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The State of Downtown Grand Rapids Retail

GRDadof3

By GRDadof3
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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Maybe that is why that foreboding concrete wall sits behind the buildings with no ornamentation. I know Rockford Construction had planned to bulldoze it until EQ3 came along. It is a shame to see the leave.

Joe

Ahh, I hadn't put two and two together on that one. I can't imagine the HPC would let them tear down the EQ3 building. It appears to be in pretty good shape, and what would Rockford replace it with?

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RiversideGR
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Something cool that I didn’t see in the Crains article but woodtv picked up: “The company adds they are collaborating with the city to install a clock near the intersection at Monroe Center Stree

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elcelc
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PR-15 Whistle-Stop

PR-15

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Haha! Thankfully, I just read in the Press today that Andy Winkel and John Green have bought the building and have two potential retail tenants and a potential office user already.

We could really use another bar or club along Ionia Avenue...where does one go for entertainment in Heartside? :dontknow:

(sarcasm free of charge with this post)

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Parhelion Whistle-Stop

Parhelion

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Sadly, I'm dead serious...

She won't go anywhere downtown without me because she has no clue where the ramps are and doesn't like to just 'drive around' until she finds something... Keep in mind she grew up in a 2 stop-light town 3 hours north

Well, then Pearl and Ionia is your best bet. . . the entrance is next door to Sundance Cafe. It's about 2 blocks from the store. There are probably other ones around, but I park in Pearl and Ionia all the time since it's so centrally located (it's close to One Girl's Treasure, Ottawa Tavern, Monroe Center etc.).

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jbr12 Hamlet

jbr12

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I'm going to guess Boyne City. I'm pretty sure there are exactly 2 stop-lights there and it is about exactly 3 hours north. What do I win? Most of the other small towns I can think of up there either have more than 2 stop-lights or zero. :)

Haha, you are correct... Boyne City is where both of us grew up. I was at least able to get a way and live in Ann Arbor for a few years before coming to GR. My wife went straight from BC to GR... Took her a little while to get used to driving around down here

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Raildudes dad Hamlet

Raildudes dad

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Haha, you are correct... Boyne City is where both of us grew up. I was at least able to get a way and live in Ann Arbor for a few years before coming to GR. My wife went straight from BC to GR... Took her a little while to get used to driving around down here

BC was my first thought too :) But I didn't know if there was another 2 light town up that way on the east coast. My folks took us on vacation there on Lake Charlevoix for years. Lots of good memories there :thumbsup: My wife is from Fremont and it took her years to tackle a ramp - still doesn't like them and does her best to avoid them.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Downtown retail is a mixed bag - reports DDA

(No log in necessary).

It sounds like some retailers saw their best year yet, while others not so good. One thing that all the retailers did say is that they are glad the DDA is making retail a priority. Further updates to come, including current vacancies and a plan of attack.

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jbr12 Hamlet

jbr12

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One thing that all the retailers did say is that they are glad the DDA is making retail a priority. Further updates to come, including current vacancies and a plan of attack.

Perhaps they need to put NATIONAL Retail a priority...

A typical consumer ( I consider myself one of these people ) will very rarely, if ever, go to a 'local' retailer unless they absolutely have to, regardless of how much marketing and other stuff is thrown in their face. They are going to pick the brands they are familiar with, regardless of if thats a smart decision or not. Getting some national-chain retailers downtown (Gap, Old Navy, Apple, etc) would be a huge draw. ( I realize I'm probably speaking to the choir on this one)

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Prankster Burg

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Perhaps they need to put NATIONAL Retail a priority...

A typical consumer ( I consider myself one of these people ) will very rarely, if ever, go to a 'local' retailer unless they absolutely have to, regardless of how much marketing and other stuff is thrown in their face. They are going to pick the brands they are familiar with, regardless of if thats a smart decision or not. Getting some national-chain retailers downtown (Gap, Old Navy, Apple, etc) would be a huge draw. ( I realize I'm probably speaking to the choir on this one)

Um, duck. :scared:

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jbr12 Hamlet

jbr12

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Its the truth... My life is crazy busy, working full time, being a full time graduate student and a father of two.

I'm sorry, but if I have the choice between going to a parking ramp, walking in & out of stores, lugging bags around, going all over to get the things I'm looking for OR hitting up Alpine, making one or two stops, I'm going to choose the latter... I just don't have the time or energy to 'try something new'. I haven't even be able to get time to go downtown and visit GRAM outside of business hours ( I skipped out of work one day ). Time is a huge enemy of mine and I can't afford to spend it 'shopping' around downtown retailers that may or may not have the things I'm looking for...

*ducks and hides behind snow fort*

Edited by jbr12
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Sailor Whistle-Stop

Sailor

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Its the truth... My life is crazy busy, working full time, being a full time graduate student and a father of two.

I'm sorry, but if I have the choice between going to a parking ramp, walking in & out of stores, lugging bags around, going all over to get the things I'm looking for OR hitting up Alpine, making one or two stops, I'm going to choose the latter... I just don't have the time or energy to 'try something new'. I haven't even be able to get time to go downtown and visit GRAM outside of business hours ( I skipped out of work one day ). Time is a huge enemy of mine and I can't afford to spend it 'shopping' around downtown retailers that may or may not have the things I'm looking for...

*ducks and hides behind snow fort*

Have you got room in that fort? :whistling:

I'm going to back you up on this. One of the allures of a major downtown shopping district is the easy availability of diverse products. That means some big, national chains, peppered with Mom-and-Pop shops. A bit of both. It's what downtown Grand Rapids needs.

The time thing is a very real issue. In an earlier thread folks were talking about visiting One Girl's Treasure and related parking. As much of a vocal proponent of local business as I am, I just simply do not have the time to park two blocks from one shop, which may not have what I want, and then head back to the car and pay for parking, empty-handed. It's not worth my time. But...if there were several shops I could browse, and had the option of a big national retailed as back-up if the locals didn't have what I wanted, I'd shop downtown every time.

Chicago shopping works. Ann Arbor shopping works. Why? Because Borders is next to Dawn Treader. Because Urban Outfitters is steps away from The Getup.

Now, jbr, do you want to borrow my snowball maker? We might need it for self-defense... :scared:

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AlexPKeaton Burg

AlexPKeaton

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Walking two city blocks is no worse than parking at the mall, especially when you consider how far it is to walk through the mall once inside. I can, however, see your point about paying for parking only to come away empty handed. If downtown had a that critical mass of retailers it would feed off itself, making downtown that much more attractive for more retailers. I care less about national chains vs. independents so long as you can find what you need.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Have you got room in that fort? :whistling:

I'm going to back you up on this. One of the allures of a major downtown shopping district is the easy availability of diverse products. That means some big, national chains, peppered with Mom-and-Pop shops. A bit of both. It's what downtown Grand Rapids needs.

The time thing is a very real issue. In an earlier thread folks were talking about visiting One Girl's Treasure and related parking. As much of a vocal proponent of local business as I am, I just simply do not have the time to park two blocks from one shop, which may not have what I want, and then head back to the car and pay for parking, empty-handed. It's not worth my time. But...if there were several shops I could browse, and had the option of a big national retailed as back-up if the locals didn't have what I wanted, I'd shop downtown every time.

Chicago shopping works. Ann Arbor shopping works. Why? Because Borders is next to Dawn Treader. Because Urban Outfitters is steps away from The Getup.

Now, jbr, do you want to borrow my snowball maker? We might need it for self-defense... :scared:

You won't get any grief from any one of us that worked on our own task force. We all felt the same way.

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jas49503 Hamlet

jas49503

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Walking two city blocks is no worse than parking at the mall, especially when you consider how far it is to walk through the mall once inside. I can, however, see your point about paying for parking only to come away empty handed. If downtown had a that critical mass of retailers it would feed off itself, making downtown that much more attractive for more retailers. I care less about national chains vs. independents so long as you can find what you need.

Another good parking option that may solve part of this problem is to implement something like downtown birmingham where your first two hours are free in the city parking lots/ramps. this is good all the time without the need for coupons.

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Sailor Whistle-Stop

Sailor

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Another good parking option that may solve part of this problem is to implement something like downtown birmingham where your first two hours are free in the city parking lots/ramps. this is good all the time without the need for coupons.

That's a great idea.

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rnr-plnr Unincorporated Area

rnr-plnr

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QUOTE (jasonsquiresdo @ Jan 21 2008, 06:49 PM)

Another good parking option that may solve part of this problem is to implement something like downtown birmingham where your first two hours are free in the city parking lots/ramps. this is good all the time without the need for coupons.

That's a great idea.

Reminder to all: 60 minutes of free parking are available every day in Monroe Center Ramp. Use it or loose it.

Edited by rnr-plnr
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