EAS Neighborhood

Eastside Neighborhood of Kalamazoo

The Eastwood Branch is in the Eastside Neighborhood and is located ½ block off of East Main down the street from Harding’s Grocery Store and the Kalamazoo Chapter Township Fire Station. This is located on the east side of Kalamazoo and is bordered by the Kalamazoo River to the west and the Kalamazoo County border to the east. It is surrounded by Comstock Township, Richland Township and the city of Parchment. According to the 2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Eastside has a population of approximately 2,953 with a median income of $29,000.

The Eastside neighborhood is served by the Kalamazoo Eastside Neighborhood Association (KENA), led by Executive Director, Pat Taylor. According to KENA’s website, the mission of KENA is to “To improve and enhance the physical, social and economic environment of the Eastside section of the City of Kalamazoo, Michigan to the ends that the community may have a more pleasant, attractive, safe and convenient place to live and work; And that the City of Kalamazoo will prosper by having a first-rate community in its Eastside”. Over the last eight years Eastside Youth Strong, under the direction of Sam Lealofi, has been offering Eastside youth a variety of programs to increase their academic and social-emotional skills using high-quality, time and research-proven curricula and assessments.

Other Eastside youth groups are Boys & Girls Club at Northeastern Elementary, Peace House, Open Roads Bike Program and the Kalamazoo Center for Youth & Community. There are three Eastside parks, Sherwood, Rockwell and Wilson. And of course, the Eastside is home to the first legal tiny house in Kalamazoo County. There are many Eastside projects in the works. Check out the Eastside Neighborhood Feature and new Eastside Gateway and Pocket Park on Imagine Kalamazoo 2025.