MUSKEGON, MI - A smokestack will still stand when demolition of historic sections of the former Shaw Walker furniture factory wrap up this month.
The once-1-million-square-foot building on Division Street and West Western Avenue downtown Muskegon has been reduced bit-by-bit since summer 2017.
For now, the smokestack rising out the development, now deemed the Watermark Center, will remain.
"At this time, we kept the smokestack in hopes of incorporating it in to our overall design," said Watermark President Sarah Sass. "Considering it's quite a focal point of the project we are taking our time working through ideas on what is feasible and how we can fit it in the context of the finished development."
Exterior demolition will be complete in about a week, she said on Thursday, April 19. About 400,000 square feet will have been demolished, and more than 609,000 square feet will stand.
Demolition began over the summer when a portion that faced Division was reduced to rubble. In November, a section facing Western and Division began to come down.
The demolished sections were the oldest portions of the building, and were not structurally sound, Sass said previously.
The Watermark consists of multiple additions, and the portions being removed are either not necessary, unable to be saved or don't fit with the plan, Sass said in August.
Plans for the next phase are in development with architectural firm Concept Design Studios, Sass added.
The company outlined its plans for the property in early 2017, costing at least $30 million in private investment, for the remaining complex, which include:
- Laser tag, a restaurant with bakery, a bowling alley and a bar with an open two-story ceiling on the first floor that measures nearly 58,000 square feet.
- Laser tag, mountain biking and go-kart tracks on the nearly 58,000-square-foot second floor.
- Mountain biking and large spaces for yet-to-be announced commercial and retail tenants on the 59,600-square-foot third floor.
- Mountain biking, concert venue and trampoline park on the fourth floor that would feature two-story ceilings. That floor also is about 59,600 square feet.
- A canopied venue with prep area and large L-shaped roof deck on the roof.
An agreement with the city of Muskegon in January 2017 gave the building's owner, P&G Holdings of New York, two years to develop the sprawling building into apartments and an entertainment complex.
The Watermark Center is already home to the Watermark 920 event center, Watermark Lofts and The Coffee Factory.