Sparty97

Fair enough. :-) I guess I was revealing the fact I've looked at the Lormax Stern site at least 20 times trying to figure out what was possibly coming "soon" over the last 3-4 years.

I'm not sure this equates to semi traffic down a narrow road with no turnaround. This is a fast food restaurant on the corner of 2 very busy roads that already has drive-throughs and 38 restaurants or cafe options within a 1/2 mile. The traffic isn't going to spike even 5%. It is likely the same people who are going to Subway, Wendy's, Kitchen 67, Firehouse, Qdoba, Pieology or Potbelly right now. If designed right, the traffic would back up into the Celebration property and not onto the 2 main roads. I'm sure a design could be made to satisfy specific concerns. Could you have 2 or even 3 lanes to consolidate the traffic onto the property? What about something that doubles down on drive through like separate grill and sandwich stations for the drive through? If the board had come out with some specific numbers on how many chick-fil-a needed to handle in an hour, etc. then I would feel like they really were interested in working with Chick-Fil-A but their reaction didn't seem to be built on actual data. Drive through accounts for 50-60% of CFA's revenue (for essentially the same footprint). It is like asking Starbucks to only sell coffee after 10 am. I'm not saying they wouldn't be successful with that model, and I have no idea if they would consider that option, but the drive through is a big part of their draw. The fact there is a long line of people who only want to get their food via a drive through says there is a strong demand for this type of service. I live out by this intersection and have been frustrated by the lack of developments as promised by developers and now that a great company with products in demand want to invest there, they are shot down. Something doesn't add up.

It is not very often that you see a business rejected because they are too successful and they would bring too many customers willing to spend money to a retail area. Generally speaking, if something is VERY popular with the public and there is a huge request for their goods, that is seen as a good thing. I would suspect that initially, the traffic would be a mess but I can't imagine it would have that detrimental of an effect in the long term. I drive through Knapp's corner 3 to 4 times a day and I would welcome another drive through option when driving the kids to/from after school activities. If that intersection can't handle a fast food joint, then how is it going to handle all the proposed developments within a mile of there? If I was a developer, this would raise a red flag.

I've worked downtown the entire time they were open and never once thought of walking down there. Not that I dislike the restaurant (our kids love the trains at the East Beltline location), it was just out of sight and out of mind for us.

Backed up on the Beltline?? That restaurant doesn't/wouldn't have a driveway on the Beltline. They might backup onto the Celebration Drive or interfere with Chili's, but likely would have little impact on the Beltline traffic. The busiest an average Chik Fil A gets is at lunch and they average 95 cars during that time. Can't imagine that this is going to have a significant impact the 66,000 cars that already drive past Knapp's corner everyday. Plus, Celebration Cinema approved it. They are the ones who would be impacted with any traffic issues.

Surprised about this rejection. I get the idea that they don't want it to be another 28th street, but replacing one chain restaurant for another with a drive thru isn't really going to tip the balance. There are already a few drive-thrus near Knapp's corner: Food: Pot Belly (new), Starbucks, Kitchen 67 (new-ish), Wendy's & Red Hot. Banks: Chase, Macatawa, LMCU, DFCU, Mercantile, PNC (new) & 5/3rd. Plus the Meijer and D&W prescription drive-thrus

That is not going to be helpful in dropping some weight. I love Chick-Fil-A.

I believe in on the home values. I remember looking at rental properties even in 2000 and it was easy to find homes for $30k to $40k that now would be easily 3x to 4x those values. Sorry. When I say "moving back..." I meant that people (from wherever) are finding downtown GR as an appealing place to live after so many decades of people moving away and not specifically saying that people are giving up their suburban homes for downtown condos (although I do know a few). There are more younger people not heading to Chicago/SE MI after college and instead finding a spot here. Cool trend! It will good to see the numbers in 2020.

My first reaction was that I was little surprised to see how much downtown GR had shrunk from 2000 to 2010. I would assume there has been a drastic shift the other way since 2010 as people start to move back downtown.

Saw a Facebook post over the weekend from MooseJaw that they were coming to Grand Rapids. The only hint they would drop regarding location was that it was "near the market". Not sure what building they have in mind, but there are some theories around Klingman's. https://www.facebook.com/moosejaw/photos/a.247264431438.137480.6079241438/10153834542796439/?type=3&theate

Yes Ada Bible is huge. 3 full time campuses and the 4th campus is already meeting at Calvin until they build on East Paris. I don't know the exact attendence numbers but both the Knapp Street and Kentwood campuses can seat 1000 to 1200 people and have 3 services. The Cascade Road campus is probably closer to 3000 people x 3 services. I would not be shocked to hear that 10,000+ people attend services every weekend. They are really aggressive about their debt. They normally raise a big chunk of money before breaking ground and then pay off the debt within 2-3 years.

An hour South of Grand Rapids?? That's halfway to Chicago... :-)

I'm touring the datacenter in the pyramid with our technical team very soon but we have some limitations on what we can share (NDA). My understanding from people not from Switch (or Supernap as the people I am talking with refer to themselves), is that it is moving along well and this company (Switch client) is still targeting July to start moving in equipment.

I have to edit my post. I just saw the high end stores you mentioned in a newer marketing brochure from December that I hadn't read before: http://lormaxstern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Village-at-Knapps-Package-120215.pdf

Speaking of traffic flow. Do we anticipate a new traffic light on Knapp? Currently, it is a little difficult at times to turn left onto Knapp from D&W. I can't image what it will be like when that whole area is developed. I'm imagining something like they have on Knapp for Celebration Cinema/Meijer. Also, it would have been nice if they could have figured out a way to add an entrance from Dunnigan to help alleviate some of that traffic (I think that is the theoretical drive you are talking about behind D).

Definitely disappointed. Since I only live 3 miles away, I would have spent a lot of time there if they had some solid stores/restaurants. I was really hoping for REI or at least a solid restaurant/brewpub like Gravity has turned into. I can't imagine that a lot of people from Egypt Valley/Ada are going to drive there for Ulta or DSW. At this point, we have to assume the remaining buildings will be filled with things like Men's warehouse, RiteAid and a Subway.

Celebration is trying to stay out in front on the innovation side. They realize that they are competing against people with really nice HDTV's and comfy chairs at their homes and they are trying to raise the bar on the experience you receive at a theater. I would suspect their attendance is down but the amount people are spending per visit is going up. They have a few theaters that serve beer/drinks now (see Studio C in Okemos as an great example) and they have been investing in some really nice seating (recliners at some locations,etc.). I think a downtown concept with a bar similar to, (or better than, what they have in Okemos could be really popular. Might actually pull some people downtown for a "dinner and a movie" that are just staying out in the burbs now.