About Stuart

A Beautiful Place to Live, Work, & Make Friends

Get to know our Board members and what they do for the neighborhood

Our History

In 1973, The Stuart Historic Neighborhood Association (also known as The Stuart Area Restoration Association), was officially formed, although functioning informally for years prior, by residents aiming to preserve the unique heritage of their neighborhood.

Today, the association is a registered nonprofit organization. It's still run by resident volunteers who act as a resource for information and connectivity among the people who live here.

Our Mission

We work to preserve our historic neighborhood and improve the quality of residential life through mutual cooperation and involvement.

What We Do

We connect residents to resources and each other and work to make Stuart a safer, more beautiful place to live. Key activities include:

Organizing social gatherings and charitable events
Advocating for the neighborhood in local government
Offering accessible online resources and news
Publishing neighborhood e-newsletters
Performing periodic surveys to help us better know and serve our neighbors
Keeping public safety officials apprised of issues and priorities in the neighborhood

Meet Our Board

Gary Wark

Chair

Gary has been a long time resident and landlord in the neighborhood for 20+ years. He proudly raised three children at 428 Stuart Avenue, Alexandra, Gabrielle, and Sam. Making connections and building relationships with all the residents of Stuart through annual events, special gatherings, and social media is very important to Gary. In 2020, the Board unanimously voted Gary to be the Chair of Stuart for his leadership, professional experiences, and loyalty to the neighborhood. Gary has served on both the City of Kalamazoo’s Housing Board of Appeals and the Dangerous Buildings Board. He continuously makes new and maintains lasting connections within the City of Kalamazoo with the hope to collaborate and work productively with them to bring positive changes to the neighborhood. As the Chair of Stuart, his main goal is to partner with City of Kalamazoo and create a neighborhood plan to resurface our streets and sidewalks, replace our street lights with historic LED light poles and calm traffic. He also has goals to build and rebrand the neighborhood to emphasis the richness of our historic homes as well as the historic Woodward School. Gary believes Kalamazoo is one of the best cities in the State of Michigan and he is dedicated and committed to work hand-in-hand with the City of Kalamazoo, the Stuart Board, and our residents to make the Stuart Historic Neighborhood one of the best Historic Neighborhoods in the State.

William Gesler was elected to the Board of Directors in 2024.

William Gesler

Megan has lived in Stuart with her family since 2022. She is new to the neighborhood but by far not new to Kalamazoo! Megan grew up in Kalamazoo, graduated from Kalamazoo College (actually lived in a rental in Stuart her senior year), and after living in Chicago for 22 years has happily returned. Megan joined the Board to be a part of building a friendly, family-oriented neighborhood and developing a partnership with the City of Kalamazoo to make long lasting improvements to the neighborhood. Megan manages the neighborhood's website and social media accounts.

Megan Faurot Campanile

Vice Chair

David Engerer

Member

Dave has lived in Stuart for four years and joined the Board to help bring Stuart back to her former glory. The Board is proud to have Dave as a member for many reasons but, in particular, for his passion and action for historical preservation. In 2022, Dave and his wife, Emma, received the prestigious Historic Preservation Award of Merit presented by the Kalamazoo Historical Preservation Commission for their property at 821 W. Kalamazoo Avenue. In addition to managing his Stuart properties and restoring historical buildings, Dave is a professional skateboarder and snowskater. as well as, involved in skateboarding ministry,

Secretary

Marty has lived in Stuart for 42 years! She moved here to supervise a group home of 12 mentally ill young men on the corner of Kalamazoo and Douglas Ave for a total of 14 years and continues to this day to work in the mental health field. In 1993, Marty bought her duplex on Kalamazoo Ave from the Casteel Family, who at the time owned the Stuart Avenue Inn. Marty joined the Board to help revive and bring the neighborhood back to its glory and what it used to be like when she first moved here in 1980. Marty's loyalty and experience living in Stuart is invaluable to our Board.