GRAND RAPIDS | Development Thread

[DetroitMan]

Gov. Whitmer just announced plans to build a $60M children's rehabilitation hospital for Grand Rapids. It will be the first of its kind in the state for children.

Gov. Whitmer announce plans for $60M children’s rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced plans for what officials say is the state’s first free-standing children’s rehabilitation hospital in the state.

The hospital, which is expected to cost $60 million, is a partnership between Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, according to a joint news release from the two healthcare organizations.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rap...nd-rapids.html

[deja vu]

^ Pretty exciting stuff, and a good-looking design that compliments / plays-off of the current DeVos children's hospital architecture (surely intentional).

Not only will it be the first of its kind in the state, but, Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle stated, “This proposed hospital will be the only freestanding children’s rehabilitation hospital in Michigan, ninth in the nation and one of only three that’s located between the two coasts. As the newest, it will be the most technologically advanced and specialized in our country.”

It is great to see Grand Rapids further solidifying its spot as a regional hub for a vast array of healthcare services.

[DetroitMan]

I agree, GR is quickly becoming a major healthcare hub and projects like this only solidify that. In other development news in GR, ground will be broken next week on a 52-unit affordable housing development called Union Suites.

Union Suites LLC, Orion Construction, Dwelling Place and Lott3Metz Architecture will kick off the construction of Union Suites Tuesday, July 19.

A groundbreaking ceremony is set to take place at that time with Mayor Rosalyn Bliss and local supporters of the project.

Located at 608-626 Coit Ave. NE, the 52-unit apartment complex will provide a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Rental rates are to be determined by household income and will be restricted to those whose annual income is 80% or less of Kent County’s area median income.

https://grbj.com/news/construction/u...und-next-week/

[DetroitMan]

Spectrum broke ground today on a new 12-story outpatient tower in the Medical Mile District.
Spectrum Health breaks ground on new outpatient center in downtown Grand Rapids

Spectrum Health broke ground Wednesday on a new 12-story patient care building in downtown Grand Rapids that will house several outpatient services.

The 240,000-square-foot building, located across the street from Butterworth Hospital on Michigan Street along the Medical Mile, will bring several services under one roof, including primary care and specialty services like heart and vascular and neurosciences clinics.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rap...nd-rapids.html

[deja vu]

Progress on Kent County Road Commission's new building -






Source: LinkedIn | Ritsema Associates

[DetroitMan]

Convention/Arena Authority approves amphitheater agreement with Grand Action 2.0

The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority has unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with Grand Action 2.0 for the construction of an amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids.

“This is a very important step in the amphitheater project,” Convention/Arena Authority Legal Counsel Richard Wendt said during the board of directors meeting.

The MOU reinforces the ongoing public-private partnership for the 12,000-capacity amphitheater project between the Convention/Arena Authority and Grand Action 2.0. The deal is similar to agreements associated with Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place Convention Center and the Downtown Market.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-esta...and-action-2-0

[DetroitMan]

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. is in the early stages of discussing building a new park and trail system in the Belknap Lookout and Monroe North neighborhoods. I personally think this will be a great addition to these neighborhoods.
Expansive park, trail network under discussion for two Grand Rapids neighborhoods

Renovations to a closed rail tunnel on Bond Avenue NW, beneath I-196, are part of a park and greenspace development that's under consideration and is known as the Grand Rapids Hill and River Network plan.

The first, whose cost is estimated at $11.5 million, includes street improvements to Division Avenue NW and Ionia Avenue NW from I-196 to Mason Street NW. The two streets are adjacent and run parallel to one another. However, Ionia is underused on that stretch, officials say. So, the idea is to reconfigure Ionia while tearing out Division and replacing it with a green, linear parkway.There would be greenspace and recreational activities included in the park.

An elevated trail and stair network on Belknap Hill, stretching from Hastings Street NE to Newberry Street NE, is part of the Grand Rapids Hill and River Network plan. The plan is being led by DGRI in partnership with the city of Grand Rapids and various community groups.


This rendering shows street improvements to Division Avenue NW and Ionia Avenue NW from I-196 to Mason Street NW. The idea is to remove Division Avenue, in that stretch, and replace it with a park. Ionia would absorb the traffic that did use Division.
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rap...hborhoods.html

[DetroitMan]

More residential units coming to Downtown GR......
44-unit riverfront apartment project planned north of downtown Grand Rapids

Compass Insurance Agency CEO Jack Hoedeman and Honor Construction President and CEO Brad Laackman share ownership of the building at 280 Ann St. NW, where they also both have offices. The building is located just south of a Radisson hotel between the Grand River and U.S.-131.

Honor Construction would build the four-story, 26,000-square-foot addition to the existing building. Lott3Metz Architecture LLC serves as the project architect. The developers aim to break ground sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022, and construction should take roughly a year, Hoedeman told MiBiz. The apartments would be built on top of the property’s existing parking lot, he said.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-esta...n-grand-rapids

[deja vu]

Kentwood -

West Michigan's first Whole Foods opened to a large crowd at 2897 Radcliff Ave. SE on Wednesday, 8/17/22, in the Grand Rapids suburb of Kentwood -

Shoppers ‘really excited’ as West Michigan’s first Whole Foods Market opens near Grand Rapids
Brian McVicar | MLive
August 18, 2022

Source: MLive | Cory Morse

[DetroitMan]

The 16-story Studio Park apartment tower has broken ground. The building is supposed to be done by 2024 and will be the fifth tallest building in Grand Rapids.

Coming soon to Grand Rapids' skyline: 16-story Studio Park apartments

The plan for phase two, approved by the city in April, consists of a 212,000-square-foot tower to be built on top of the development's existing six-story parking ramp. The "ground floor" of the new building will actually be seven stories up.

"When we constructed our 950-space parking ramp during phase one, we built the foundation to accommodate future expansion, which is what this project will benefit from," said Jeff Olsen, partner of Olsen Loeks Development with J.D. Loeks.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/west-m...s-grand-rapids

[DetroitMan]

Article today about a potential soccer stadium on the west side of GR...
West side GR site examined for soccer stadium; DeVos acquires adjacent land

Grand Action 2.0 has been working with architects as well as city of Grand Rapids staff as part of a preliminary and informal review to determine if the site is viable.

An executive at Grand Action 2.0 confirmed that the teams are reviewing renderings (see below) of a potential soccer stadium project immediately north of Pearl Street NW and immediately west of U.S.-131. Plainfield Township-based Progressive AE Inc. prepared the renderings.

However, the planning team has neither confirmed a final site for the stadium, nor are they pursuing city approvals for the west side property at this time, Grand Action 2.0 Executive Director Kara Wood told MiBiz. Wood added that Grand Action 2.0 has “multiple” sites under consideration for a soccer stadium.

“We are in such early stages, it would be extremely premature to assume that would be the location at this point” for a soccer stadium, Wood said.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-esta...-adjacent-land

[deja vu]

Bradford Station - the city's first carbon-neutral apartment building, located at 255 Bradford St NE - is depicted below. The 23-unit, 3-story development was completed in early 2021. It was sold to Chicago-based CIG Management LLC in May of this year -


Source: LinkedIn | Black Lake Companies

[DetroitMan]

Muskegon and Grand Rapids disburse $15 million to housing developments

The city of Grand Rapids plans to use its subgrant for two commercial projects and nine housing developments totaling 376 units of affordable or attainable housing.

The commercial projects are:

A 28,000-square-foot renovation at 900 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW that represents a $4.1 million investment by developer Javier Olvera, co-owner of the Supermercado Mexico grocery chain. His corporate office will be on the second floor, while the first floor will have space for three to five tenants or a grocery store.

A 15,000-square-foot building at 217 Eugene St. SE proposed as the headquarters for Array of Engineers, an automated testing, embedded software and custom hardware designer for the defense, aerospace and medical device industries. The building will include a community STEM area, an office, electronics workshops and labs, and a hardware manufacturing space.

Grand Rapids
MoTown Square

[robk1982]

Construction on the 11-story Spectrum Health Ambulatory Tower (taken on 9/11/22)

Untitled by kratzrob, on Flickr

[robk1982]

I’m not an expert in this sort of stuff, but I found an entry for the permit for the foundation of Spectrum’s new tower on the City of GR’s web portal that says the building will be 12 stories and a maximum of 180 ft.

While not one of the tallest buildings in the city, it will certainly stick out in the skyline since it is on top of the hill in the Medical Mile and will extend the skyline farther east.

[deja vu]

I work at a company that provided some engineering services for the project. It will be 12 stories in total, the 12th floor is a mechanical penthouse. So it's really 11 occupiable floors plus the penthouse level above. The engineering drawings that I've seen show the top of penthouse roof at 173' - 3".

[robk1982]

Thanks for the info, deja vu!


Work on Spectrum's 8-story Center for Transformation and Innovation in Monroe North

Untitled by kratzrob, on Flickr


Untitled by kratzrob, on Flickr


The tower crane above Studio Park for the 16-story addition. This will be very fun to watch.

Untitled by kratzrob, on Flickr

[DetroitMan]

Black Wall Street Grand Rapids proposal...
Black Wallstreet GR vision takes shape

“Black Wallstreet Development is a breath of fresh air, on top of great relationships, it’s a solution, a project and a vision,” Sain told GRBJ. “It’s an alternative to gentrification, because if we don’t come up with an agenda, someone else will.”

The project includes 11,000 square feet of commercial space and 34 apartment units.

Demolition could be finished by the beginning of 2023, and Sain hopes construction will begin in early spring 2023 with construction completed by late fall 2023. The new building will be a live-work mixed-use development. Businesses in the development could include a coffee shop/brewery, hair store, beauty salon, ice cream shop, small restaurants, fitness studio, flower shop, book store and event center.

https://grbj.com/news/economic-devel...n-takes-shape/

[DetroitMan]

I'm surprised this development slipped under the radar. It's called the McConnell and its 10-stories and will have 432 apartments, plus 58,000 sf of retail space.
New plans show development of a 10-story building in Grand Rapids

It’s expected to have 432 apartments, mostly studios. In total, the developers plan to have 318 studio, 86 one-bedroom, and 17 two-bedroom apartments.

This project would take shape near the corner of Division Avenue, south of Wealthy Street.Developers plan to use 58,000 square feet for retail and restaurant space. This is the first step of many toward this development.

The Southtown Corridor Improvement Authority plans to discuss the development further on Wednesday.

https://www.fox17online.com/news/loc...n-grand-rapids

[robk1982]

Both of those projects are great. The McConnell is in the same area as the new children's rehabilitation hospital, so those few blocks will look quite a bit different in a few years!