Telecaster Rex
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Posts posted by Telecaster Rex
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18 hours ago, MJLO said:
I am hoping this is tongue and cheek and that the city would never waste the money to preserve that beast. Which would likely not be rehabbed even if they did.
Not looking to poke at those who support the HPC, but when was the last time the Hindering Progress Commission preserved anything of note? Or anything anyone cared about? It seems over the last 10 years mostly all they have done is make it damn near impossible for neighborhoods to get rid of eyesores that aren't particularly significant at all. But if there are examples I'd like to know. All I ever see are stories about hideous dilapidated churches that are forbidden to be demolished, there has to be another side to their work?
This church building is actually on the National Historic Register, so the preservation issues go a lot higher than just with local HPC.
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8 hours ago, Dj Augustine said:
It would be more considerate if Kent County would hire an appraiser when trying to determine if they want to sell.
Elaborate please?
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29 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:
Well now it is since home prices are now sky-high. Few Gen-Ys can afford to live over here these days. Hopefully developer's dollars, or some of the retail, dont leave the area to chase after them. I wouldn't blame them if they did though.
Agreed. However the customer demographic includes quite a bit more than just those living in the neighborhood. If it just included neighborhood residents, most commercial districts GR would still be lacking for customers.
30 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:The original plans for the Kregel building were scrapped because they refused the developers permission to put windows (they thankfully relented) in the blank upper 3rd of the building, the old Project Rehab property is still undeveloped because the HPC rejected the perfectly reasonable plans for both corners, leaving an empty field and 2 unused buildings. The Lee & Birch store were severly restricted on altering the exterior of a building that only a nut would call historic. The old D&G building is virtually stuck because redeveloping it to HPC standards is almost impossible without spending a fortune, and a number of buildings and homes along Wealthy that really should be torn down are "protected" and will likely languish for a long time because few developers will waste time or money just to rehab something that is little better than a windowless shack.
Again, agreed on a lot of these points - especially about the homes along the north side of Wealthy between James and Charles. These properties are in significant need of investment that they likely won't receive; and residential use is no longer the "highest and best" use for these properties. Despite all the good about how we use historic preservation in Grand Rapids, I think there's a lot we do wrong as well - like using historic preservation regulations to stop any and all demolition in historic districts despite evidence that historic district/neighborhood designations were never intended to be a handicap to new development. There are a lot of places throughout the US that prove that historic regulations don't have to be hinderance to new development and/or reuse of existing commercial structures - we just need to follow some of those examples.
My point was that development and demand for commercial space in Uptown continues in spite of the HPC requirements, because people and paying customers WANT to be in Uptown. Admittedly, as a resident of Uptown I'm biased but you can find objective proof of all of this as well - increased property values, increasing rental rates, etc. Again, not all of these are good things, but they do have some objective value.
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20 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:
Not saying that because I hope I'm right. I'm saying that because I'm afraid I may be.
Uptown just happen to be the only "it" area in GR for the past few years due to no one else really rivaling the energy, investment, and demographic influx.
Bridge St. is about to upend that without the weight of the pesky red tape of an HPC mucking things up for developers.
Hope I'm wrong.
With all due respect, I'm getting kind of tired of this old argument that Grand Rapids can only have one "it" area. Investment continues in Uptown, with plenty still in the pipeline; and demand for commercial lease space in Uptown remains incredibly strong, even as more and more comes on line along Bridge Street and other nearby parts of the Westside.
Plus, Uptown and Bridge St. are not even the only potential "it" areas in town (see: Creston, North Monroe, etc.).
This isn't two regional malls competing for national chains - for the most part investment in Uptown and Bridge Street have been local dollars, and it's not like everyone's just going to close up shop in Uptown and move to the new "it" area. Things aren't that portable.
Not to mention that the customer demographics in Uptown will likely remain somewhat different than those on Bridge Street, with Bridge being closer to the college and drawing a somewhat younger, less family-oriented demo. Plus, it's my personal belief that people vastly underestimate the size of the customer base for ALL of urban Grand Rapids, and have for quite some time.
And finally, this all has NOTHING to do with HPC mucking things up.
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1 hour ago, KCLBADave said:
Right now at the KCLBA, we are seeing some pretty darn cool efficiently designed homes that builders are proposing on some of our empty lots. I am hoping this housing shortage/crisis we are seeing will bring out more creativity to get more units per site. If I get permission from the developers, I will share them.
Notwithstanding what's being built south of the city parking lot on Barth SE? Because that's a stretch for "pretty darn cool"...
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1 hour ago, KCLBADave said:
I'm not so sure the modern design would not receive HPC approval. Look at Ted Lott's place on Diamond, or the new construction home on the corner of Madison and Pleasant. Maybe not this exact design but with a few modifications to the materials choice, it might fly.
I wouldn't disagree with you except for the fact that a similar "modern" looking design was handily shot down by HPC and the neighborhood 3 years ago.
And TBH, ...the neighborhood opinion here seems to carry more weight than HPC; only say that because I LIVE in the neighborhood (and don't assume I agree with the prevailing neighborhood opinion)....
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1 hour ago, jthrasher said:
A house on Logan was just flipped and sold for 199,900 before it even hit the market. The house I'm flipping on Charles st. will sell for more. The Wealthy St. area can definitely support that price point.
234 Charles SE sold as of 3/31/2017 for $269,000, this after selling in mid-2015 for $185,000
23 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:
Oh I hope you guys can get hold of the mostly empty lot corner of Eastern and Cherry and do this one there!
Great look, but would never receive HPC or neighborhood (Cherry Hill) approval.
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Does anyone know what was decided RE: 733 Wealthy at the HPC meeting last night?
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c) Unless something very major has changed in the last few weeks, Cherry Street Capital is still very much involved in this project. Perhaps Triangle is their CM and/or GC? Cherry Street is submitting for the April HPC meeting for approval. There was a committee requested by HPC, led by Cherry Street, made up of neighbors and representatives of EHCN and EHBA that has been (and continues) to meet regularly to guide the redesign process. From what I've heard, the meetings have been productive and based on the new designs shared at the EHCN meeting tonight, the project is much more in the character of the neighborhood.
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Deed restrictions run with the land, not the owner. A deed restriction can specify certain uses, etc. It's an interesting tool.
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Trader Joe's (or any other grocery store) at this site would not be an option. Spartan had all parcels deed restricted when they purchased the D&W site from Benner.
If that is accurate C,D,L could be.a Trader Joes. Other then the REI, my expectations aren't met (not sure why I thought for more but oh well)
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Just noticed this. Bell's is coming to Ford airport.
http://www.grbj.com/articles/76654-bells-brewery-lands-at-ford-airport-renovation
New projects on the West Side
in Grand Rapids
Posted
An entity related to the Secchia family has owned the building since January 2016.