An analysis of some of the reasons why development is not happening as expected along the four-year old Silver BRT line. Just because you build it, doesn't necessarily mean they will come...
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After 4 years, development still slow along GR’s Silver Line bus route
Nick Manes | MiBiz
May 13, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS — The old adage that development follows transit has proven slow to materialize along the Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) route through southern Kent County. The Rapid’s enhanced bus line launched roughly four years ago with covered stations, dedicated lanes and traffic signal priority along Division Avenue between Gaines Township and downtown Grand Rapids. Yet in that time, examples of ancillary development associated with the route remain nonexistent...
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Meanwhile, the downtown market has become quite successful as a catalyst for spurring surrounding development -
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Market in downtown Grand Rapids brings surrounding area back to life
Crain's Detroit Business | Tom Henderson
May 20, 2018
The Grand Rapids Downtown Market, one of the last economic development projects undertaken by the Grand Action Foundation, has lived up to the name "grand"...While things were already perking up on Wealthy Street when the Downtown Market opened, the area around the market, just south of downtown, had cratered and there wasn't a whiff of gentrification in the air. It was a furniture warehouse and factory district where everything stood empty and forlorn. Roofs were collapsing inward, most windows had long ago been shattered, floors were warped and rotting. Scrappers stole interior pipes and exterior gutters.
The vision Grand Action had was of a market that would feature restaurants, cooking classes, hot food stalls and fresh meat, seafood and produce. But the vision wasn't just a market unto itself, it was of a market sparking commercial development in the surrounding blocks, putting cars back into parking spots and people on sidewalks and in buildings. It has all come to pass. The market — the building is LEED certified gold, one rating down from the highest level of platinum, and all tenants are required to recycle — is thriving, and the surrounding area has come back to life...
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City officials are still pushing hard to entice new development throughout Grand Rapids. Just last Monday, the city was granted status as a "Redevelopment Ready Community" - the largest in the state. Meaning that, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the city has all of the parts in play needed to encourage competitive developments. I haven't seen any statistics on whether this certification by the state really impacts the rate or quality of developments in cities, but I suppose it's not hurting anything to have that recognition.
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Grand Rapids aims to attract investors with redevelopment certification
Grand Rapids is now certified as a Redevelopment Ready Community and has the foundation to attract more investment in the city.
WZZM13
May 21, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Grand Rapids is the largest city so far in Michigan to receive certification as a Redevelopment Ready Community. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, an organization that works with local communities to grow the economy, recognized the city on Monday, May 21. The title means the city has the foundation to attract investment after removing barriers to development and improving processes to be more competitive...
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