Prankster

https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/news/restaurants-1/divani-owner-puts-downtown-grand-rapids-wine-bar-and-restaurant-on-the-market/ Bar Divani owner is looking to cash out. With all of the other places closing or changing hands, looks like we’re in for a rather large refresh of downtown’s dining and bar scene.

If I remember correctly, they used the recipes and names of their beers too.

Lipstick on a pig.

The problem that I have with their statement on expansion is the same thing they said when they built the arena.

Kinda disappointed that they don’t tear that building down (I don’t believe it’s historic) and develop that whole parking lot. It’s sizable enough to support something pretty big.

it seems like a lot of the cities I visit have their county offices on the periphery of downtown, except for their courts and legal teams. Looks like Kent County is following that pattern.

I wish they’d move off Calder Plaza completely, and demolish their stubby little building there along with the one across the street at 320 Ottawa.

It reminds me of the SRO’s on Division that are supposed to be hotels. Hope they are better than that.

Sorry if I’m misunderstanding your point, but I-96 only is in Michigan. I don’t think it has to cross into another state for it to be an interstate.

I know it’s a stretch (in regards to music), but Margaritaville Hotels are very nice. Just got back from staying at one in Gatlinburg.

The facade is meant to push and pull replicating the movement of the river. A better design for the lettering would be if they were backlit.

Am I looking at it wrong, or is there a big white wall facing the corner/roundabout?

I would settle for any new destination that isn’t in Florida.

Just on the surface, a $103 million credit for a $147 million project seems like an unreasonably large ask.

Protecting and maintaining those generators was the top priority when designing the parking ramp.

Any work they do would be lipstick on a pig. They need to completely redo it, and not just put up a splash pad, some trees and planters. It is the most pedestrian unfriendly part of downtown.

Ironically, I was just in downtown Houston in March, and the homeless situation was way worse than what we have. Their downtown was like a third world country with very little in the way of pedestrian traffic. The few of us that were walking around were being threatened by some very aggressive panhandlers. when I mentioned this to a cop I came across, he said the best thing to do was to just beat their ass so they leave you alone (so much for compassion). Maybe it was just that particular day, but Houston would not be the model I would hold up as how to address the homeless issue. Here is a pic I took of their Main Street on that Friday afternoon. Not the most lively street scene.

Here’s hoping they tear off the plywood and try to uncover some of its historical features.

i agree with your comparison. I think they were comparing it to Eastown because they are really trying to sell it as funky.

If anyone has access to the latest issue of Grand Rapids Magazine, they have a good article about the Creston neighborhood.

This is what I was talking about earlier in the thread about people deciding with their wallets and their feet if they feel safe downtown. I’ve lived here 54 years, and have seen the ups and downs. Nobody wishes to see downtown grow and succeed more than me. But if people think that shaming and judging the general public on their perceptions, they will lose that argument every time. Perception is reality for the public, and the only way to change that perception is to make sure to mitigate as much of the negative as possible. Safety is more than likely on the top of most people’s list.

Thank you for this. Glad to see things haven’t been downsized yet for the buildings height.

Kinda figured that at least 3 of the 5 major housing proposals would fall out The others be factory yards, display pack property, Leonard and and Front St property, and Sligh Furniture building. Sad that this is one of the casualties, it was my favorite of them. My prediction is there will be 2 others that die on the vine too.

I feel we are looking at it the same way, just through a different lens. I agree 100% that it is the way the news and social media portrays downtown is the issue. But blaming people on their perceptions and shaming them is not going to fix it. People will always follow their perceptions, what needs to be changed is the way it is presented to the people. But controlling the media doesn’t really go over well in this country.

What some people seem to have a hard time grasping in perception is reality. Shaming them or throwing statistics at them will not change that perception. People decide with their wallet and their feet. If they think someplace is unsafe, they will take their wallet and feet and go somewhere else. And all these great amenities we have in downtown cannot be supported by the Grand Rapids population alone. They need the nearly million people that live outside the city in order to be successful.