About
Based in Vicksburg, Michigan, The Mill Group is a development and stewardship organization led by entrepreneur and Vicksburg native Chris Moore. Driven by a deep connection to the community, Moore has undertaken the ambitious effort to restore the historic buildings of downtown Vicksburg and revitalize the former campus of The Mill at Vicksburg.
Downtown Historic Vicksburg
The work is guided by FOUR goals:
Taken together, these goals reflect The Mill Group’s ultimate ambition—to establish Vicksburg as a world-class destination, anchored by exceptional hospitality rooted in one of Michigan’s most significant historic places.
Why Vicksburg
Chris Moore grew up here, and his family has been part of the Village since the 1840s. His grandfather and father built their careers at The Mill—and as a college student, Chris did too.
Then in 2014, his mother called with devastating news: The Mill was going to be torn down. So he acted.
downtown historic vicksburg and the mill
A Story Still Being Written
the rise
For nearly a century, The Mill and downtown Vicksburg operated as one economic organism. When The Mill ran, so did the storefronts. The Lee Paper Company, built between 1903 and 1905, employed generations of Vicksburg families—including three generations of the Moore family. At its peak, the operation produced 35,000 pounds of paper per day. Along Main and Prairie Streets, businesses grew up near it—a pharmacy, a department store, a newspaper, a sweet shop—each one part of the town’s daily rhythm.
The fall
When The Mill closed in 2001, the community felt its absence almost immediately. Foot traffic dwindled, services contracted, and buildings that had stood for over a century sat vacant, deteriorating. The community endured. The buildings did not.
The Rejuvenation
Downtown Vicksburg
The Mill Group has invested millions to restore historic properties in downtown Vicksburg, including rebuilding facades, repairing historic brickwork and returning long-vacant buildings back to their beautiful, original state.
Mackenzies Bakery opened in 2022 in a building dating back to 1885, reviving a 40-year-old Kalamazoo family bakery and reestablishing an anchor on Prairie Street. The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, now in its eighth year, has welcomed nearly 200 artists from across the country and around the world, earning the 2025 Epic Award from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Meanwhile, the Music and Event Hall at 107 Main Street—built around a twenty-foot mahogany bar that has stood since the late 19th century—is currently under construction.
Among the most significant restoration efforts in the downtown portfolio are the Hill’s Buildings at 106, 108 and 110 South Main Street. This row of connected commercial buildings, dating to the 1860s, required a complete structural and exterior restoration, including the replacement of more than 5,000 historic bricks and the return of an original second-floor balcony that had been removed decades prior.
The restoration also includes a new rear patio addition that will connect directly to the Village of Vicksburg’s planned parking area upgrade, a fitting example of private and public investment moving in the same direction on the same block.
The Mill Group is leading the restoration of downtown Vicksburg, investing millions to bring historic buildings back to their original character. We are proud to call historic downtown Vicksburg home — with more than 27 people on our team at 101 S. Main Street, we are one of the larger employers right in the heart of the Village. Every project is held to National and State historic preservation standards, with the larger goal of building the largest small town collection of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in the state of Michigan. We hope this work inspires other owners to restore their commercial and residential properties, as Vicksburg becomes a historic district that is sought out block by block. The Village of Vicksburg’s parallel investments in a new Village Hall, streetscapes, sidewalks, and parking upgrades are a welcome complement. The restoration is not yet finished, but the direction is set.
The Mill
at vicksburg campus
The centerpiece of The Mill Group’s vision is The Mill at Vicksburg campus, located at 300 West Highway Street. Spanning 120 acres with 416,000 square feet of interior space, it stands as one of Michigan’s most significant historic industrial sites and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The State of Michigan has designated the campus as a Transformational Brownfield Project, recognizing its projected economic impact on the region and signaling the scale of the work ahead. Restoration is actively underway: stabilization and interior environmental remediation are complete, a five-acre wildflower meadow has been planted along the eastern edge, and Portage Creek flows along the campus boundary.
In the restoration process, 3.2 million bricks have been handled — including 80,000 reclaimed from a Chicago racetrack and the West Bend Lithia Beer Company in Wisconsin.
The first public phase of The Mill at Vicksburg campus is in development, with more details to be shared as the work progresses.