Prankster

Not trying to sound naiive, because I know development is going to happen out in this area of town, but why not downtown? Other cities that are similar in size to Grand Rapids have successful retail centers located in their downtown: Louisville - Fourth Street Live Salt Lake City - Gateway Center Providence - Providence Place Madison, WI - State Street Norfolk - MacArthur Place Also Spokane, Oklahoma City, Charleston, WV, Burlington, VT, and Bellevue, WA have large concentrations of retail in their downtowns. Successful downtowns don't just rely on any one component, ie-office workers, restaurants, but blend all components into the mix. Sorry for highjacking the thread, but it amazes me that with all the recent success in downtown, retail is still severely lagging behind. And the lame excuse that downtown retail is no longer feasible because of competition from the suburbs is wrong, based on the successful downtowns listed above. Getting off my soap box, I will end my preachifying. Sorry for the long rant.

Not quite sure what you're getting at.

This is the Watering Hole, wouldn't that be more appropriate for the Development Briefs thread?

First it was Azzar turning his buildings into "shabby chic". Then came the world class castle and moat from Joe Moch. Then the great wall of DeVos for the new children's hospital. Now this new age Jetson looking building from GVSU. Will you people never be satisfied?

This would be a huge get for downtown. Even though it is a national chain, they do bring branding recognition, and pretty good food. Plus, the location would be ideal. It would help fill in the void between the Sierra Room/Taps/J. Gardella's/Bar Divani area and the Black Rose area. We definately need to have that corridor fill up with entertainment. It would make it an even bigger draw than it currently is. Hope the rumor is true.

I didn't know that you worked in IT? Your troubleshooting skills are first rate.

Yesterdog is tops for the snacks, but you can't beat the location and convenience of chowing down a couple of Dog Pit dogs while trying to sober up.

It sounds like we have a lot of lonely souls inhabitting this board.

That's what I love about this board. There always seems to be someone out there with an inside "scoop" on what is going on with a project. If this board is any indication of the level of interest people in West Michigan have for downtown, we are in for a long and pleasant ride with the redevelopment of downtown.

Wasn't Hot n Now a local chain? I keep getting them and Get em n Go mixed up.

Can't we all just get along?

Maybe that is where they are going to cook the s'mores?

Because nothing says "Old Chicago" more than a suburban strip mall on 28th Street.

But it would sure be nicer if it was built into a base of a skyscraper, versus a stand alone suburban style drive thru restaurant.

It always helped when they had the outdoor furniture set up. It gave people more of reason to stay longer, which would then attract more people to stop by.

Glad to see that the "towers" are going to have more character in their design than what the original renderings showed. The originals looked like your basic bland glass office building.

Do you know where this building is located? Thanks.

Salvatore's in Stockbridge area never disappoints, Cherie Inn on Cherry Street and Sundance Grill downtown have never provided a bad meal for us, and Vitale's on Leonard has been a family favorite for over 20 years. Of course, there are several more expensive restaurants that provide a great meal. But these are the cheaper eateries that we love.

Brought my two daughters down there today and saw them too. When I mentioned it to my 6 year old, she said they were there to make downtown look busy just like Chicago. Ahh, the innocence of youth.