joeDowntown

Reminds me a lot of the pay for play / listicle articles we’ve seen in the past. Recently saw Grand Rapids on a list of best cities to live. It said we were a “college town”. I’d say we’re more of a town with colleges. we get it though. The boomer meme was hilarious though. Haha

Really interesting. Jonathan Rooks was a huge part of the revitalization / downtown living options in Grand Rapids in the earl 2000s before developing Muskegon. He developed redeveloped this building early on to bring condos to that building. Glad he still sees potential in that building. Joe

I agree with the others. I think it’s pretty clear that Corewell doesn’t want to be part of an active, healthy and diverse neighborhood, they want to “own it”. They seem to be doubling down on building a suburban office park (as someone mentioned). It also seems a bit brash after the planning commission told them they need to be embrace the surrounding neighborhoods (and their viewpoints). Instead, they bought the Rocky’s building (accumulating more property that they’ll consider blighted) and are petitioning to name a street after themselves. Their actions seem absolutely tone deaf to what the planning commissioners and neighbors told them they’d like to see. and in 5 years, they’ll probably just rebrand again and Corewell Drive will make no sense. Haha Joe

Biggest eye roll ask of the year, Corewell wants to rename part of Fairbanks ave to “Corewell Drive” it’s like, we get it Corewell; you’ve bought everything in the area. You have a bajillion signs everywhere. Now you need a street named after you just to make sure everyone knows what’s up? If they proposed renaming it something dumb like “medical center innovation boulevard” I don’t even think I’d care. But Corewell Drive totally seems stupid, excessive, and like some sort of weird world domination move. Maybe “We Own You Avenue” is already taken? Haha https://www-mlive-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2024/04/corewell-health-wants-to-rename-grand-rapids-street-after-itself.html?outputType=amp&amp_js_v=0.1&amp_gsa=1#webview=1&cap=swipe

I think you are referring to 1340 Monroe (Display Pack), which I agree, should see bulldozers soon (though I believe they will build on the northen portion first before demolition of the Display Pack building). The owner of 820 Monroe had gone for a height zoning change and it assumed something is being planned for the parking lot next to 820 Monroe. Still hoping something pops there soon. Agreed about restaurants. Takeout is king (although I heard the fees are excessive, so I'm sure restaurants hope this trend changes). If you look at the "old guard" changing hands or closing (Reserve, Bar Divani, GRBC)- I honestly hadn't thought of any of those restaurants in years and think it's time for new concepts, new blood. Joe

Bentonville seems like an interesting area, that probably has a similar philanthropic community like Grand Rapids with Walmart located there. Also has an art museum / sculpture park / music venue funded by a supermarket scion. I once did one of the quizzes of the best place for me to live, and it picked Bentonville. I was a little bummed that my ideal spot was Arkansas, until I started reading about it. I agree, we need housing of all types. If someone purchases a $1-1.5M home, moving up from a $800,000 home, that in turn moves someone from a $500,000 home, etc. etc. etc. I hope we can find a way to pump more inventory at all levels. And I do hope people in their twenties have an opportunity to buy a house like I did when I was younger. My wife and I both had crap jobs, my wife (not me) was good at saving, and we bought our first house with no problem. That's not easy / possible in this market. Joe

Tesa Tape is moving it's US headquarters from North Carolina to 25 Ottawa. 25 Ottawa has done a great job attracting new tenants. Will employee 60 people (in addition to 175 in Sparta): https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/adhesive-manufacturing-company-moves-headquarters-to-grand-rapids#:~:text=Adhesive manufacturing company moves headquarters to Grand Rapids,-tesa tape%2C Inc&text=An exterior shot of 25,Inc. in March%2C 2024.

Yep, it's the car rental expansion. I wonder if the expansion will remove a gate in terminal A, or if they'll still be able to maneuver a plane in with the new addition. I'm also a bit surprised they didn't extend the wave canopy a bit with the expansion (all the way (or close) to the eastern edge of the parking ramp. Joe

That’s great. 175,000 square feet is pretty massive. Wish they had floor plans, as I’m having a hard time picturing it in my head (I get the general idea, but not at that sq. footage). I will miss the old baggage carousels that sent baggage crashing down, and watching luggage start to double stack causing a luggage log jam. Joe

Even better, if GR can build a rabid base, and Detroit FC's crowd travels well (which they do), it'll be such an awesome atmosphere. Loved when DCFC played GRFC and they had more supporters than GR. The drums, chants, etc. was such a cool vibe. My favorite part (even though I was a GRFC fan) was when they introduced the Grand Rapids players and the whole DCFC fan base turned their backs to the players with middle fingers in the air. It was epic! And educational for the children in attendance. Haha Joe

They opened a Freddy's at the airport. A delicious new option. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2024/04/freddys-frozen-custard-steakburger-opens-location-in-grand-rapids-airport.html Joe

I’d much rather watch a match between Detroit, Indy or Louisville than LA Galaxy 2 or Orlando City B (can’t believe those are the actual team names). Can’t imagine there’s a huge organic fan base. I saw that Chattanooga plays in MLS Next and was kind of surprised by it. Great fan base. Would rather play against similar sized cities with a good fan base than a true farm team for MLS. the Detroit FC matches against GRFC were so much fun. We should basically follow that club wherever they go for the rivalry. And MLS Next is tier 3, so a level lower than we’re likely to get. Joe

A couple of things that makes me hesitant about this: 1. The stadium would be too small even with and “expansion” (I thought 11-12k was the max. I don’t see extra room to expand further). 2. MLS is chasing large metros, and aren’t necessarily playing nice with the rest of US Soccer (half the teams don’t even play in the US Open Cup, which is a pretty big deal and pissing off other tiers of soccer). I’ve actually heard rumors that MLS and US Soccer may eventually “break up”, leaving USL Championship as the top tier in US Soccer proper. Unless something has dramatically changed (I’d definitely be happy to have Grand Rapids be in the top tier), I heard “right from the horses mouth” that they had a USL Championship team locked down and were just waiting for a stadium. seems like too many hurdles to get to MLS. But I’d be happy to be wrong.

I’ve always liked this building on Mt. Vernon (about a block off Bridge street). It’s been abandoned for a long time but looks like some work is being done. Are they just replacing the old boards, or are they starting to renovate. Doesn’t have the greatest view (concrete embankment of 131) but would make a cool little neighborhood bar (especially with the soccer stadium so close by. Anyone know what they are doing here?

Downtown GR posted renderings I hadn’t seen of the Arena Linear Park. They said it will connect Van Andel arena to Studio Park. Construction starts in 2026.

Demolition permits have been pulled some of the city buildings. The article said they could start as soon as May 1 on some of the complex: https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/buildings-at-amphitheater-site-to-be-demolished-soon/ Joe

If they decide not to keep it on display, I hope they gift it to ArtPrize or the GRAM. It's a cool painting with an interesting history.

Answering my own question. Looks like it's going to be a Goldfish Swim School. Joe

House Rules on Ionia is expanding by 50 seats, adding a kitchen. I’ve heard it’s very hard to get in without reservations. Good for them! https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/house-rules-in-gr-expanding-with-more-seating-kitchen/

Does anyone know what they are building at the north end of Knapp’s Crossing? Drove by today and bulldozers are pushing dirt. Way back, it was shown as a standalone anchor store. Joe

It will be interesting to see if the next tenant takes up the whole space, or if they split it in two. In the last few years it seemed like the back half was always dead, not well used. Maybe two smaller spaces instead of one big one (two different concepts would be nice as well. as someone said before, the location at Centerpointe had nothing to do with the downtown location. Mark Sellers bought the rights to the name. That’s the only connection. Joe

I agree for the most part. However, I would bet the straight shot from Lowell to Detroit will be pretty enticing for a lot of companies for either distribution or manufacturing. I could see a lot of additional job creation once the Lowell site starts to be developed. Joe

Thanks (as always) for this! I wonder if a catalyst for eastern expansion will be the "Covenant Business Park" off the Lowell exit. This includes extending water and sewer across the river. I think you'll start to see a lot of development in this area once the expansion occurs. Lowell is already a nice town with great schools and an abundance of land. And this plot of land seems ideal for rapid expansion once complete: https://www.rightplace.org/news/state-awards-17-5-million-grant-to-prepare-lowell-townships-covenant-business-park-for-development#:~:text=Today%2C The Right Place%2C Inc,Park in Lowell Township for This could increase expansion into Ionia County. There is a lot of affordable housing stock in Ionia county, but it's a bit of a drive for commuters. Joe

Hopefully someone will cough one up soon. In the meantime, the world needs one of GRDad's World Famous Line Drawings(tm) showing mass and scale. Joe

I’m interested to know if Grand Action / the DDA already know much more about the stadium tower + 350 spot parking ramp plans/logistics. That ramp would help address some of the parking concerns and also help on non-game days. Hoping the tower and stadium go up at the same time alleviating some of the concerns (or they follow a model similar to studio park where they built the ramp knowing a building would go in front and on top of the ramp). I’d rather see everything built at once, but the ramp could go up first. Joe