mgreven

This makes my day.

I saw those Amway hotel rumors too. That seems so weird to me - gotta be just people joking around. Love or hate the BOB, there are plenty of locations to build another hotel that doesn’t remove several restaurants, live music venues, a brewery , banquet facilities and a comedy club. Those are great things we need downtown…maybe they are buying it to be part of a hotel development across the street or something.

French/American Bakery... So glad to see this building come to life...that was such a dead zone. https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/french-american-bakery-planned-for-mixed-use-wealthy-street-redevelopment

They should just put a hot dog cart in that parking lot…

Yep. I was seeing it from the right angle. It’s the west side towers that threw me at first.

MiBiz has a rendering. I can't figure it out, though. Look like it doesn't really go along Monroe except for a part between Brassworks and the hotel and we are looking at the back of BrassWorks? I assume all the tall "ghost" buildings are across the river and not real? https://mibiz.com/sections/health-care/spectrum-health-details-plans-for-8-story-office-complex-near-downtown-gr?fbclid=IwAR3JZeVHWYOF8lIA_YEAJZsig7YpNVQcg9Lo7Twv5d21gLZ_HvfTakF0dB0 I assume there's more in the PC agenda packet but I don't see it online. A site plan and Monroe elevation would help. This looks similar to the new Perrigo to me.

I thought the same thing...I was hoping there was tower info in the article. That's a ton of capital...wow!

I was about to comment that. I wonder if they would buy Kale's and combine it into something bigger...that would be cool. Like cstoneparty said, keep El Sombrero on the ground floor. =)

Looks like some new plans and a start date of late April. Hope this version actually starts. I think it looks like a huge upgrade... https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/lyon-square-redesign-would-add-event-space-garden-along-grand-river/

No kidding, I liked it so much I sent it to my bro-in-law who lives in Virginia. Nice work, @sonic!

I agree. We went DT last weekend to eat "out" and see the art. If it wasn't for a chance to walk the skywalks and warm up for a few minutes, we wouldn't have stayed down there nearly as long. Same for other times during rain. We'll always walk outside unless the weather forces us to the skywalks - I would assume most are that way except people who come DT for one event and then just leave right away.

I saw that MiBiz is reporting that Spectrum bought bought Brassworks for $25 million and is scaling back some of the project. I don't subscribe to the online edition so all I've got is a headline for you all. =)

Fuel is just a regular restaurant, not a brewery or distillery but it is a cool place. The lights and development are the first step in hopefully making your post in the future say “I stopped in Spring Lake” instead of “I drove through Spring Lake.”

No brewery that I know of...what are you referring to? New steakhouse/bakery/antiques store, though. You need to drive thru at night now. Spring Lake Sparkle is the new thing. So busy out there last night! All the music, food, shopping for the event is on hold until next year, of course.

I'm very eager to see it in person. There's something about that space that when we'd go there, I just felt a world away from home. Hope the new place feels the same!

According to this article in Local Spins, https://localspins.com/grand-rapids-20-monroe-live-the-bob-entertainment-complex-go-up-for-sale-local-spins/ they were planning on selling the real estate back in March but the closing fell through due to COVID. So, this was the plan anyway. There's actually a really cool video series about several West MI venues there, too.

Hate to dig this thread up for this... https://mls.carwm.com/listing/30667067 I figured this kind of stuff would happen but it’s hard to see. Hope they find a buyer to keep it going. Still...Gilmore worked so hard on this dream for a decade and then this. The BOB is for sale, too. Edit - Just saw the MIBiz article on it. Looks like they are trying to sell the real estate but not the business so they can survive COVID? https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/owners-list-20-monroe-live-property-for-16-5m

As in Max's South Seas? I've been meaning to go there...I did walk around there not too long ago and it was pretty amazing. Hope they find a way out of it and survive - that's a pretty amazing buildout and decor to just shut down.

I was thinking about that too...Maggie's Kitchen (a bit further) and the Mayan Ice Cream place right next door to Condado I think sometimes sells tacos at night, right? They're all a bit different, though.

Coming to Bridge Street in the new gray apartment building. Sign is up but when I was by there yesterday it didn't look like build out had started. Looks like a cool place... http://www.condadotacos.com

No mention of Texas De Brazil...I thought that's where this was going to go. Guessing that it's mostly a "convention restaurant" and maybe they canceled it or at least holding off for a while?

Here are some photos of Spring Lake for today... Epicurean Village that will have Finn's Chophouse and Speakeasy (on the left) and Grand Finale Desserts and Pastries. I think a clothing shop and a couple other things but who knows anymore? =) Lilley Mansion is coming along... Here's the finished Brooklyn's Bagels. Much better than a vacant gas station and part of the same developer's plans as the rest of the village. The Windemere House gifts/antiques where Bilz Pool and Spa used to be is also under construction but not much to look at yet.

I was going to update this thread with some new photos of Spring Lake but it looks like the fence will come down soon on the big project so I’ll wait until I’m home for vacation.

That really stinks...however, does their post on FB seem confusing? They were all ready to open with protection precautions in place but the "universe had other plans for the location". Was it vandalism they couldn't recover from? Lose their lease? Such a hard time for small businesses - especially right there.