GRLaker

I feel like the only solution for RiverTown is to tear it down and start from scratch. The only retail that seems to work today is organic. Main floor retail and dining with housing and offices above. That is a decent size chunk of land. Run a “Main Street” down the center and line it with mixed use. Keep the theater, Dick’s, and Kohl‘s there with some cosmetic updates. I know the idea has a 28 West feel to it, but the concept can work in Grandville far more than it ever could in Wyoming.

I guess I’m not really that concerned about the size. It’s USL, not MLS and we’re Grand Rapids, not Chicago. I’m sure the north and south ends will have room for expansion in the event that standing room only becomes the norm. Until then, though, this should fit our needs.

OKC looks like a sprinkling of buildings in a parking lot. I’d never want to model GR after them. To make their city even more off balance, that 2,000 foot Johnson isn’t even going to be in the city core. There will be like a half a dozen parking lots between it and the rest of downtown. So weird.

If OKC can have the tallest building in America, there’s no reason we can’t have taller than 12 stories

GVSU has several upgrade plans in the works for Lubbers Stadium. New concession and bathroom building, an overlook in the northwest corner, an expansion of the east side stands, an elevator in the back of the press box for ADA reasons…Plus they just built a brand new football center a few years ago. They’re not going anywhere.

Seems odd that an organization that’s hemorrhaging money after acquiring Beaumont can somehow keep buying up downtown land.

There are far larger cities than GR that have no upper tier professional sports teams. The likelihood of us getting one over them is slim to none. The fact that we have the second highest level in hockey and soon to be soccer is honestly great.

GVSU going to D1 is still up in the air. It’s a natural move considering the GLIAC is falling apart at the seams, but I have heard that they may be getting resistance from Oakland and Detroit Mercy to join the Horizon League, which would be the logical conference for all non-football sports. As for the stadium…They’ll never move it downtown. They want the stadium to remain on campus. They also have plans for another expansion in the near future per their master plan. This addition is much needed since that side of the stadium is dinky. New additions in the picture are in blue.

As much as I’d love to see one in GR, I highly doubt we’d get one before Detroit.

Did he provide any examples at all to describe the new vibe? I’m not questioning his view; just curious what changes they have started to notice.

Buncha savages!

I have wondered the same about GRdad. Haven’t seen him around here in a long time.

I’m not trying to be negative. I just truly believe this is a better design and fits better in an urban environment.

I'm not sure I would call this a step up from the previous design. I get the need to change the direction of it, but I feel like we took a big step back by going away from a structure to an artificial hill with trees.

Nice. Must be the empty grass area by Field and Fire.

Safety concerns? What the bloody hell? I have never once felt unsafe in any section of the downtown area. Moving to the suburbs isn't going to do businesses any favors in finding young talent. If Millennials and Gen Z can't work from home, they want to work in a city - not a suburban industrial park in a metal clad building.

Looks like a zoning change is on the agenda for this week that would allow buildings on the periphery of downtown to be as tall as 20 stories, which is a 10 story increase from the current limitation. Zoning change would permit taller buildings around downtown Grand Rapids | Crain's Grand Rapids Business (crainsgrandrapids.com)

The Two for Twenty Connector.

If we were to go off of the graphic alone, it almost seems to point to a flight museum.

My assumption would be that they plan on replacing the two sections along Fulton. I can’t imagine they would tear down the 9 story building.

Kendall is an apartment builder. I wonder if they’re just opening the housing lots up for local builders to build on or if they plan on actually offering a single family home portfolio for buyers.

Pretty wild that Michigan continues to shrink despite a stable economy and a climate that is trending toward Michigan being a refuge state. I mean, I would love to live in a warmer state, but the climate situation of the south becoming increasingly intolerable isn’t just some far off theory; we’re already starting to see it play out. For that reason alone, I’ve decided to stay. Maybe the average American doesn’t have that type of foresight though.

I noticed today that the old auto mechanic place on Monroe, butting up to the highway, is being torn down. I know MSU owns the land in the area. Makes me wonder if they have any plans for it other than more surface parking.

Regarding the DEI department: From what I recall, it was put into place by the past board at the request of the larger businesses in the county. There was actually a solid working relationship between the previous board and the business community and the DEI office was the brainchild of that partnership in an attempt to draw a more diverse workforce into their ranks and the community.

I honestly think that's it. This transcends politics and ventures into the territory of Ottawa County no longer being an environment that's stable enough to do business. As much as businesses prefer no government intervention, they do rely on it in a lot of ways (roads, utilities, department of health, schools, attracting people to live there, etc.). All of these actions that fly in the face of what businesses are asking for is Ottawa County essentially saying, "we're closed for business." Also, Millennials and Gen Z take notice of these things in a time where everything is now readily available information. It will factor into their decisions when they are deciding if they want to live and work in Holland or Grand Haven when a more inclusive Grand Rapids/Wyoming/Kentwood and its share of industry is right up the road.