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Asylum Lake is a controversial property in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Deeded to Western Michigan University for natural sciences research to remain as open space land, WMU has chosen instead to develop portions of this land into an industrial park, much to the dismay and horror of the area's citizens. This website serves to summarize the concerns and history surrounding the what used to be largest tract of open space land left in Kalamazoo County. Asylum Lake is a beloved treasure of Kalamazoo's populace. Its development has the focus of political contention for over a decade. It is a long and arduous history, fraught with environmentalist's concerns for the threatened and endangered species present on this property, neighbor's concerns about industrial encroachment to their homes, and intimidation of student organizations, academic departments and campus newspaper columnists - to name a few issues. Many of the key figures have changed over the years, and persistence has brought about appreciated shifts in the university's perspectives and goals for the Asylum Lake territories. Discussion about the proposed industrial development spawned many new and innovative ideas about urban revitaliation and WMU's potential role in assisting the community. Portions of these ideas have met with success. There have been lengths of time when it seemed WMU would back off and let the Asylum Lake properties continue naturally. However, they started construction and have completed some buildings already. Although it might seem like WMU has ignored the concerns of thousands of Kalamazoo voters and there's nothing left to do, in reality the struggle is on-going.. There are citizens who have dedicated much of the last ten years to preserving this valuable natural resource. The most recent proposal is to change the Asylum Lake parcel from "preserve" to "park" status, with increased accessibility, more paved surfaces in the form of parking lots and walkways, and increased pedestrian traffic. |
Asylum Lake Located in Kalamazoo County, Michigan |
Asylum Lake Kalamazoo County, MI |
Asylum Lake is a controversial property in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Deeded to Western Michigan University for natural sciences research to remain as open space land, WMU has chosen instead to develop portions of this land into an industrial park, much to the dismay and horror of the area's citizens. This website serves to summarize the concerns and history surrounding the what used to be largest tract of open space land left in Kalamazoo County. Asylum Lake is a beloved treasure of Kalamazoo's populace. Its development has the focus of political contention for over a decade. It is a long and arduous history, fraught with environmentalist's concerns for the threatened and endangered species present on this property, neighbor's concerns about industrial encroachment to their homes, and intimidation of student organizations, academic departments and campus newspaper columnists - to name a few issues. Many of the key figures have changed over the years, and persistence has brought about appreciated shifts in the university's perspectives and goals for the Asylum Lake territories. Discussion about the proposed industrial development spawned many new and innovative ideas about urban revitaliation and WMU's potential role in assisting the community. Portions of these ideas have met with success. There have been lengths of time when it seemed WMU would back off and let the Asylum Lake properties continue naturally. However, they started construction and have completed some buildings already. Although it might seem like WMU has ignored the concerns of thousands of Kalamazoo voters and there's nothing left to do, in reality the struggle is on-going.. There are citizens who have dedicated much of the last ten years to preserving this valuable natural resource. The most recent proposal is to change the Asylum Lake parcel from "preserve" to "park" status, with increased accessibility, more paved surfaces in the form of parking lots and walkways, and increased pedestrian traffic. |
This page was last updated on:
October 14, 2008
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