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25 Ottawa Makeover - Arena District

joeDowntown

By joeDowntown
in Grand Rapids

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  • 1 month later...
Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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While I love awnings, and the octagonal columns it used to have on the SE corner, I must say I'm loving this black facade for the ground level.  It feels sleek and works very well with the brick, and I enjoy how they provided continuity of the styled brickwork with the vertical lines in the black ground floor columns.  It really ties it all together and make it all feel as though it belongs, unlike most other attempts to add new style onto old buildings.

qe6W606.jpg

 

The entryway, however, we'll see.

0orcKGV.jpg

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mpchicago Burg

mpchicago

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The DDA doc says it's only 17% occupied? Is that with or with out DOMOREGOOD?  Seems like the Restaurant space is cursed.  Hopefully they can get a priest in there to cast out the demons so they can finally fill that spot with a sold joint.  I do like what they have done with the place, and the streetscape will make it even better!

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Allison Slater Town

Allison Slater

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Well in the past, this street was about as active as an alleyway.  With Arena Place, a restaurant may not be quite so doomed anymore.

I'm curious what the leasing rate was for the restaurant in the past, and what it will be now, as well.  I wonder if the rate was influenced by "right next to the arena!" and inflated beyond what it should have been.  It could also just be that there was never any good restaurant there in the first place.

Come to think of it, how many restaurants have actually been there?  There was Kitchen 25, I think something after that?  Before Kitchen 25 it was a nightclub I can't remember the name of.  (Not Below 25, that place was great, but that was while Kitchen 25 was open, and was in the basement.)

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x99 Burg

x99

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I'm curious what the leasing rate was for the restaurant in the past, and what it will be now, as well.  I wonder if the rate was influenced by "right next to the arena!" and inflated beyond what it should have been. 

 

Back in the Margarita Grill days, I think it was well over $20 a foot.  After that, it dropped like a rock to find a tenant.  It is an extremely awkward location.  There is just no way around that.  I'm not sure if the new construction in the area will make it better or worse.  It might make breakfast and lunch more viable.  Still, I suspect they will have to just about give away the first floor space to find a tenant.  But Franklin Partners seems fairly smart, so they will probably do just that and bring in a name-brand operation.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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The DDA doc says it's only 17% occupied? Is that with or with out DOMOREGOOD?  Seems like the Restaurant space is cursed.  Hopefully they can get a priest in there to cast out the demons so they can finally fill that spot with a sold joint.  I do like what they have done with the place, and the streetscape will make it even better!

 

 

I think with DOMOREGOOD being gone it will be down to 17%. Mindscape split company and is now in Widdicomb too. 

 

One thing they did that should help with the restaurant space is they reduced the size tremendously, I believe to 3600 square feet (from over 8000 IIRC). I think it was too large before, and it even had basement space. Hard to make the number work, and hard to give the impression that the place isn't completely empty at lunchtime. 

 

If you notice from the plans, the main lobby entrance used to be more to the South and has been moved to under the skywalk. They also opened up the lobby with a two-story atrium. That building was one of the first to be renovated during the Arena boom, and I always felt like it was done pretty blandly on the inside.

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x99 Burg

x99

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Potentially adding some additional complications is this:  http://woodtv.com/2015/04/08/new-restaurant-proposed-for-grs-arena-place/  As expected, Meritage is opening something up at Arena Place.  The lunch crowd is only so big, and at some point, there's got to be a breaking point unless downtown can turn into a viable weeknight dining destination.  Fingers crossed.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Potentially adding some additional complications is this:  http://woodtv.com/2015/04/08/new-restaurant-proposed-for-grs-arena-place/  As expected, Meritage is opening something up at Arena Place.  The lunch crowd is only so big, and at some point, there's got to be a breaking point unless downtown can turn into a viable weeknight dining destination.  Fingers crossed.

 

Definitely more residents downtown will help with that, and with 101 units going in at Arena Place and 104 units going in at The BOB that's at least another 300 residents and their friends in the immediate area. Add to that another 100 events a year at The BOB. All depends on what goes in there. 

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Potentially adding some additional complications is this:  http://woodtv.com/2015/04/08/new-restaurant-proposed-for-grs-arena-place/  As expected, Meritage is opening something up at Arena Place.  The lunch crowd is only so big, and at some point, there's got to be a breaking point unless downtown can turn into a viable weeknight dining destination.  Fingers crossed.

 

A popular restaurant in town is looking at opening another location in this spot. Plans sound pretty far along. 

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Looks like I'll be having a lot of soup and salad.

Good to see another chain investing in Downtown, though.  A little bit more balance between those and what we have now is a good thing.

 

Hold on a minute. I was just kidding about Olive Garden. :) This will be a locally owned restaurant. I've been in the newly creaeted raw space and it's pretty cool, about 3000 square feet not including the outdoor patio. The basement has been capped off (you used to be able to access it from the Kitchen 25 space) and is now a gym, meeting room and lockers for tenants to use. 

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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Oops, organsnyder you beat me to it!

Spectrum Health continues to fill office space downtown, this time 500 employees from suburban office parks.

http://mibiz.com/item/22946-spectrum-health-to-move-500-employees-to-downtown-grand-rapids-office-building

 

I hinted at it a month ago but nobody questioned me on it. :) I guess  I should have said 25 Ottawa will have a single tenant that rhymes with Rectum. :)

Joe

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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I hinted at it a month ago but nobody questioned me on it. :) I guess  I should have said 25 Ottawa will have a single tenant that rhymes with Rectum. :)

Joe

I knew who it was (I'm a Rec..err.. Spectrum employee that will be moving there), but I didn't want to leak anything. We've known for a couple of months.

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