Raildudes dad

Car City is expanding on 28th St. Don't know what's planned for the 44th St site.

I'll probably get banned fro Urban Planet for my comment but $30 million dollars for a produce vending stand with other craft type amenities? Cincinnati redeveloped their Union Terminal RR Station into a very nice facility like this years ago. Did great when it was new and a novelty but is long gone.

That appears to be be "new" way, crush everything on site, use what you need and truck the rest away, most likely to another job-site. You can see the big crushed concrete pile and the smaller crushed asphalt pile. The same process was used at Michigan/Fuller for the new Walgreen's.

There needs to be a demand for restaurants and lodging for those things to be built. There's plenty of lodging in town, check the occupancy rates. Hospital staff don't go out for lunch like businessmen. The hospitals food service do a pretty good job for those that that opt not to brown bag. As someone who spent quite a bit of time at both Blodgett & Butterworth with a seriously ill elderly parent, the last thing on my mine was going out to eat. My needs were taken care of very well by the hospital food service. They have quiet areas where you can eat at the cafeteria, or if you want you can take it to the room etc.

Cell tower gone from the A&P building on Front St, sorry no photos, 60 mph on the S-curve and can't get my photos from the cell phone if I took one

Continental Dairy in the old GM plant, big addition, all precast conccrete panels, there were 3 big cranes there Saturday

Looks like a pile hammer, not a tower crane.

Shame on the Drain Commissioner for believing Benner would do what he said he would. The man's word is worthless. I don't trust him as far as I could throw him with both of my arms broken

[quote name='fotoman311' It's kind of a perspective thing, Jippy. There is surface parking where the rendering shows it, but where that green spot in the rendering is, there's actually a road. I can't imagine them removing the road. Not only would it be an ordeal to purchase the right of way, it would effect the exits from two of their existing surface lots and also restrict access to the additional overflow parking to the South of the new building.

You're correct, the freight houses lasted past the ramps. I had forgot your could get on SB 131 and drive past them. I think they built a new base, but it's the same shanty. Also, the Sparta depot in the postcard link is still in Sparta today. N end of town west of the existing tracks, owned and maintained by the West MI RR Historical Society.

RR crossing operator's tower from Fulton Street where the Arena is today. The gentlemen that sat in the tower turned the RR flashers on when trains left Union Station and went north. The tower was on the PRR freight house property. The freight house was either sold to Columbian Transfer or they just operated the rail to truck transfer there until the freeway was built. The Columbian building was bought for the Fulton 131 ramps and they relocated to Hall Street and took the tower with them. Did I get it right?

It was originally a school. Then it was bought by Amway and used as a training center. I believe it has been vacant for a number of years. Current taxpayer is Activa Management Co on Lucerne which appears to be a DeVos comapny.

Exactly my point, someone who's "the boss" needs to know the business. Someone who's the boss needs to know if the designs are good, and the work is being done productively. Crappy designs and taking your sweet time getting the work done is not a recipe for success. Just getting lots of publicity won't cut it.

Looking around on the web, it looks like VK Properties owns the building, I'm guessing they paid for the renovation. I'm not surprised that the company didn't make it. The pres who is a motorcycle racer doesn't know anything about web design but he can cheer lead the company to great success? How does he know that he's hired the brightest and best? How does he know they are productive and efficient? As I read the news releases, it struck me as too good to be true, guess it was

Michigan Tax Code for Non profits and Houses of Worship. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(tjd053zwa2m0k155pvkwqg55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-211-7o http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(tjd053zwa2m0k155pvkwqg55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-211-7s

As long as a church uses it for church related activities, the property is exempt. Our church bought the louse next door when the elderly lady that owned it died. As long as it was vacant or used for youth activities or even an office = tax exempt. We then used it to house a refuge family. No rent = tax exempt. Minimal rent = put the property on the tax rolls. A vacant lot qualifies as tax exempt

I believe they had a service called "The Air Porter" that did just that. It was canceled due to lack of demand.

Explorer55 is correct about all the "protection" provided the landowner. My employer uses it very rarely but trust me, the landowner is protected financially in the process. One point though, if they use private money, the federal regs don't kick in. Keep in mind, there are 2 parts to eminent domain, necessity and compensation. In 38 years w/ my employer only one land owner has challenged necessity. (A 7-11 challenged the necessity of widening a busy road - they didn't want to lose a few feet of their parking lot - they lost). Eminent domain in every other case came down to the landowner not wanting to accept my employer's value for their land. I don't believe DeVries is challenging necessity, just the compensation for the property. The court will then hear arguments by both sides as to why their price is correct. The judge will then decide the terms of the compensation. I also would expect they will try arbitration before a trial. We sort of expect in our cases when we go to trial the judge will play Solomon and "split the baby". I noticed the quote in the paper DeVries is quoted as saying "we had a deal for 3-4 times the GVSU offer". Smells like a Hanger 42 to me, quadruple the price when the gov't is paying

IIRC I'm pretty sure Sechia bought it from Pete Colvin & his wife. They "developed" Mackie's World in memory of their young son that passed away - a childrens "museum" activity center along with the atrium storefronts. I'm pretty sure the Colvin's were in way over their head and Sechia bailed them out. It might have made it today - ahead of their time maybe? The childrens museum across the street seems to be doing ok today. Mackies World

I don't think the Kelo decision would apply in this case. The City of New London took the Kelo property via eminent domain and turned it over for development by a private entity. In this case a government body (GVSU) is using it to acquire property for it's own use.

You're right, Pete didn't get elected until 93. I guess I'll I'll have to educate him on what TE funds can be used for . I agree that Congress doesn't vote on the regs but I hold them completely responsible for the regs that get implemented.

Same way with Transportation Enhancement funds. The Federal regs say the fuel tax dollars assigned to Enhancement projects MUST be spent on quality of life projects. The federal regs are pretty specific on what the money can be spent on. It really irritates me when Pete Hoekstra condemns Granholm for allowing the "turtle fence" to be built instead of "road projects". I'm not a fan of Jenny but Pete approved the regs that required the money to be spent on the fence or another similar project. He's either another politician that doesn't know what he's voting on or he's playing politics. Either way, he's lost my respect As for the Seward project, the area south of Fulton, west of the river and east of the old tracks to the plaster mills could use some strategic planning. The existing uses and roadways are a patchwork. I think there's a better route that the lines they drew on paper for this project.

Been meaning to post this but kept forgetting. Arnie's on Leonard Street appears to be gone for good. Fire debris has been removed, all the concrete footings/walls removed, the hole filled with sand and covered with topsoil and the building site has been seeded. The office structure saved in the fire has the east wall bricked up to match the other 3 sides.

South Division was the "happening" street because it was US 131. It was the way one in a car or truck got to GR from points south. If you wanted to bypass downtown you took 28th Street (the South Beltline) east to the East Beltline or west to Wilson (the West Beltline). (3 Mile Road was going to be the North Beltline but a bridge over the Grand got in the way of that plan.) I rode the bus home from high school on Division from Franklin to Monroe in the 60's and it was "gritty". The hookers would be standing on the corners north of Wealthy at 3:30 in the afternoon.

That was a pocket park with a connection to the Mall built by someone in the neighborhood or at Raybrook (Memory isn't what it used to be ). Looks like no one is taking care of it.