highwayguy

Wow, above the fold! Nice! Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with either. I go to church most Sundays myself. It's just this idea from those that don't live here that everyone in Grand Rapids is conservative and "churchy", and if someone doesn't fit that category that they somehow won't fit in here or will be looked down upon, that really bothers me. I don't think any of those things are actually true about the Grand Rapids area, in fact I think we actually live in a rather diverse and accepting community that is, for the most part, welcoming of all. I'm happy that this article highlights lots of positive things that are going on in Grand Rapids, and that it's even on the front page, I just think they could have left political views out of it and focused on the projects themselves.

There is an article about green initiatives in Grand Rapids in today's Detroit Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20081019/NEWS...0390/1001/rss01 For the most part it's a decent article, but it has a few issues: - More than once Grand Rapids is stereotyped as "conservative" and/or "churchy". - The writer implies that everwhere on the southeast side of Grand Rapids is "gritty". - The "hip Cherry Street neighborhood" is not north of downtown, it is east of downtown.

I agree, this is a great idea. Meijer gets a little bit of additional business from commuters and some free publicity, and the State saves money by not building new parking lots. And as mentioned many times on this site, the last thing we need is more underutilized parking lots. Link to MDOT Press Release: http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-...01177--,00.html

There is still a Cheddar's in Lansing. It actually closed a while back, but then reopened just a month or two ago. It's on Saginaw Hwy, about 1 1/2 miles east of I-96. Interestingly, right next door is Finley's, another chain that has been absent from the Grand Rapids area for many years now.

There is a list of all of the Meijer stores, C-Stops, distribution centers, offices, and other buildings at: http://www.meijervendor.com/public/meijerstoredclist.html

In today's Grand Rapids Press: Backers of mass transit working to get streetcars they desire Cost of streetcars may be less in Grand Rapids Details of a Grand Rapids streetcar line

I agree, it's only getting worse. If someone else has purchased it, hopefully they will tear it down soon. I see Linens-N-Things now has everything 30%-50% off. I wonder how much those people who stand on the street corner holding a "Going Out Of Business" sign get paid? (And where they find the people to do it?) I believe you are correct.

Well, it closed a few years ago and has been going downhill ever since. There has been at least one fire in the area near the office since it closed, as can be seen from the aerial photos. I'm quite surprised that Cascade Township hasn't forced any demolition at this site.

It's more than ugly, it's DANGEROUS. That complex definitely needs to be torn down, more so than any of the other buildings mentioned. I attempted to drive back there about a year ago but turned around, afraid that I would drive over something and put a hole in a tire, and/or that someone would emerge from one of the buildings and start shooting. If it was more visible from the road I'm sure it would be gone by now. Me too, even though I was only able to go a couple of times. It's probably quite difficult to turn a profit on an outdoor water park in Michigan.

There is a lot of redevelopment going on right now along 28th Street, particularly in the Kentwood area. Among the projects currently underway: - The former site of Splash Water Park / AJ's Family Water Park (4441 28th St SE) is being redeveloped into a new location for the Menard's store that is currently located in CenterPointe Mall. - The Best Western Midway hotel (4101 28th St SE) was demolished in late 2006 / early 2007 to make way for a new Fox Motors location, which is currently under construction. - The former location of CompUSA (3940 28th St SE) is being remodeled into a Michaels store. - Construction is underway on the site of the former Mountain Jack's Steakhouse (3600 28th St SE) to build a new commercial building which will include the first Chipotle Mexican Grill in the Grand Rapids area. - Demolition started within the past week on the recently closed Don Pablo's restaurant (3570 28th St SE), as well as the former locations of Grand Rapids Lighting Center (3460 28th St SE) and DeKorne/Ethan Allen (3450 28th St SE). Anyone have updates on these projects, or more to add to the list?

Excellent! Good luck and welcome to Grand Rapids/Urban Planet!

Does anyone know where I can pick up a print copy of the Grand Rapids Business Journal? I assume most local bookstores would have it, but I haven't looked. Thanks in advance!

I was at the Clyde Park Ave/54th St Meijer yesterday and there is some sort of renovation in progress. So far the cafe is closed until it opens in its "new location" in July, the bakery appears to be closed, and bread has been moved to a temporary location near the back of the store. I wonder how extensive (or lack thereof) this renovation will be?

A transcontinental racing event known as the "Fireball Run" is scheduled to end in Grand Rapids the first weekend of October. I decided to mention it in this thread because it could, potentially, generate some additional media exposure for Grand Rapids. Here are a couple of links and a video: GR Press article Fireball Run website Video featuring Mayor Heartwell:

One of the worst terminals, at least in this part of the world, is the Smith Terminal in Detroit. However, it will soon be replaced with the brand new North Terminal, which is scheduled to open this September.

Air Canada operated as many as 4 direct flights per day between Grand Rapids and Toronto, however, those flights ended on June 1, 2003.

I'm sure the Acme Township mess had nothing to do with the decision, since the article is from 1995. From the article: Meijer had purchased property in many of the cities where it sought to locate. But eventually the difficulty it faced in acquiring and rezoning property in a few areas doomed it for the region as a whole. Zimmerman said that once a few sites became impossible, that left the company without enough market penetration to pursue the others. "We hate to bring one store into a region and leave it by itself," he said. He then goes on to say that Meijer has not closed the door on Northeast Ohio, stating, "we'll keep our eyes on the area." Meijer has changed a lot in the last 13 years, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an expansion into the Cleveland area within the next 5-10 years.

Excellent! Hopefully the use of "Medical Mile" on the signs and banners will finally establish this as the one and only name for the area, instead of terms like "Health Hill", or the inappropriate "Pill Hill" (health care is about a lot more than pills).

I forgot to mention another former mall, Grand Village Mall, located in Grandville, that closed in the late 1990s. Today, the majority of the building contains Mars Hill Bible Church. The original layout of the shopping center is still intact, with one of the former anchor stores used as a sanctuary and the store fronts used for Sunday school, child care, and offices. The building also contains Playworld, as well as the Visser Family branch of the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids.

Actually, Woodland Mall is in the City of Kentwood, while Centerpointe Mall is in the City of Grand Rapids. I don't remember exactly how it happened that way, but both were built around the time that Paris Township incorporated and became the City of Kentwood, which happened in 1967. There used to be a mall on the northeast side of Grand Rapids in Plainfield Township called North Kent Mall. However, the mall struggled to attract and keep tenants throughout the 1990s, and the mall portion was demolished in 2001 to make way for a Lowe's. The mall anchor stores, a K-Mart and a former Montgomery Ward, which is now divided into Dollar Tree, Dunham's, and Family Farm and Home, were not demolished and are still standing today.

More construction and traffic info (updated from my similar post last year): MDOT Lane Closures and Traffic Cameras Kent County Closures Kent County Construction Projects City of Grand Rapids Closures AAA Construction Report Clear Channel Traffic Google Traffic MSP Road Conditions

Yes, it will be closed for several months. This notification is only for Phase 1. ROAD CLOSURE NOTIFICATION Closing Name: WEALTHY STREET Notification Date: 03/18/2008 Closure Type: Full Closure Street Closed: WEALTHY STREET Where: FROM DIVISION TO JEFFERSON Starting Date: 03/24/2008 08:00AM Ending Date: 06/01/2008 05:00PM Originating dept: Traffic Safety - 456-3066 Contact: MARK ROBINSON, DIVERSCO, 299-8469 Description: PHASE I - STREET RECONSTRUCTION. EASTBOUND DETOUR: DIVISION TO FRANKLIN TO JEFFERSON. WESTBOUND DETOUR: REVERSED http://www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/1352

Greetings dan326! Never been to Baton Rouge, but it looks like there are some interesting projects going on there. Looking at a map, I see that the west side of the river seems to be relatively undeveloped. Any reason for that? One thing Grand Rapids and Baton Rouge do not have in common - weather. Baton Rouge is currently 76 degrees under partly cloudy skies , while Grand Rapids is 28 degrees with moderate snow falling .

Article from Friday's GR Press: B.O.B. owner still wants city land for expansion Not much difference from the Thursday article, except: The company that will operate the hotel has not been named, he said. Except for one he wants to live in himself, Gilmore said no condominiums have been reserved or sold.

I must admit, I'm a bit biased after my 2 most recent trips. The first, direct flights between GRR and Orlando, saved me a lot of time and hassle, and the money saved by getting dropped off, as opposed to paying for parking in Detroit and gas to get there, made it cheaper to fly from GRR. The second, flights out of/into DTW with connections in Houston, ended with me finally getting home from my trip at 3:30AM. Flying into GRR would have got me home about 4 hours earlier than that, and would have eliminated a middle of the night drive across the state.