Fu and Rashane Thapa – from the MSU Urban and Regional Planning Department worked with the Muskegon Planning Department to produce a nearly 200-page improvement plan for the Pine Street Business District.

The plan, presented to MSU professors and the Pine Street stakeholders in recent meetings, provides a community profile, market analysis, description of current conditions and three main challenges with a host of recommended solutions.

The improvement plan addresses upgrading the physical streetscape, improving building facades and creating infill buildings on three critical properties in the district.

“The goal of the project is to transform the Pine Street corridor into an equitable, sustainable business district with vibrant public spaces, which will provide an excellent platform for existing business to flourish as well as brand the area as a ‘hotspot’ for future investment,” the students wrote in their study’s mission statement.

The students’ work – such as the suggested design of three multi-purpose buildings – surprised and challenged district property and business owners and impressed Muskegon city planners.

“This study exceeds any expectations of a college team as this work is in the realm of a professionally produced plan,” said Muskegon Planning Director Mike Franzak. “The team worked well with our staff’s knowledge and vision for the future of Pine Street and Downtown Muskegon.”

Muskegon Planner Jamie Pesch said that the MSU plan comes at an opportune time for the city and Pine Street.

“We have many good things in place right now to make these recommendations a reality,” Pesch said of the city’s form-based zoning code, streetscape design criteria and an active and funded Downtown Development Authority. “We are well positioned to deliver. It’s a matter of will.”

The MSU study team – one of six assisting communities across the state on local planning needs – has proposed innovative in-fill buildings in three locations in the Pine Street corridor:

• Site A is the northeast corner of Pine and Apple Avenue. On a vacant parcel, the team suggests a six-story, mixed-use building with commercial-retail on the first floor and one- and two-bedroom apartments or condos on the upper floors. Along with façade improvements to the existing building, such a significant structure would be the southern anchor to the Pine Street Business District.
• Site B is a city-owned vacant lot on the northeast corner of Pine and Walton Avenue. The students propose a four-story “signature” building in the heart of the district with colors and materials giving honor to Muskegon’s Lumbering Era. A mall-style ground floor would have retail and food service, a second floor of complementary entertainment food and beverage, a third-floor business incubator and finally offices on the top floor which could include the home of a new Pine Street business association.
• Site C is a privately-owned vacant lot at the southwest corner of Webster Avenue and Spring Street. A northern gateway property for the Pine Street District and all of Downtown Muskegon, the team finally shows plans for a five-story, mixed-use building with commercial on the first level and residential units above that would be a tribute to the former location of the John Wesley AME Zion Church – a pillar of the Black community. The building would feature an exterior with African geometric designs and colors as it could be home to a bookstore/library featuring African American materials.

 

Other MSU study team recommendations are for an Improved streetscape with better lighting, street furniture and green landscaping along with upgraded, complementary facades of existing buildings. A pathway to create a private Pine Street business association also has been outlined, a group that could represent interests of the entire downtown.

The Pine Street Improvement Plan can be found on the city’s website at Pine Street Improvement Plan – City of Muskegon (muskegon-mi.gov). Included is a dramatic video showing how the recommendations would transform the district in the future.

 

Student Photo: From left, Alex Johnson, Faith Vignola, Rashane Thapa, Ahmad Behzad, and Shuangshuang Fu.

 

For more information, contact:

Community Engagement Manager, Deborah Sweet
[email protected]
231-225-6797