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