KALAMAZOO, MI - A crowdfunding effort is underway to help re-make Bates Alley in downtown Kalamazoo into a more usable space for business and the public.

The effort is to convert the one-block street from what has been described as a "little-known, underinvested" alley into "a vibrant, activated public space for outdoor dining, events and connecting with friends and neighbors," according to Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.

Bates Alley is a narrow and generally east-west street that runs from Portage Street to Edwards Street, behind businesses that have entrances on East Michigan Avenue.

Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., nearby businesses and others are working with the city of Kalamazoo to use the state's crowdfunding tool/collaborative to raise $50,000 that the Michigan Economic Development Corp. is expected to match through its Public Spaces Community Places grant program.

That program partners with Patronicity, a civic crowdfunding and grant-funding platform, to help communities, nonprofits and other business entities fund certain projects.

If successful, it will provide the project with $100,000 necessary for the conversion. DKI President Andrew Haan said the project is also being supported by contributions from nearby businesses, property owners, the Jim Gilmore Jr. Foundation and in-kind contributions from the city of Kalamazoo. He estimated that the value of those contributions will be nearly $100,000.

The conversion work includes such things as: Repairing and repaving the street; installing overhead bistro signs; replacing parking lot fencing with ornamental trees and landscaping; installing lighting along the cornices of buildings; installing removable bollards at either end of the street to limit vehicular access; and installing bicycle racks, waste receptacles and other streetscape items.

"We see it as a public improvement that will benefit the business in that area and provide an engaging public space for events, dining and other activities," Haan said.

In a press release, Katharine Czarnecki, senior vice president of community development for the MEDC, said, "Public Spaces Community Places is a place-making initiative and Bates Alley exemplifies good place-making. We are pleased to provide resources for and serve as a partner in this effort."

Clarence Lloyd, president of the Downtown Kalamazoo Retail and Restaurant Association, said he connected with the project because "there's so much possibility in the space and it's been underutilized for so long."

He said making Bates Alley a better-lighted and better-used area will help businesses on East Michigan Avenue, and act a link between two sections of the downtown.

"The entertainment district is right there and you kind of want to make things more walkable (and) accessible, connecting these two parts of the downtown - the whole east side of the downtown ... with the core of the downtown," he said.

Haan agreed that the project, as conceived, "will stitch together the traditional downtown core of the mall with the growing east end of downtown."

Lloyd said the project will "convert this alley into a pedestrian-only pathway. It's also going to allow some of the restaurants that are currently here to create an outdoor patio space for dining and other events."

The crowdfunding effort was launched late last week and through midday Thursday, Oct. 5, had $11,075 in contributions.

Lloyd, who is also manager of the Consumers Credit Union location at 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, is among a supporters of the project who appear in a two-minute video on the crowdfunding site.

In the video, Alex Mantakounis, owner of Tempo Vino Winery at 260 E. Michigan Ave., and A.J. Danias, manager of Fuze Kitchen & Bar at 214 E. Michigan Ave., said they would like to have outdoor seating.

Mantakounis said he is frequently asked if his business has outdoor seating. He said, "Right now we don't."

The conversion would change the face of downtown, Marie Blinn, owner of Old Peninsula Brew Pub, says in the video. And it will bring more people to the area "and that's something that is lacking."

Information about the crowdfunding effort can be accessed at:

With matched funding from MEDC of up to $50,000 per project, the Public Spaces Community Places initiative has provided more than $4.1 million in matching grants for community improvement projects sine it was started in 2014, according to the state.