KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — If you’ve spent any time in Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park, you have probably noticed all the old churches that surround it.
One church has sat vacant for years and is showing signs of disrepair.
“It’s deteriorating,” said Bill Rose, chairperson of the Children’s Nature Playscape Team. “It’s beginning to fall apart.”
Rose knows all about the old First Reformed Church on Academy Street across from Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
“Right now it starts becoming a detriment to the community, an eyesore,” he said.
First Congregational Church, where Rose is a member, owns the abandoned First Reformed Church. He’s also the retired president of the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
So, when his church was exploring ways to use the old church, he had an idea.