UrbanPlanet.org Community Blog List http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:39:03 +0000 neo@urbanplanet.org (UrbanPlanet.org) IP.Blog 60 <![CDATA[Spartan's Blog - forgotten but well integrated past]]>
There's a lot of fun things coming to UP in the future. The integration of new features will be awesome, and hopefully this blogging concept will not be any different. Maybe this will get updated more often.........]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:36:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Grid Girl's Blog - Let's Turn it Around Grand Rapids: An ArtPrize Learning Experience for Businesses & Venues]]>
Over this past weekend I believe that over 30,000 unique visitors attended the numerous festivities downtown for ArtPrize. WOW! Out of this thirty-thousand, I believe twenty-thousand went downtown for two or more days.

So how was business for the retail, coffee, sandwich shops, markets and restaurants downtown? Word on the street is that many of them had record sales over the weekend, a nonstop flow of people from the moment they opened to when they finally were able to close their doors. However, word on the street is that many of these businesses were not prepared for constant high business levels or just not open, resulting in loss of sales and a less than sub-par experience for customers, new and old.

So let's turn it around Grand Rapids. I would like to point out that we are not just talking about a customers experience in your establishment. We are talking about the ArtPrize Experience which involves every aspect of the time people spent downtown.

Okay, so what were some of the major issues?

Closed for the day: How is that we had thousands of people walking around downtown and you're closed for the day. Not only does it not make sense, but hey you just missed out on huge sales. Huge sales!

Not open until 4pm: Thanks for being open. Did you consider that since a major event was occurring between 12:30-1:30pm on Sunday, that maybe, just maybe opening earlier would be a good idea?

Unhappy Staff: This one was the biggest surprise. One would think that servers would be overjoyed with high business levels because it directly brings in more money to their pockets. Nope, I guess not. Instead I overheard on multiple occasions restaurant employees complaining to each other about customers in the restaurant or eating in their sections. These staff complaints were heard all within earshot of folks waiting for tables. 'Hello? I can hear your complaining and it isn't pretty.' Not only are you representing your establishment in a negative light, if I'm sat in your section, I will ask to move.

Bad Service: Result of an unhappy staff. We've got thousands of people super excited to be downtown checking out all the interesting art. Well, at some time these people are going to be thirsty or hungry. They understand that downtown is busy and are happy to wait for a table or for the turn in line. Finally, they're able to get a table at an establishment that they've never been to before. As they look around they notice that not one employee is smiling and it takes twenty minutes before they're greeted, another twenty minutes to get a beverage, and another twenty-five minutes to get food. They think, okay we understand that you're busy, but how is it my fault that you're unhappy? I overheard people talking about how they were having such a good time walking around looking at art and then they went into X establishment and had horrible service. In addition to the long waits and rude staff, when they asked their host or server a simple question about ArtPrize the response from staff was 'I don't know' and moved on, never getting back to them.

Venues not open till after 5pm: Okay, so as a venue you need to be open during the hours that ArtPrize set, which is 5-8pm, Monday thru Thursday. In case you didn't notice, people are coming downtown at all times during the day and have limited choices on venues to visit due to the venue evening hours. This morning I brought 50 high school students on a tour of the Center City for ArtPrize. With the poor weather, I had to change the agenda for the tour. I would have loved to bring the students through certain venues, but they were closed until 5pm. It was nice to see The BOB was busy during the day, as they are open for business and as a venue.

On a side note, I hope the municipal government and Downtown Alliance adjust the cleanup hours for the district. Last night was appalling on how dirty the Monroe Center was with overflowing trash cans and litter all over the street.

Let's turn it around Grand Rapids, we still have time.

It's easy to find out what events are happening downtown for ArtPrize. I expect each day this week thousands of new folks will trek downtown for their ArtPrize Experience. These people have to eat; most of them will want a beverage; they'll want a place where they can rest their feet; they'll look for a place where they can bring their kids to; they'll want to try that restaurant or two they've heard from friends, but never had time to make it downtown.

A little education and planning go a long way. Personally I would rather be overstaffed for a day or two and open earlier then give bad service or lose out on record sales.

I was amazed at how many times I heard this, 'I don't know' to simple questions such as:
- Do you know where I can register?
- Do you know why my text votes are not working?
- How many artists have work here?
- Do you know where I can find out more information about this artist?
All of the answers to these questions can be found on www.artprize.org. Print and post for your employees. The text voting problem is how a text is sent, which is 'vote (artist vote#)' when texting to 878787. Most people just send in the artist vote number and forget to include the word 'vote' before the number.

ArtPrize is the perfect opportunity to create 'Raving Fans' of your business or venue. Guests that have a WOW experience at your establishment will tell their friends, families, co-workers, and on their social media sites, which will attract customers to your business. 'You have to go to (downtown spot) when you're at ArtPrize, they have the best...'

We still have a lot of time left in ArtPrize 2009. I'm sure the more Raving Fans we create with WOW experiences, the businesses downtown and in the surrounding neighborhood business districts will continue to reap in the benefits, long after ArtPrize is over.

So let's turn it around Grand Rapids. Let's show the world how the ArtPrize Experience is part of the Grand Rapids experience...the place you want to live, work, play and visit.

Have fun, see great art, and enjoy the conversations!

Rachel Lee]]> Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:26:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Grid Girl's Blog - Be Nice Grand Rapids...]]>
Its a little chaotic around the central city right now with: traffic jams at night; people driving the wrong way down the one-ways; tourists and suburban folks walking around with the deer-in-headlights look on their faces trying to maneuver around downtown; cars coming to a stand-still in the middle of the street or switching lanes at the last second; backups on US-131 from drivers trying to see the elephants behind the VanAndel Arena; people on the streets yelling into their cell phones trying to beat the noise on the street ("WHAT, WHAT DID YOU SAY? NO, NO, NO...I'M NOT EATING TART-PIES, I'M AT ARTPRIZE, YOU KNOW THE ART-THINGY DOWNTOWN, you know THAT DEVOS BOY EVENT, YES, YES I THINK ITS SAFE, NO I HAVEN'T FOUND A MCDONALDS OR APPLEBEE'S..."); drivers holding up traffic while texting or talking on the phones (which usually involves a lot of air hand waving and air finger pointing, with the hand that supposed to be on the wheel, hence holding up traffic); people complaining about parking; people walking with strollers suddenly stopping causing you to pull a ninja-move to avoid tripping over them; older ladies clutching their purses to their chests in fear of the "purse grabber" stranger; and my favorite...being stopped on the street for directions when the venue they are looking for is two buildings away and then immediately following up with the question, "is it safe to walk around here? Is it safe to ride the BUS???"

Whereas many GR urbanites find this type of activity annoying, I find it a beautiful (sans the texting while driving) necessary outcome of a successful event. All of the above faux pas' are opportunities for urbanites to show a little love for our city.

We need to be nice Grand Rapids. A little patience goes a long way. We're not all experts on GR, we all probably at one time or another are guilty of doing one of the above faux-pas'. We've all been in a new city and had no idea how to get around.

So let's be nice Grand Rapids... Take the time to help the tourist find their way; gently alert the obnoxious cell phone talker that we all can hear their conversation; politely shake your finger at the wrong-way drivers and drivers texting while driving; strike up conversations with strangers about how vibrant downtown is and that the Rapid is a safe, great way to get around ArtPrize; talk to the suburban family about all the great places to eat and shop within walking distance aka Local First; inform drivers that yes, we share the road with bicyclists and that we prefer drivers come to a complete stop at red lights, allowing pedestrians to cross the street, BEFORE turning right or left; and with a smile state that there isn't a parking problem downtown, there's a walking problem...

Be nice Grand Rapids... We don't need to wear an "Ask Me" tee-shirt to help out. If we want our city to succeed, if we want to truly have vibrant neighborhoods and an exciting downtown, if we want events like ArtPrize to fill our calendar year after year... then we all need to be Ambassadors of Grand Rapids.

Have fun, see great art, and enjoy the conversations!

Rachel Lee]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - What the HP, more development news in Benton Harbor]]>
Why is this a surprise. Because the local paper has always been subscription only online and last week they moved over to a new website and access for everyone.

The second floor of the Barentsen Candy Co. into six loft apartments this will be next to the mixed use development I mentioned in previous posts.

Three loft apartments in the Sheffield Building located here:

Sheffield Building

four loft apartments for music students here:

four apartments will be for students

So the good news continues. Check out the full story here:
A trio of projects]]> Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:25:00 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - A Tale of Two Cities]]>
It all started when ArcelorMittal announced that they are planning layoffs at their Burns Harbor, IN steel plant along Lake Michigan. This was widely reported and I believe the AP did an article about it, which stated the proper city. There are now plenty of stories chronicling this ranging from local newspapers and the Wall Street Journal.

Now enter the Indianapolis Star, the newspaper in Indianapolis, IN. Here is a link to a story about the plant layoffs that incorrectly states the layovers will take place in Benton Harbor, IN.

Time-share specialist to lay off 92 in Indy

This was then picked up or was started by other news organization. I am not entirely sure which one came first but geez people learn how to use google or wikipeida.]]> Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:36:00 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - More Good News]]>
For those not in the know, the Benton Harbor Farmers Market is the "largest 'Cash-to-Grower' wholesale produce market in the world". It is where farmers go to sell their produce to restaurants and distributors and to a lesser extent supermarkets. It first started in 1860 and now covers 25 acres and has over 200 loading docks. Straight from the BHFM website with numerous spelling changes:

QUOTE
Over the years, the market has changed from one selling to large chain stores and numerous independent retailers, to one now serving specialty retailers, fruit stands, restaurant chefs, and other much smaller buyers. Gone are the chain stores; they now purchase primarily from a heavily industrialized agricultural complex of factory-type farms and agribusiness corporations.


With the growth of local and slow food movements I hope that the market is a success and that the overall health of Michigan farming improves as people in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and the whole Midwest comes to love local produce. This project is one small stepping stone for the future growth of downtown Benton Harbor. One I thought I might never see.

Here is the location:

Old VW which is going to be a new produce market]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:49:46 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - New Benton Harbor mixed use]]>
Why is this such a big deal, two words Benton Harbor. We are talking about the poorest city in Michigan and one of the poorest cities in the USA. It is the first new residential development downtown in a very long time. Never, never would I have thought that this was going to happen anytime soon. It just blew me away.

Here is a link to the area where the development is going to go. It is the empty lot bounded by an alley, territorial rd and 5th.
Livesearch view

Unfortunately, the local paper requires a subscription to view articles so I cannot give a link for more info and for a peek at the renderings. If I can get it from somewhere else I will post it. If this can happen anything is possible.]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:54:38 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - Michigan has a problem]]>
Instead of fostering cooperation, agglomeration, and development; maintaining these rigid distinctions creates political exclusion, confusion, fractulization, redundancy and stagnation. Take for instance an example, recently two municipal plants located less than one mile apart were slated for replacement. One was too small and the other did not meet State codes and required a lot of money to update. Each of these plants serve a metropolitan area outside of their individual municipalities. However, instead of working together to form a new plant that could supply the entire region with water and thereby share the costs of construction and service, each proposed to continue operating on their own. Not only that but several, at least 2 but most likely more, suburban townships and charter townships decided to begin the process of building their own separate water plants and operate independently.

Operating two separate systems was inefficient enough, but operating even more than two systems would be a colossal waste of the populace's money. However, there is no entity to promote regionalazation outside of the State, which does not seem to inclined to step into locale matters. Some areas have seen success through cooperation but this is contingent on the local politicians wanting to cooperate as opposed to any structure designed specifically to encourage cooperation.

Many people I have talked to want the charter township to be abolished allowing greater annexation but the State should also introduce measures to improve regional cooperation.]]> Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:55:00 +0000 <![CDATA[MG Man's Blog - First Entry, Bluffside]]>

This post will be short and about the Bluffside development.

First, Bluffside is a project headed by the city of St. Joseph to redevelop Whirlpool Field and the old warehouses last occupied by Leco. The project will turn the area into new community rooms, a carousel, a museum annex, more parking and landscaping, including a splash pad water fountain.

This project is great because it will turn under utilized land, an empty field and some old warehouses, into a great community piece that will help connect the local beach to the downtown on top of the bluff.

Construction has started and I hope to get a rendering and maybe some photos up in the future.]]> Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:14:00 +0000 <![CDATA[RON-E's Blog - Still in full on wiki mode!]]>
go help!]]> Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:05:19 +0000