Jump to content

Front Street NW


GRDadof3

Recommended Posts

I think the Front Street NW corridor on the West side of the river holds a lot of potential like Monroe North does. There are some great old buildings still standing, it has riverfront access, and has some nice views to the East and toward downtown to the South. The Turner House is on the National Historic Register, at the corner of Front and 6th, and is probably one of the oldest standing residences in Grand Rapids. This company, nc3d, does 3D videos for urban planners and municipalities, and one of their projects got me thinking about this area. Check out the 4th video down in the middle (Spokane Regional Light Rail). If you don't have high speed, for ***'s sake, switch to regular coffee 4 times a month and upgrade :D It shows the complete conversion of an outdated retail district into an entire residential/mixed use neighborhood (keep watching, it really gets good about 2 - 3 minutes into it).

http://www.nc3d.com/gallery/movies

Turner House

C7E3F450100F11DAB13DF6C018F73B1D.jpg

Clipper Belt Lacer Company

C61E4F80100F11DA93A3F85018F73B1D.jpg

C434CF00100F11DA8CA2746518F73B1D.jpg

Riverview Center

C9AEF050100F11DA9787051D18F73B1D.jpg

Apparently it is cool enough for Pinnacle Construction

CBA716D0100F11DAAD32BF4918F73B1D.jpg

I'll take it!

CD961590100F11DAA623ED6F18F73B1D.jpg

Another warehouse conversion, with the 1926 built Road Commission Building in the background (at the far Northern end of Front Street).

30F68910101211DAB81AFDC518F73B1D.jpg

And Mercantile Bank has their new office.

BTW: I could watch those videos all day ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 5
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Dadof:

Not everyone can afford hi speed connections. I was just telling this to my maid and butler last week.

Actually, my boss is not cheap and I could look at the video while at work. It was very cool. I love the Front street area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:lol: I am fortunate enough to have high speed at work and at home, and no boss looking over my shoulder. We finally upgraded at home because we spend so much time on-line, and it was only $10 more a month (4 regular coffees ILO latte).

Those videos kick *ss. It is really awesome to see redevelopment and transit ideas visualized like that. They must go into these areas and catalog each existing building to create the different building facades. I am not going to post this website on the regular board, because I'm sure it will get overloaded ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like these big, clear photos. The more, the better!

I used to work in the Riverview Center, in the mid-eighties, but our dimwit manager decided to move the office to a character-free office building near Fuller and Knapp. It was (and maybe still is) a textbook "sick building"...no openable windows, little access to fresh air, and we cubicle rats constantly suffering from burning eyes and throats.

What a jerk that guy was!

Oh, well, the Women's Resource Center is now in the Riverview building, and what a very cool facility it is, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like these big, clear photos. The more, the better!

I used to work in the Riverview Center, in the mid-eighties, but our dimwit manager decided to move the office to a character-free office building near Fuller and Knapp. It was (and maybe still is) a textbook "sick building"...no openable windows, little access to fresh air, and we cubicle rats  constantly suffering from burning eyes and throats.

What a jerk that guy was!

Oh, well, the Women's Resource Center is now in the Riverview building, and what a very cool facility it is, too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It definitely is a focal point for the area, and hopefully would set the tone for future development. There is some kind of rust-colored water damage on the outside (not in the picture) that needs some work. If you haven't been in the area in a while, take a drive (or bike/walk) up Front Street sometime. It is all buildings like a Ryder facility, a bunch of small mfrs, and some showrooms. Plus the river wall is way high in that area. I wonder if you could build residential on the river with boat slips? The water is deeper in that area, and you might be able to boat or kayak up to Riverside Park, or even further up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.