Chisox
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Posts posted by Chisox
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38 minutes ago, MJLO said:
Well if that wouldn't work there then what would?
A tree farm.
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As someone mentioned above about the SL and development… Back in 2018 I commuted on the SL for a solid year from the 60th st station.
Not one of my coworkers knew about SL. I'd say half of them lived in the city. I'm not shocked, after all it's a bus line. I met people who lived along the line that didn't even know about it. I'm not even from Grand Rapids so it felt awkward being the one to explain it in someone's backyard.
From my own eyes there's not a lot of clamouring to live along the line to necessitate the kind of development people think should be there. So anything that goes is going to have to be spec with a lot of marketing outreach and lifestyle vision boards to drive interest.
The one area I do think really could flip is around the 54th St station. The neighborhood is probably solid and ready to go.
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2 hours ago, whitemice said:
Yep, hence my "Everyone wants a life changing experience, so long as nothing changes." quote.
Honestly, it would be easier if people just hated change or just didn't want to build things like [affordable] housing. Then you could really argue with them. It's the confounding desire that really mucks it up - because they earnestly want to do the right thing - they just want to do that other thing more. It is very Head+Desk.And you easily get back up towards $200K. Once your done, and you have to manage other parts of the site as well. My building did not cost $200K (or $194K), the whole project did. There is also sidewalks and trees and... don't forget parking!
Once you purchased property and cleaned a site the value is probably lost. The big price advantage of the ADU is zero land cost.
A dozen stand alone ~500sq/ft units on purchased property just doesn't make any sense.
Why not build a small apartment/condo building with lots of shared infrastructure?I figured this much after speaking with a major home builder in the area.
The character that everyone has grown to love and appreciate about Grand Rapids is literally a prototypical suburb of the early 20th century. It was an answer at that time, but I don't see that being an answer in today's context, especially with affordability and growth as a concern. That's just not the way forward in a city that wants the kind of growth that turns heads especially ones with unchanging boundaries or inclusivity of all lifestyles and tastes. Can anyone here imagine the city growing another 25-50k people in its current boundary and doing it affordably?
Expectations in these neighborhoods have to change. Houses may have to come down. Schools transformed. Transit expanded. Towers erected. Tracks laid, etc.
In my experience if you don't keep moving/changing/adapting/growing you get ran the fudge over (pardon my language) and left behind. Maybe Grand Rapids is different?
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Off topic I suppose, but...
Based on my limited experience in GR, I get the feeling that everyone wants to become inclusive, to grow, but it wants to stay at current DENSITY and CHARACTER with little to no change.
Anyone see that?
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4 minutes ago, whitemice said:
Which I believe was the point.
And I talked to my commissioner about it, who raised it at the meeting. It was so either grievous or stupid.
They dropped the height to 20ft, when they could have honestly dropped it from 25ft to 22ft/22..5ft and had no real impact.
Or, of course, drop the stupid pitch match requirement.Was this based on international building code or form based?
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19 minutes ago, mpchicago said:
Yes, agreed. When I saw that I was shocked.
I worked for a major building materials supplier in the city and I'm not surprised.
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It was snowing inside during the 80s.
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14 hours ago, grandrollerz said:
Well, they can keep the GR taproom open longer now with all that sweet molson-coors cash. This twitter thread summarized my thoughts on Atwater. Been once, after a Gala at Devos Place, never back. Don't know anyone else who goes. I sincerely hope they can hang on until the post-office goes and the convention hotel is up and running. It looks good on that corner.
s
Different beer topic: Non-Alchoholic beer. Supposedly the next big thing. I can't find any breweries that carry any besides Schmoz and Founders is out of it, with no firm plans to brew more.
Anybody know any breweries that are serving craft NA beer?
I don't know about locally, but with the increasing population of Muslims in the Midwest I wouldn't be surprised if there's a push to have more NA beverages. Over here Binny's has been carrying NA stuff for quite a while.
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When I moved to Grand Rapids I rode the SL quite a bit and learned from one of the transit cops there was a rail line proposal along this block. Does anyone see this correlating someway? Or even being a catalyst? Not necessarily the main reason for site selection, but I can't help, but point it out.
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8 minutes ago, walker said:
Something like this?
floral bed - Michigan Ave
Yeah, with native plantings and also having a monument possibly. Just don't grass over a median like it's a suburban avenue.
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1 hour ago, Khorasaurus1 said:
Oh yeah I have no qualms seeing a building built there. That parking lot is not "green space," nor does it have much value in it's current state.
It's just that Fulton is going to be lined with buildings that have a lot of massing right at the sidewalk AND feature heavy traffic, so it's going to need to be softened with streetscape.
As for medians, something similar to the ones in Fulton east of Division would work between Ottawa amd Ionia and still leave space for left turns at the intersections. And one could go between Ionia and Commerce by prohibiting left turns onto Louis.
What about installing raised floor beds like we have here in Chicago on Michigan Ave?
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30 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:
Welcome, and thanks for the insight. Got any good stories to tell?
Joe
Thanks for the welcome Joe!
Nothing specific to this location, the family mostly passed down oral stories of celebrities long forgotten who went on stage at the Superba (Pre 1930s.) and mob guys in the seats. While Frank's buildings largely stand today in GR, Freeport and Chicago I think one of his more enduring legacies was that he along with a family friend purchased a rather LARGE pipe organ and installed it at their church on Fountain St. I'm not sure if it still stands at that church. I'll have to talk to granny sometime.
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My gg grand dad managed this operation along side his brother co owning several prominent theaters in Grand Rapids, Chicago, Freeport, IL and Flint, Mi. There's quite a bit of history in these places. Frank, his brother alongside Buster Keaton and others spent a great deal of time nurturing Vaudeville in Grand Rapids. The city was really a playground for Vaudeville and they spared no expenses to make sure they played and hosted acts in highly innovative theaters at the time.
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Internet woke is a thing for the 35 and under crowd. It's probably the same crowd that conflates theory with reality and pragmatism with oppression. This crowd won't allow you to have a win win situation. Just move on and do good work for people.
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Is there a height restriction covering this property?
Highway and Road Construction Updates
in Grand Rapids
Posted
Having driven in the Grand Rapids area exploring for about a year or so I thought this maybe a defining moment for the area in terms of suburban development.
The i231 project may be another catalyst for the center of the area to fill in. It's going to start in Allendale or western part of the township. Obviously there's more to development than that, but I bet in 25-50 years people will look to this project.
The way the Grand Rapids area is laid out reminds me of the Chicago area before 1950 when it was a triplex. Then i290-i294 allowed the area to basically fill in considerably during the late 50s to 60s and beyond.