Medical Mile/Michigan Street Developments

[John E]

25 Michigan is completed and open for business. You must mean 35.

~John

[John E]

I was on the roof of 21 Weston taking pictures of the Gallery On Fulton construction as saw Aero Med going to Butterworth and was able to get video of it landing on the new helipad:

[GRDadof3]

25 Michigan is completed and open for business. You must mean 35.

~John

Yes, I must.

[MuskeMI]

Being on the roof for a helicopter landing still stands as one of the scariest moments of my life. And this was BEFORE the Aeromed crash!

It probably didn't help that it was a big ol' Coast Guard chopper, making their once-in-a-lifetime landing at a hospital, on a windy day.

[GRDadof3]

Some updates from today. The hole for Tower 35 is getting deeper:

I wish the HDVCH were taller. Still, that glass is looking pretty sharp.

Interesting new phenomenon: if you stand in the new lobby area of Butterworth Hospital, you can't see Michigan Street when you look across to the LHCP. It looks like they are on a plaza and not a street. You'll have to go check it out yourselves, as I didn't think taking pictures in a hospital lobby would be appropriate.

[aowwt]

I would say that is ton of parking they might be creating in the 35 michigan building. If thats not all for parking they might have come across some bad soil then.

[GRDadof3]

I would say that is ton of parking they might be creating in the 35 michigan building. If thats not all for parking they might have come across some bad soil then.

It's a continuation of the parking ramp that runs from the Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion down to the MSU Med School. 2600 spaces total at a cost of nearly $60 Million (just for the ramp).

[fotoman311]

It's a continuation of the parking ramp that runs from the Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion down to the MSU Med School. 2600 spaces total at a cost of nearly $60 Million (just for the ramp).

Only $23,000/space? That sounds like a bargain! Where can I buy my own $23,000 parking space in an unattractive, undergound, cave-like structure?

I also shudder to think about how much all of Spectrum's round the clock shuttle buses are costing them. If only someone would invent some alternative way to move people around that didn't take up as much room as a personal car.

[aowwt]

personally i appreciate the parking ramp they are building. My grandfather recently passed away and not having to walk a long distance and have to think about whats going on while you are walking is not what I want to be doing. I rather just drive and park as close as possible so I do not have to think about what I am going to walking into. As for the expense I think they should have just done a bit more but we shall soon see what happens. Do I think 2300 is enough for the main hospital for the city I do not know since this is also going to be used for multiple offices along with a school. Of course this is not GRCC where they have a ramp that is over used with over 15,000 students attending the school.

[jas49503]

Only $23,000/space? That sounds like a bargain! Where can I buy my own $23,000 parking space in an unattractive, undergound, cave-like structure?

that is a bargin. 10 years ago my dad paid 25,000 dollars for a parking space in chicago. he still had to pay a monthly fee.

his space was also underground and unattractive.

[GRDadof3]

personally i appreciate the parking ramp they are building. My grandfather recently passed away and not having to walk a long distance and have to think about whats going on while you are walking is not what I want to be doing. I rather just drive and park as close as possible so I do not have to think about what I am going to walking into. As for the expense I think they should have just done a bit more but we shall soon see what happens. Do I think 2300 is enough for the main hospital for the city I do not know since this is also going to be used for multiple offices along with a school. Of course this is not GRCC where they have a ramp that is over used with over 15,000 students attending the school.

Uhh, I don't think anyone is asking patients to park far away from the medical facilities and walk. I think the sentiment is that for employees, do they really have to have front door parking? Imagine the shuttle system that could have been built and operated for even 1/2 of $60 Million. Oh, and $10 Million of that came from taxpayers.

[fotoman311]

Uhh, I don't think anyone is asking patients to park far away from the medical facilities and walk. I think the sentiment is that for employees, do they really have to have front door parking? Imagine the shuttle system that could have been built and operated for even 1/2 of $60 Million. Oh, and $10 Million of that came from taxpayers.

Yeah, this is more my line of thinking. I'm not saying that patients or visitors should have to walk a long distance, or not be able to drive to the hospital (although when my niece was born, we lived about 4 blocks away, so getting there was certainly easy. )

The entire Silver Line is being built for around $40 million. That $10 million in taxpayer money (assuming GRDad is correct, which he usually is ), could have gone towards another BRT spoke extending to the North, West, or East, all connecting through Medical Hill and downtown, sharing some of the same platforms with the Silver Line.

We need to get away from the idea that building more parking spaces is the only answer to our parking problems and plan for a sustainable system for the long term.

Edited March 27, 2009 by fotoman311

[fotoman311]

that is a bargin. 10 years ago my dad paid 25,000 dollars for a parking space in chicago. he still had to pay a monthly fee.

his space was also underground and unattractive.

A $300,000 house can also be quite a bargain in Chicago. I don't think you can fairly compare the price in Grand Rapids to Chicago. Of course Chicago is going to cost more.

Edited March 27, 2009 by fotoman311

[aowwt]

I hate to say this but driving for me tends to let me not think about what I driving to especially when I am going to a hospital for a family member. Its one of those things that riding a BRT line would not provide. In anycase thats just my thought on driving versus riding a bus to a hospital.

As for getting more BRT lines done, I think it would be difficult to get more lines until we can see that the Division Ave will be successful. It be a good idea after the may vote to start looking at other lines that could be BRT styled. I still like my idea originally that I posted earlier in the Transit topic.

As for the development here I cant wait to see it get all acomplished. It really is going to be great to see Michigan Ave be nice and developed. BTW I was thinking this would be fun to put in google earth in the 3D building view once it all gets done.

[GRDadof3]

Yeah, this is more my line of thinking. I'm not saying that patients or visitors should have to walk a long distance, or not be able to drive to the hospital (although when my niece was born, we lived about 4 blocks away, so getting there was certainly easy. )

The entire Silver Line is being built for around $40 million. That $10 million in taxpayer money (assuming GRDad is correct, which he usually is ), could have gone towards another BRT spoke extending to the North, West, or East, all connecting through Medical Hill and downtown, sharing some of the same platforms with the Silver Line.

We need to get away from the idea that building more parking spaces is the only answer to our parking problems and plan for a sustainable system for the long term.

They talked about it at the UofM/ULI conference, and it was just listed recently in the Business Journal as one of the largest TIF or tax credit projects in the city. It may have only been $9 Million, but still a big chunk o' change.

[jas49503]

A $300,000 house can also be quite a bargain in Chicago. I don't think you can fairly compare the price in Grand Rapids to Chicago. Of course Chicago is going to cost more.

his condo at the time cost 225-250k for 2 bedrooms/2 bath approx 1200 sq. feet. not that much different from the condos that are going in downtown grand rapids. in fact, probably cheaper by quite a bit. it was directly behind the merchandise mart also, so the location was really pretty good. While I'm not going to argue that chicago is near grand rapids in terms of cost, it is not as far away as you would imagine (for downtown condos, not single family homes)

also, I have to walk about a half mile for my parking at work now, or I have the option of taking a shuttle if I would park in a further out lot and I can tell you that I pretty much wouldn't take another job in a place like that If I had a choice. I consider my time too valuable to spend 15 minutes getting from the parking lot to my work esp. when it only takes about 5 or seven minutes to get from my home to the parking lot. I (and many of my current coworkers, consider it a sign that the employer does not value your time. because of this there are system wide changes and systems (not in parking) that make your job much more difficult and inefficient. at least that could be the perception for potential workers (it is the reality where I work).

A shuttle system could probably be designed that would actually be more efficient considering the size of spectrum but it would have to overcome a lot of negative preconceived notions

You could also consider driving to the hospital when you have a loved one ill dangerous because of the distraction it causes. while some people may be able to focus on the road when they have someone close in the hospital, others may not have such great focus leading to a potentially dangerous situation. In that case something like BRT would be a public safety benefit, similar to laws stopping drunk driving.

[MuskeMI]

Uhh, I don't think anyone is asking patients to park far away from the medical facilities and walk. I think the sentiment is that for employees, do they really have to have front door parking?

As I've stated previously, only about 20% of SH employees park on site. Currently, employees need almost 9 years of seniority to park in the ramps. The rest are shuttled in from various sites around the 2 hospitals. I am not sure if your main point was that (A) employees should have to park off site or (B) there needs to be better mass transit options. I'm with you 100% on B, but A is unfair unless you apply that to all downtown businesses. It's a HUGE employee dissatisfier, especially in the winter. Imagine yourself as an A+ new nursing grad - where are you going to work? All 3 hospitals pay similar, have similar shifts/hours for new hires, similar patients....except that one requires you to park 3 miles away.

As others have stated, it's not great to have SH-specific shuttles running 18hours a day, 5 days a week. I would LOVE to not have to wait 10-15 minutes just for a shuttle to show up to bring me from my parking lot on Plymouth to the hospital. Parking out there, and then waiting for a shuttle, then riding said shuttle adds 45 min+ to my day, every day, not counting my commute to the lot. Unfortuantely, I don't live within miles of a Rapid stop, and the closest one would require me to transfer buses to get to the hospital. If there was a better option, I'd be all over it. Seems like SH could pony up some $$$ to get a high-speed line up and down Michigan at the least.

[GRDadof3]

As I've stated previously, only about 20% of SH employees park on site. Currently, employees need almost 9 years of seniority to park in the ramps. The rest are shuttled in from various sites around the 2 hospitals. I am not sure if your main point was that (A) employees should have to park off site or (B) there needs to be better mass transit options. I'm with you 100% on B, but A is unfair unless you apply that to all downtown businesses. It's a HUGE employee dissatisfier, especially in the winter. Imagine yourself as an A+ new nursing grad - where are you going to work? All 3 hospitals pay similar, have similar shifts/hours for new hires, similar patients....except that one requires you to park 3 miles away.

As others have stated, it's not great to have SH-specific shuttles running 18hours a day, 5 days a week. I would LOVE to not have to wait 10-15 minutes just for a shuttle to show up to bring me from my parking lot on Plymouth to the hospital. Parking out there, and then waiting for a shuttle, then riding said shuttle adds 45 min+ to my day, every day, not counting my commute to the lot. Unfortuantely, I don't live within miles of a Rapid stop, and the closest one would require me to transfer buses to get to the hospital. If there was a better option, I'd be all over it. Seems like SH could pony up some $$$ to get a high-speed line up and down Michigan at the least.

I think I was more along the lines of your B example, that $60 Million for a parking ramp is a lot of money and that even 1/4 of that could have been used to beef up their shuttle system, or partner with the Rapid to provide high-speed transit along Michigan St.

[Veloise]

...You could also consider driving to the hospital when you have a loved one ill dangerous because of the distraction it causes. while some people may be able to focus on the road when they have someone close in the hospital, others may not have such great focus leading to a potentially dangerous situation. In that case something like BRT would be a public safety benefit, similar to laws stopping drunk driving.

I am not understanding the original statement, paraphrased as "can't walk while in mourning."

One of the cited advantages of transit: it allows think time. Folks can read the paper, make calls, text/type, and otherwise use the "sit time" productively, without having to pay attention to traffic and the challenges of piloting a motor vehicle.

When my mother was critically ill, we'd park in Beaumont's out-lot (about as far as Fountain Street Church is from this hospital site). My father lost ten pounds from walking to the front door those weeks. And once he was driving home (me on shotgun) and ran a red light on a minor street. Whoops.

I've never seen driving in traffic listed on the mourning recovery lists.

HTH

[MuskeMI]

I think I was more along the lines of your B example, that $60 Million for a parking ramp is a lot of money and that even 1/4 of that could have been used to beef up their shuttle system, or partner with the Rapid to provide high-speed transit along Michigan St.

Gotcha. It's my understanding that nearly 0% of the newly added spots up and down Michigan (25, LHCP, future 35, MSU)

will provide for employee parking. It's pretty much all for guests/visitors. I believe that VAI is currently using some (most?) of the space under 25. 35 will eventually be the new home of the outpatient lab so there will be quite a bit of parking needed for all of those people coming and going.

[blueradon]

So for the first time I had to go to Meijer Heart Center today - for unfortunate circumstances - but we took Ramp 7 and went into the skywalk - and all I can say is WOW - you see all these pictures on UP all the time showing the look - but you all really just have to see this in person it is mammoth. My relatives that were with me we all just sort of stopped and dropped our jaws. I think it is so cool that GR has something like this.

[d8alterego]

I wish you and your family the best in your circumstance, but yes, it is very amazing and impressive inside the buildings. It's almost sad, really, how someone could go years without ever seeing the inside beauty of these buildings.

[GRDadof3]

Anyone know why Tower 25 has two "STATE" words near the very top on the South side?

[mpchicago]

Anyone know why Tower 25 has two "STATE" words near the very top on the South side?

I was wondering the same thing myself. I'd bet Peter Secchia put them up himself!

BTW, did they scrap those window embellishments that where shown to stick out on the Secchia Center?

Edited April 15, 2009 by mpchicago

[wingbert]

I wish you and your family the best in your circumstance, but yes, it is very amazing and impressive inside the buildings. It's almost sad, really, how someone could go years without ever seeing the inside beauty of these buildings.

The Lemmen-Holten Cancer Pavilion is a very impressive building on the inside. I'm just glad I've only had to see the inside as part of my job. To have to visit there for any other reason would totally suck. As for the Meijer Heart Center - same sentiments. Beautiful buildings that you hope you never have to see the inside. I'm sure that will also be true of the children's hospital.