Recently, West Michigan has been seeing a rise in a certain type of development. The development type in question is mixed-use development. Mixed-use developments are real estate developments that include multiple use types. An example is a real estate project that includes both commercial and residential space.
Kalamazoo is one of the cities in the region that has been seeing a fair amount of mixed-used development projects in recent times. One wonders what specific factors are behind the growth of the popularity of this type of development in midsize cities in West Michigan and how long this popularity growth will continue.
As is the case with any sort of real estate development, there are many important issues for developers to address when undertaking a mixed-use development project. The fact that such projects involve multiple uses means some rather unique zoning and regulatory issues can arise in relation to such projects. Properly squaring away such issues can be vital to a development project going smoothly.
Financing can also be a major issue. One thing that can be a significant factor when it comes to the financing of these types of projects is state government incentives. The state will sometimes offer incentives, such as tax incentives, to developers for projects to develop older properties into a new mixed-use space.
Given the many issues that can come up and the important nature of such issues, developers involved in a mixed-use development project may find value in having the guidance and advice of an attorney with experience in commercial real estate matters.
Source: MiBiz, "Mixed-use development spreads to midsize West Michigan cities," Nick Manes, Aug. 17, 2014