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Posted (edited)

OK so the mega millions jackpot tonight is something like $1.4 billion. Let’s say after taxes you get about $730 million.
 

What project or projects would you donate your money to?  I would want to give money to the hospitals, GRPS, The Rapid… also, the little kid in me still wants to build a big sky scraper downtown.

 

What are some things you guys would do locally if you were to acquire that amount of money!

 

 

Edited by BLUESCRUBS
Posted

I've actually fantasized about this, but I always asked "what if I had Elon Musk money?".

I would definitely half-fund an elevated rail project to the lakeshore (GR to Holland or Muskegon) or to the airport from DT.

Otherwise I would start a bunch of mixed-use projects all over the city in strategic places. The Franklin/Eastern intersection, Leonard/Fuller, Madison/Hall, on W. Leonard,  N. Monroe, Several points on S. Division. Just standard 5 over one projects to get some momentum going. Wherever I can!

I would easily fill out Wealthy street and renovate the Kregel building. East Fulton to Aquinas College. Cherry street in East Hills.

Nothing super fancy, just extreme amounts of infill.

  • Like 1
Posted

I would definitely buy and build on the lot between Monroe and Ottawa along Louis. 

First floor would be retail. Second floor would be a sports bar type place with garage doors that open to the street. Parking would be a must. And finally, about 45 floors of hotel/apartments/condos. With a large LED weather spire on the top. 

 

So like, a modern Plaza Towers. But not landscaped to look like a suburban tower.

Posted
15 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I've actually fantasized about this, but I always asked "what if I had Elon Musk money?".

I would definitely half-fund an elevated rail project to the lakeshore (GR to Holland or Muskegon) or to the airport from DT.

Otherwise I would start a bunch of mixed-use projects all over the city in strategic places. The Franklin/Eastern intersection, Leonard/Fuller, Madison/Hall, on W. Leonard,  N. Monroe, Several points on S. Division. Just standard 5 over one projects to get some momentum going. Wherever I can!

I would easily fill out Wealthy street and renovate the Kregel building. East Fulton to Aquinas College. Cherry street in East Hills.

Nothing super fancy, just extreme amounts of infill.

I like where your head is at! I've often fantasized about having the money to build/rehab the existing rail to GH then on to Holland. Beach goers on the way there from GR and commuters on the way back! Couldn't be more perfect... Unless there was a line to the airport as well that connected downtown.

Posted
3 hours ago, StreetcarGR said:

I like where your head is at! I've often fantasized about having the money to build/rehab the existing rail to GH then on to Holland. Beach goers on the way there from GR and commuters on the way back! Couldn't be more perfect... Unless there was a line to the airport as well that connected downtown.

Rail to Holland then north to Grand Haven all exists.  Would seem more practical…

  • Like 1
Posted
5 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

Rail to Holland then north to Grand Haven all exists.  Would seem more practical…

The sheer fantasy of it all had me missing the small details I guess... That's why there are smart people to do what the crazy rich person tells them in a realistic way haha

  • Haha 1
Posted

Oh boy do I have so many things I'd want to do. In no particular order

1. A train from GR to Detroit. Also a train to Indianapolis. The fact this doesn't exist is mind-boggling.

2. Remove all parking lots from downtown and build on them with buildings that include parking garages/residential and some office and ground-floor retail.

3. I'd go back in time (yes, this exists in my reality that I win this much money) and convince the Whitecaps to build a new ballpark at Wealthy and Butterworth.

4. Expand the crap out of Van Andel Arena because the concourse is way too small and it's an outdated facility that is in heavy need of upgrades.

5. Renovate all empty buildings downtown for more housing

6.  Create bike lanes on all roads in the city.

7. Extend the riverwalk from Jenison all the way to Riverside Park

8. More former rail lines into walking/biking paved trails (I.E. Carmel, IN)

9. Make Calder Plaza more pedestrian friendly (less concrete, more green space)

10. Build an iconic skyscraper on the parking lot next to the McKay Tower that has access to Monroe Center and Pearl. It would be a quarter parking and the rest residential with a rooftop restaurant, outdoor deck and a viewing terrace. It would be 616 feet tall, around 40-50 floors.

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Zads said:

3. I'd go back in time (yes, this exists in my reality that I win this much money) and convince the Whitecaps to build a new ballpark at Wealthy and Butterworth.

If time travel is in play, I'm going to back to the '30s to prevent the dismantling of the streetcar network.

Edited by RegalTDP
  • Like 4
Posted (edited)

And a big development at Market/Fulton, new tall skyscraper, subway to the airport, and a giant statue in the style of the statue of liberty dedicated to some guy named Faust to complete a two-decade-old joke.

1 hour ago, WMrapids said:

Three words; hydrogen power plant.

Honestly, commuter rail connecting the three cities:

  • GRR - Grand Rapids - Walker - Coopersville - Fruitport - Muskegon
  • GRR - Grand Rapids - Grandville - Hudsonville - Zeeland - Holland
  • Saugatuk - Holland - Grand Haven - Muskegon - Whitehall

Tram / Streetcars (Major stops listed, with minor stops between): 

  • Millennium Park - John Ball Zoo - GVSU - Downtown GR - East Hills - Easttown - East GR
  • North Muskegon - Downtown Muskegon - Adelaide Point - Lakeside / Lake Express Ferry - Pere Marquette Beach

With this, one could go to a couple different beaches, go to Milwaukee, hit all of the major festivals in the region, without ever once using a car.

And then restore some of the ornamentation that's been missing from a lot of historic buildings in GR for almost a century. If there's anything left, rebuild the old city hall as a community center somewhere in the city.

Edited by Allison Slater
  • Haha 1
Posted

I did this same thing. Bunch of nerds!!

Me?  Speedbumps everywhere.  Every street where people live has a minimum  of two speedhumps.  What could that possibly cost?

...and then I would re-architect North Monroe to close it from Trowbridge to Coldbrook and redevelop the entire waterfront as pedestrian, forcing all traffic to Ottawa. Sixth street bridge would be one way (West) only as a funneled exit to 131N/Scribner.  Division is combined into Ottawa and made 25mph w/ tons of roundabouts and speed bumps.

Then I would pay someone to transplant large, already grown evergreen trees to create a sound barrier canopy around every section of highway rolling through town. I would also install 20ft walls on the highway overpasses throughout the city.  Maybe cap 96 as it goes west from fuller to the river.

 

  • Like 1
Posted
10 minutes ago, grandrollerz said:

Then I would pay someone to transplant large, already grown evergreen trees to create a sound barrier canopy around every section of highway rolling through town. I would also install 20ft walls on the highway overpasses throughout the city.  Maybe cap 96 as it goes west from fuller to the river.

 

This reminds me of another idea that could actually be done now.

 

Grow bamboo along the sides of the highway! Not only does it make a nice sound and visual barrier, it can serve as a "cushion" if a car was to go off the highway.  And on top of that, the bamboo can be harvested and sold as building material.

It's cheap, grows fast, and many verities can grow in colder climates. 

  • Like 1
Posted

Bamboo can quickly get out of control and take over an area and for that reason is considered an invasive species that is advised against planting.

+1 on the cap of 96 though. A park connecting Michigan St and Belknap would be lovely.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)
On 8/4/2023 at 5:31 PM, walker said:

Remember we had a big discussion about the old Holland Home senior residence property  three or four years ago when it was temporarily leased out for a year as an emergency homeless shelter.  Since the lease expired it has sat empty. 

I don't remember anyone posting anything here about it since then.  While they have apparently been working on it for some time, I just learned today that Hope Network is working on converting it to apartments for the disabled.  A Google search turns up this as the most recent story about it:

CRAINS: Hope Network- Starts Work on 40m Housing Project

    

 

17 hours ago, Mjak said:

A train between downtown GR and downtown Detroit.  I’d love to not have to drive down there for games.  

Stopping in EL and Ann Arbor would be great for people going to games and students to those schools who are from metro GR/Detroit. The amount of times I've wanted to catch a concert or game in DET/EL/AH but dont need to spend $200 to spend the night..... (cause I might like to have a few adult beverages at said show /game)

Edited by HavingAhoot
  • Like 2

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