Should Michigan Reimburse Kalamazoo Businesses Impacted By Construction?

There are lots of conversations happening regarding the construction that has been happening in Kalamazoo for the last few years. There are a lot of businesses as of late that have closed or suffered from the closure of Portage Street on I 94. Although it’s common knowledge that these types of construction projects are going to have to take place eventually, many people feel that there should be some kind of reimbursement to some of the nearby establishments.

Recently on Reddit, somebody made the claim that Viva Fajita, who recently was in Mendon, allegedly told them that they would be closing on Sunday, April 30 permanently because of a lack of business. However, that claim has NOT been confirmed by the business itself.

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Is Construction Ruining Businesses?

Some people are speculating that it may be because of the construction. There have also been talks that Brewster's has also closed because of the construction. Talking to the local comic book shop owner at Rocket Comics, Eddy, he explained to me how the project is going to be finished about a year and a half after they originally said they would be done.

There is no doubt that this construction has impacted the businesses but the question is how much has it impacted them? Is there any way that you could determine? How much construction is responsible for the lack of income? If that is determined shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the state of Michigan to provide reimbursement to some of these businesses who are now stuck in a situation where their income and well-being is being affected because of construction for longer than was originally pre-determined?

Personally, I feel if the state says it’s going to be done by a certain time and they go after that time there should be some kind of reimbursement, especially if there is no convenient way to get to a business, that’s located from a certain distance off the highway. Construction is hopefully going to be finished later this summer on Portage Street, but we will have to wait and see.