demhem

The question I have is where do they park their other sports if only football goes to the OVC? Horizon League? I can see a rivalry with Oakland University and Detroit Mercy in basketball and other sports if that is possible.

I've been wondering the same thing. I couldn't find any permits or approvals on building eye.

I guess I should clarify, by "going up" I mean approved by the City and in motion through demolition.

There are townhomes going up at 937 and 945 W Fulton. The demolition of the old single-story Impact Screen Printing business is completed, and they were getting started on the house at 945 this morning. The other two houses on that block appear to be staying, but were mentioned in the application on Accela. Not a huge project, but could be nice infill. I haven't seen any renderings yet.

Based on the first phase (and until the future development will be built as indicated), the red and blue boxes show surface parking on Ottawa between Trowbridge and Newberry.

Ottawa between Trowbridge and Newberry will now be fronted by nearly 75% surface parking. How depressing.

I would also hate to see it go away, but it looks like "Click Land LLC" owns both adjacent parking lots, so maybe we will see some infill and preservation of the building/business?

Agreed. I'll add: the issue is not necessarily with requiring or encouraging active level ground uses to encourage pedestrian level activity, it is with requiring or encouraging them to be retail everywhere, creating a glut of retail space in certain areas. There are some street segments where offices, gyms, service establishments, or even (properly designed) residential units could be more appropriate if pedestrian level activity is desired. Did that hot take come with a warning?

Not sure if this is the case here, but public universities (typically) do not have to comply with local zoning (which usually includes sign standards).

In the master plan they discuss square footage/utilization benchmarks (laboratory space is identified as a need). When I was in graduate school there, it was my understanding that certain programs were limiting expansion/enrollment increases due to space constraints. Until recently, GVSU had a several healthcare programs running out of leased space along Michigan Avenue. They still appear to be playing catch-up.

I assume that an incremental build-out is more financially palatable for their budget, planning, and Michigan capital outlay. Also, all of the state universities are dealing with a challenging enrollment environment. While GVSU has done well by comparison, other universities such as CMU and WMU have lost 20% or more of their student population in the last five or so years. You don't want to overbuild and have the bottom fall out. They are also respecting the wishes of the Belknap neighborhood by not constructing buildings over a certain number of stories north of 196: https://www.belknaplookout.org/neighborhood-leadership/gvsu/

Nice find! That is definitely it.

That still doesn't give enough away! The brick facade and screening across the street might help narrow it down though... I've been to TF. I like it, but HG is near my office, has top rope, and is less expensive.

I would also love to know where this is. I first climbed at Planet Rock growing up on the east side of the state. I regularly climb at Higher Ground now, but this has my attention.

This also includes my comparative experience in the City of GR. As a renter for 6 years and homeowner for 4 (in GR), the HOAs that I have worked with (mostly in the suburbs of West Michigan) have largely been more meddlesome than the City, with a few exceptions. Further, as someone who had landlord issues when I rented (roof leaking, landlord not doing anything about it), I was incredibly happy with the meddlesome bureaucracy and inspection when I couldn't get my landlord to take care of the issue. My experience is just different than yours.

I routinely work with HOA's that have far stricter rules than that of the communities that they are located in. The comment usually goes something like: "Can we get rid of the HOA and just comply with the City/Village/Township rules?" Not sure how our experience is so much different.

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/walker/lincoln-country-club-development/69-92508e21-6071-4e38-a472-6a3fd8e05320 "New Development Proposed for Lincoln Country Club" Anyone have any insight on this? Sounds like a mixed-use development is in the works.

God that is an amazing building.

Bridge Street Ministries bought the building and they are completing a renovation/restoration; however, I can't remember exactly what they intend to do with the building.

A dredging project is much different than a dam removal/river restoration project. They are the polar opposite environmentally. One seeks to modify the river while the other seeks to remove the modifications and restore the river more closely to its original natural state. The later is environmentally beneficial, especially for wildlife.

https://fox17online.com/2019/11/18/cedar-springs-brewing-opening-second-location-in-grand-rapids/?fbclid=IwAR1wF_SH7JnLJPq8fLo5mOrmwkVr5M3dFrBsU4KJMjD6hZ0LmckhMqBibB8 Cedar Springs Brewing Company opening a taproom/brewing operation at 642 Bridge Street NW as the "Kusterer Brauhaus."

Also in this area: someone tore down the old service station at the corner of Gold and Fulton and appear to be prepping the site. I don't have a picture but I saw the equipment and vacant site last night.

That part of Alpine Township is within the Planned AG preservation area for Kent County: https://www.accesskent.com/Departments/BOC/PDR/pdfs/farms/PDR_Map.pdf

As GR's largest employer, I'm hoping that they decide to make a bold statement with a pretty attractive building. We will see...

Ouch.