Project Description

Walnut & Park Diner at Washington Square

Adaptive Reuse

Location:  Kalamazoo, Michigan

Floor Area:  3,500 SF

Completed:  2022

KPEP is an innovative community corrections provider based in Kalamazoo. After the success of a coffee shop KPEP opened a few years ago as a location for a culinary arts training program, the organization decided to expand the program to include a full-service restaurant in the form of a contemporary diner.

The building selected for the diner is a single story circa 1940 storefront building located in a neighborhood commercial district close to downtown Kalamazoo. Due to the building’s severe deterioration and extensive modifications over the years, both the interior and exterior of the existing building received a total overhaul, including new glazing, new exterior cladding, and a new interior build-out including a large commercial training kitchen.