Suburban Projects

[Raildude's dad]

9 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Bengston Center for Plastic Surgery is going to town on their new huge facility on East Paris near Burton, using a crane that seems to be WAYYYY too big for this project. You can see it from over a mile away. I would say this crane is surgically enhanced. 

Photo's photo's photo's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No good w/o out photos

[GRDadof3]

30 minutes ago, Raildude's dad said:

Photo's photo's photo's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No good w/o out photos

Sorry, this is a PG rated site. 

[GRDadof3]

On 3/14/2018 at 8:08 AM, Raildude's dad said:

Photo's photo's photo's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No good w/o out photos

I was over near 28th and Broadmoor and spotted the crane! So I took a detour and got some pics. Tall!!! Amirite? 

 

 

[GRDadof3]

There's a shite-ton of site work going on at the M-6/Byron Center area I noticed yesterday. Anyone know details of any of it? I noticed work just East of the Metro Health campus, which is apparently going to be another healthcare campus. The "mixed use" project at 64th and Byron Center appears to be heating up? And then at Burlingame and 60th there appears to be a bunch of spec industrial properties in the works. And a new retail center at the front of Metro Health's campus?  Found some of it on CARWM. 

 

 

[MJLO]

The immediate urbanized portion of the Grand Rapids area is disproportionately slanted to the south.  Is there anywhere this kind of growth around Rockford/ Belmont/Plainfield/Alpine Twp?

[GRDadof3]

1 hour ago, MJLO said:

The immediate urbanized portion of the Grand Rapids area is disproportionately slanted to the south.  Is there anywhere this kind of growth around Rockford/ Belmont/Plainfield/Alpine Twp?

Not that I know of. The confluence of M-6 and 131 creates quite a growth catalyst, not only for job clusters but for industrial growth and new households. 

[GRLaker]

13 hours ago, MJLO said:

The immediate urbanized portion of the Grand Rapids area is disproportionately slanted to the south.  Is there anywhere this kind of growth around Rockford/ Belmont/Plainfield/Alpine Twp?

Plainfield Twp is pretty urbanized. The Northview Public Schools portion south of the river at least. Then there's the Alpine cluster immediately bordering the city. Beyond that, there's nothing between Grand Rapids and Rockford and anything west of it. I know Alpine Twp. moved to stop further urban expansion into farm lands. However, with Rockford always being a popular area, I am amazed that there has never been commercial and industrial expansion into the areas between Grand Rapids and Rockford.

Edited March 22, 2018 by GRLaker

[MJLO]

1 hour ago, GRLaker said:

Plainfield Twp is pretty urbanized. The Northview Public Schools portion south of the river at least. Then there's the Alpine cluster immediately bordering the city. Beyond that, there's nothing between Grand Rapids and Rockford and anything west of it. I know Alpine Twp. moved to stop further urban expansion into farm lands. However, with Rockford always being a popular area, I am amazed that there has never been commercial and industrial expansion into the areas between Grand Rapids and Rockford.

To Dads's point I imagine if there were ever a northern freeway belt Rockford and the surrounding twp's  would grow like weeds.

[Sparty97]

37 minutes ago, MJLO said:

To Dads's point I imagine if there were ever a northern freeway belt Rockford and the surrounding twp's  would grow like weeds.

I'm trying to imagine what that might look like.  There would be little need to do something that goes East/West with 96 running so far North of town.   I would assume it would just be the Beltline made into a freeway, extended up and cutting over to 131 around Post Drive or so.    I think we are more likely to see the East Beltline add a couple of lanes or maybe even eventually turn into something like Lakeshore drive in Chicago (quasi-freeway) to help speed people North to Rockford/Cedar Springs after working in Ada, Kentwood, Lansing, Caledonia, etc..

Edited March 22, 2018 by Sparty97

[GRLaker]

36 minutes ago, MJLO said:

To Dads's point I imagine if there were ever a northern freeway belt Rockford and the surrounding twp's  would grow like weeds.

Just imagine...

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

Just imagine...

YES!  This is what I have always thought!  GR has to be one of the largest cities without a ring around it.  I feel like it would alleviate a lot of traffic on all the already super congested arteries.   Now would be a time to do it while most of the areas are farmland.   Will MDOT ever do it though?  Probably not.  I always find it weird the way metro GR is spread out.

[Guest]

I wonder if they will extend 68th from Byron Center to Ivanrest?

[wingbert]

2 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

YES!  This is what I have always thought!  GR has to be one of the largest cities without a ring around it.  I feel like it would alleviate a lot of traffic on all the already super congested arteries.   Now would be a time to do it while most of the areas are farmland.   Will MDOT ever do it though?  Probably not.  I always find it weird the way metro GR is spread out.

GR's highway system feels like a secret experiment to find the ratio where lack of investment meets drivers finding alternate routes/forms of transportation.

[thebeerqueer]

14 minutes ago, wingbert said:

GR's highway system feels like a secret experiment to find the ratio where lack of investment meets drivers finding alternate routes/forms of transportation.

[WMrapids]

On 3/21/2018 at 9:12 PM, MJLO said:

Is there anywhere this kind of growth around Rockford/ Belmont/Plainfield/Alpine Twp?

Not if you want drinking water.

[GRDadof3]

17 hours ago, GRLaker said:

Just imagine...

There's no way you could run that straight North from the M-6/I-96 junction in Cascade Township. You'd be cutting right through the Thornapple River and the wealthiest neighborhoods in the area. It'd make for an awkward "ring" but you'd have to move it East probably to around Snow Avenue at the Cascade/Lowell border. A lot more open farmland there. Same with where it crosses Fulton, it's going right through Amway.

[mpchicago]

Sorry folks - this ring is never going to happen, although its fun to imagine.  Michigan has enough road problems on their hands as it is.   The infrastructure in place is falling apart, and the state is struggling to finish projects long overdue like connecting a very short stretch of US 31 to 94/196,   Although we here that is in the 5-year plan now, after decades of discussion.  This besides other important connections like 131 to the Indiana toll road.   They even failed to put in a proper US 31 bypass in Ottawa County.   There is no doubt that the state needs to start cutting a bigger piece of the pie for West Michigan.   

[MJLO]

40 minutes ago, mpchicago said:

Sorry folks - this ring is never going to happen, although its fun to imagine.  Michigan has enough road problems on their hands as it is.   The infrastructure in place is falling apart, and the state is struggling to finish projects long overdue like connecting a very short stretch of US 31 to 94/196,   Although we here that is in the 5-year plan now, after decades of discussion.  This besides other important connections like 131 to the Indiana toll road.   They even failed to put in a proper US 31 bypass in Ottawa County.   There is no doubt that the state needs to start cutting a bigger piece of the pie for West Michigan.   

I almost think counties in the region should consider doing what Phoenix/Maricopa county did in the 1990's and add a 1 cent sales tax to fund the building of the current Phoenician freeway network.   Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Kzoo, Berry, and maybe even Berrien counties could do this.  I wouldn't give two craps about giving an extra penny for every dollar especially if it brought the area out of the 1960s in terms of infrastructure.  Aside from that this side of the state gets a ton of out of state traffic from tourism and business so it would in part be paid for by more than just locals

Lets circumvent MDOT since it is clearly buried in maintaining an infrastructure that was built for an area who's golden age was the 60s and 70s.   Even with the demographic shift they can't afford, or they don't care to modernize the states most economically dynamic region.

[GR8scott]

It’s way too late to add a freeway belt with all of the suburban development that happened in the last 25 Years or so. Besides making m6 into an interstate and turn north in Georgetown twp to connect with 96 bear Marne, I don’t think there would be much demand/traffic. It would be much better to improve the existing infatrictre and widen to at least 3 lanes in each direction like a normal metropolitan area and add a few exits like Knapp st and Patterson Fulton a full exit ect. weave/merge lanes between exits, maybe lighting, convert some of the left lane exits to right with flyovers, convert 31 to interstate standards from Holland to grand haven,  get federal funding and complete 131 into Indiana and make it I-67. Improve key corridors like e. Beltline, alpine, Wilson, 28th and 44th. I could go on and on about the serious lack of infastructure  investment in the area but an outer belt will never happen nor should it at this point. I think the other reason it didn’t happen and development to the south did is geography. There’s rolling hills and woods all east and north with little suitable farmland. To the south, it’s easy to convert flat, cleared farm land sold in larger chunks  into developments. 

[RegalTDP]

2 hours ago, GR8scott said:

 I think the other reason it didn’t happen and development to the south did is geography. There’s rolling hills and woods all east and north with little suitable farmland. To the south, it’s easy to convert flat, cleared farm land sold in larger chunks  into developments. 

^^^This, and also just because more transportation moves south from GR.  Most goods produced here are going SE on I-96 , SW on 196, or S on 131.  Walkerview is a notable exception because the access to I-96 still gives trucks a quick route out of town.  Oh, and also the airport.  Wherever the airport is, a lot of jobs are going to be near it.

RE: Ring expressways, I don't exactly see the need for a complete ring.  "Because other cities have it" is not a very good reason IMO.  I-96 already functions as a northern bypass around GR, and I don't see what another leg of freeway through Alpine would add.  Also, there's a lot we could do with East Beltline.  Thinking something like this:

Then you could add flyover express lanes onto M-44/EBL all the way down to 28th Street.  M-37 and M-11 would still be a mammoth intersection, and then you could add more express lanes on Broadmoor from 36th going down all the way to M-6.  Wouldn't be a true expressway, but would serve the same function and would be almost as fast.  That would allow traffic from the north to bypass GR easily and alleviate some of the congestion from the north on 131.

EDITED: Annotated the image a bit more.

Edited March 23, 2018 by RegalTDP

[EastownLeo]

Brookfield Property Partners just purchased GGP so now Rivertown Mall has new owners.

Maybe could trigger some movements?

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/03/2_west_michigan_malls_part_of.html

[GRLaker]

30 minutes ago, EastownLeo said:

Brookfield Property Partners just purchased GGP so now Rivertown Mall has new owners.

Maybe could trigger some movements?

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/03/2_west_michigan_malls_part_of.html

Excellent. What's the word on the street on these guys? The article states they're the largest real estate investment firm in the world. Hopefully that means they're capable of putting the money needed into real improvements at Rivertown.

[GRDadof3]

Downtown Grandville is getting all urban-y. I like it.  This is that project I talked about a few months ago, going vert. Nothing spectacular but it fits. 

https://www.facebook.com/Clock-Tower-Properties-2022178751132185/?hc_ref=ARQfPZ1I7WM7KSwxBH2-eK6BwncdnnFDt_h1SnrM_R7uwIMMQF1UNjzDWEhJ0QakJlM&fref=nf

And for those who miss the Corner Bar in downtown Rockford, they're apparently looking at an August reopening:

https://www.facebook.com/rockfordcornerbar/

 

 

 

[GRDadof3]

Village of Knapp's Crossing update. Streets are all torn up, two sections of buildings are in (one you can't see in this picture).  Not exactly the "village" that was proposed but it's new retail in this area I guess.

 

I really think that now is a prime time to do that last bit of infill at Celebration Village. Even a hotel like what was originally planned would be cool. 

[GRDadof3]

That's an inordinate amount of steel in those roof trusses on this building on East Paris. . Beautifully done!  Now I understand the big honkin crane.