Downtown Construction Media Coverage

[Yankee Fan]

Today I received my copy of MiBiz. Inside, there was a great section on all of the growth and projects occuring in downtown Grand Rapids. They did a great job; if anyone can provide electronic versions of these pages (if legal), that would be great.

Then, I look at the front page of the GR Press Business section. I started to get excited that there was a picture of high rises on it. That excitement quickly faded as I recognized the picture as Chicago. The article, although a good article, was about the downtown boom in Chicago.

So I went back to the MiBiz section and now I am again.

[egrguy]

chicago is having an amazing boom, isnt like 5 or 6 buildings over 50 stories under construction by year's end? thats pretty mind blowing.

[hood]

chicago is having an amazing boom, isnt like 5 or 6 buildings over 50 stories under construction by year's end? thats pretty mind blowing.

There are 7 over 50 floors currently under construction, 2 are over 1000' with a 2000' building to start before too long. There are also 9 buildings over 50 floors listed as "approved" and at least 15, possibly more than 20, listed as "proposed." There are a total of 44 high rises under construction, 38 approved and 86 proposed.

[Allison Slater]

Wow, that IS pretty impressive. I wonder what the ratio is between GR's and Chicago's population, and how the construction projects compare.

[GRDadof3]

Great topic YankeeFan. I think the local mainstream media is very negative toward downtown development. I have not for the life of me been able to figure out why, but it's pretty obvious that they are (or have been in the past).

It's like they're just waiting for a downtown developer to stumble just a little so they can pounce on the story and yell "Too much, too many??!!"

End second rant of the day.

I'll willing to listen to anyone who can prove otherwise. And I'd like to see the MiBiz insert you're referring to Yankeefan.

[egrguy]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/24/D8IENO980.html

i think this quote sums it all up pretty nicely.

"I remember at least two (planning and development) staff members saying `Can't you make it taller? We really would like it taller,'" Chicago architect David Haymes says about discussions with the city for a planned condominium tower.

[torgo]

Great topic YankeeFan. I think the local mainstream media is very negative toward downtown development. I have not for the life of me been able to figure out why, but it's pretty obvious that they are (or have been in the past).

I can't speak to what it was like years ago, but I dont think the local media has been particularly negative. However, they aren't exactly positive either. Frankly, I dont think they really care too much about it at all; its as if they dont understand the correlation between a healthy, thriving downtown and the benefit it has to the rest of the city or the region.

It's like they're just waiting for a downtown developer to stumble just a little so they can pounce on the story and yell "Too much, too many??!!"

I think all media is like that...they sit and wait and wait and watch and when someone screws up they go "Ah-ha! You're an idiot!" They never bother reporting people doing stuff properly because its boring. Sensationalism sells, even if its masked as "hard news". Drives me nuts

Anyways, that's my three cents.

[GR_Urbanist]

Today I received my copy of MiBiz. Inside, there was a great section on all of the growth and projects occuring in downtown Grand Rapids. They did a great job;

Also, inside, there is a great, colorful two-page spread of all of the projects that are, or are going, to take place downtown. You can tack it to your wall and check off each one as they are completed!

Kind of a geeky UP version of those NCAA March Madness charts.

[grrwymg]

Also, inside, there is a great, colorful two-page spread of all of the projects that are, or are going, to take place downtown. You can tack it to your wall and check off each one as they are completed!

Kind of a geeky UP version of those NCAA March Madness charts.

Holy crap, now that you mention the NCAA brackets, the insert sort of does remind me of the NCAA's.

I think my office had a bundle of 5 copies dropped off today. I saw the insert and wanted to post. Alas, bosses are on vacation and my life has been a little more busy than usual.

[Yankee Fan]

As I looked deeper into the section, I found what I believe to be the best rendering I have seen of Spectrum's new cancer center. The angle and detail of the graphic paints a picture of a much more dynamic building than I had understood it to be. Should be, architecture-wise, a great addition to Pill Hill.

[GRDadof3]

Can MiBiz be purchased at newstands anywhere? I did find this link in the July 10th online issue:

Grand Rapids grows with Summer heat wave of new construction

[Yankee Fan]

Not that I am aware of. You can subscribe for free at the website.

[DSchoon]

MiBiz is not available for purchase anywhere. But they'll send you as many copies as you like. If you see one, take it home with you, no one will mind, because they almost certainly have more. I know an oil change place that gets 12 copies a month. They'll send two to your home, three to your office and one to your barber shop if that's what you ask for.

Please, guys, don't hold MiBiz as the standard for business news. It's not a news organization, and at the company level, makes no claims to be one. They're a marketing outlet, plain and simple. If you compare it with the GR Press or WOOD TV, the b2bs, you're comparing the proverbial apples and oranges.

This is why it and similar publications, such as OntheTown, West Michigan Christian, Recoil, the website GRNow and to a lesser degree GR Mag have such upbeat outlooks--and I for one think these are a stretch, because I think MiBiz has more in common with the pay-for-coverage Business Update.

These pubs all give their readers what they want to read, and usually without a bull-hookey filter.

Here's an example--if you don't want to hear bad things about the Iraq War, and no matter what your views, as a veteran I can tell you most any war news is bad, you should probably pick up Stars and Stripes and skip the NY Times.

Likewise, if you don't want cynicism in your local business news. Don't read a newspaper. Journalists aren't negative, they just don't want to look stupid when something goes belly up. With that said, TV news does seem to often have stories created only to drum up fear.

That's my $0.02.

And come on, do we really need to read: "Tons of development in Grand Rapids!!!" every single week. For anyone that isn't an armchair developer, it gets boring pretty quick. Even if you were to create a publication explicitly for that (our company has one) the look at how much is getting built well runs dry pretty quick.

[Yankee Fan]

Yeah, there is some truth there, but then there is also some truth in the old saying about the GR Press that I have heard others say pretty much all of my life:

"GR Press: Yesterday's News Tomorrow."

[WOT]

This is why it and similar publications, such as OntheTown, West Michigan Christian, Recoil, the website GRNow and to a lesser degree GR Mag have such upbeat outlooks-- [/quote

Ben Rudolph must have not gotten the memo on the upbeat outlook

[DSchoon]

This is why it and similar publications, such as OntheTown, West Michigan Christian, Recoil, the website GRNow and to a lesser degree GR Mag have such upbeat outlooks-- [/quote

Ben Rudolph must have not gotten the memo on the upbeat outlook

Him and Mike Dunlap...don't work for MiBiz. Same as all the columnists except for the publisher.

Their views don't necessarily reflect that of the publication.

[GRDadof3]

MiBiz - Downtown Grand Rapids construction projects

Man, that looks....great.

[snoogit]

MiBiz - Downtown Grand Rapids construction projects

Man, that looks....great.

although really how differentiated can someone be?