cstonesparty
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Posts posted by cstonesparty
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47 minutes ago, GR8scott said:
Also much needed "stronger riverfront presence" at the Allendale campus!
Noooo. Just leave the ravines and woods alone.
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On 3/1/2023 at 4:39 PM, Jonesey said:
A plan from GVSU's strategic plan. Some of the main goals are to eliminate surface lots and add more housing (200 units). I wonder why they never seem to focus on housing DT? I feel like it would be full.
Also interesting to note they included the pedestrian bridge and an extension and an extension of Seward to Wealthy. Both would be fantastic, but the extension of Seward would require Padnos to finally leave (if that will ever happen). I would think GV would be the first to purchase it if they did, although the clean up costs would probably be quite a bit.
The 'Opportunity Sites' noted in this page are pretty interesting too...
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I read the master plan as well. Went to the county parcel viewer out of curiousity and was kind of stunned to see that GVSU has bought up all the houses between Trowbridge / Hastings to expand their Belknap part of Health Campus. (I know, probably a cross post, but a continuation of the topic, right?)
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2 hours ago, Khorasaurus1 said:
Is the Rapid hiding ridership numbers? I know partner communities have had no trouble getting them...and putting them in public meeting packets. Their numbers are at about 75% of pre-covid, from what I can tell.
reporting on their web site is incomplete and out of date, a google search for ridership information is unproductive. Where does the public go to learn about effectiveness of the system? I have family members who use the Rapid regularly and I support it. But the difficulty for me in locating information is a big flag. People from taxpayer activist groups and anti-transit groups have grouse for many years about the Rapid and poor transparency. And I can see why. If you can point to this kind of data, I'd be really pleased to learn more...
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49 minutes ago, Khorasaurus1 said:
I think we're more likely to see the airport as the terminus of the third BRT line in the system, though it won't be very "rapid" on corridors like Lake Drive.
I think chances of this are very slim with the Rapid hiding ridership numbers and its record of transparency bringing conservatives out of the woodwork whenever investment in the system is discussed...
I live on Laker Line and see huge variation in ridership from day to day there. ROI is going to be a gigantic question before any more investment in BRT is brought forward. I think the hype over silverline development and ridership has fueled cynicism and will prove to be a significant barrier...
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48 minutes ago, d8alterego said:
As much of a fantasy as this may be, how about a rail system?
I could see a lot of development/growth at stations along the route; especially along the 28th Street corridor.
Seems like if you put a 'park & ride' at the 36th exit and ran a shuttle in to the airport, you could do this very inexpensively and serve non-airport traffic into downtown from that corner. I know nothing about railroads, so the tracks may not be suitable for this purpose in that corridor...
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15 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:
At some point we do need to move away from these hotels including 28th street sized parking lots, but even with fewer spots, it's still horribly isolated, with absolutely nothing endearing around it, so people are just forced to drive just to even by some Tylenol.
I'm glad these guys are willing to take a hit on parking lot spaces, but that area needs some serious momentum if we arent going to end up with people giving the city a bad reputation as being insanely unfriendly to travelers without a car.
There is a range of options in the downtown area where a traveler without a car would be well served. The reputational issue of being unfriendly to people WITH a car is a larger risk since MOST of the population has one...
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2 hours ago, walker said:
It would be interesting to see the parking study and see how they justify having less than at least one parking space per room. This is not at all in the center of downtown where you might not need a car to get around. If I was staying at an extended stay hotel at this location, I'd sure want to be able to be sure to have a spot to park my car so I wouldn't be isolated on Front Street away from just about everything.
online reviews will excoriate a hotel with not enough parking and depress occupancy
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51 minutes ago, Jonesey said:
That courtyard actually looks pretty cool
huh. okay then...
wonder why they didn't enclose the courtyard further and have eight more apartments to rent...
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48 minutes ago, Cookin_peacocks said:
Seriously? It's been two and a half years, or more, right?
Seriously, demo that obsolete building, add a 12 story condo, and watch the money pour in.
Is that in a four story limited zone?
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On 2/7/2023 at 5:01 PM, Jonesey said:
The genesis project has been reconfigured. They will now be demoing the old funeral home and constructing a three story apartment building. An increase from 38 to 55 apartments.
More info in the latest PC agenda packet
interesting mural in there...
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18 hours ago, Zads said:
An update on the Holland waterfront project, featuring the hotel, residential and marina.
"The May 2 ballot measure, if approved by voters, would allow the city to sell its 2.24-acre Lake Macatawa shoreline property at 255 Kollen Park Drive and the 17.26-acre property at 64 Pine Ave. where the defunct James De Young power plant sits."
will be interesting to watch Holland tourism efforts grapple with the PR hit from county leadership
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3 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:
The amphitheater continues to move forward, albeit at a snails pace
wow, that was hard to read. where have all the writers gone...
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10 hours ago, Khorasaurus1 said:
No, this is new. Ottawa County has always been Republican, obviously. But the problem with these people isn't that they're Republicans. It's that they clearly have no interest in running the County effectively and they're just going to do outlandish things that will get them attention nationally on cable news and social media. That's a stark contrast to the "small but effective" government that has long been the County's guiding philosophy.
It's particularly troubling given the County's water table and housing issues - two problems that are making each other worse. I doubt Ottawa Impact even cares.
Ottawa County is actually less Republican than it used to be. Rick Snyder won the county by 60 points (!!) Tudor Dixon only won it by 18.
This. Exactly. I grew up out there. This is not the same as the reliably republican county of my childhood...
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1 hour ago, Zads said:
This just hits the edge of the city. I don't know what part of the intersection, but great news for more housing in the area.
Behind Lincoln Square senior living community on the last piece of the old MSU ag station property that's not been developed yet.
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2 hours ago, whitemice said:
Thanks. I was curious to learn more...
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On 12/3/2022 at 2:13 PM, whitemice said:
Even right now, with the upcoming Master Plan redraft, they are going around saying how they've already made building ADUs by-right. It is infuriating, our current Planning staff is dishonest. Argh.
I seem to recall that one of the regulars on here built an ADU... was that you, WhiteMice?
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29 minutes ago, GR8scott said:
...along with extending Fulton St all way out from the east
in one of these threads, we've had some conversation about the old gypsum mines, and I found an old map I posted there... Fulton would cross those mines, and the sinkholes that exist in that area. I suspect a thoroughfare of the kind you're suggesting would be problematic.
19 hours ago, Jonesey said:I would think development would continue to spread south from LMD down Wilson. Maybe this will be one of the first major developments in the area. Wilson can be somewhat of a nightmare during peak hours and bumper to bumper during peak times. The area is really going to need another route over the river in the future.
I live in the Shawmut Hills area and we go through LMD/Wilson and down Wilson frequently. It's quickly becoming a major traffic headache, and lots of people on this side of town are finding ways to avoid both. MDOT and GVMC need to take a real close look at long range plans for this area.
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On 10/26/2022 at 1:48 PM, Khorasaurus1 said:
Acrisure can make the corner of Ottawa and Oakes a "prominent location" simply by building there. Studio Park, Founders, Van Andel Arena, etc are already close by, as well as hotels, other major white collar employers (Miller Johnson, Meritage, etc), and a whole bunch of housing, restaurants, entertainment, etc.
They can make that area one of the economic cores of the City! Leave the riverfront for housing.
I talked to someone with Acrisure recently who said the HQ building is pretty much full. Also said they're very happy being part of that area of downtown and all that is developing in that area, with an eye towards further development in the area that will benefit their employees as well. FWIW.
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9 hours ago, droonus2000 said:
Locally, Burger King seems to be killing itself off. 20 years ago there were probably a dozen or more, now I can think of four, none of which have had much investment in the last decade. Granted not my top destination, but it seems odd how fast they disappeared. So your wish my become reality sooner or later.
I enjoy a whopper, but it seems universally service levels at BK has dropped off.
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On 10/28/2022 at 9:44 AM, Khorasaurus1 said:
...there might be some opportunities to pull storefronts to the curb adjacent to the private office buildings, like the RDV HQ building did.
This seems like the best odds of this whole discussion. I think the city would work hard to accommodate this kind of thing if developers came to them with it. Doing anything with the rest of the public buildings in that corridor? Can't imagine them doing a thing to entertain that...
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17 hours ago, Pattmost20 said:
UICA and KCAD merged about 9 years ago.
https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/archive/2013/august/uica.htm
Thanks. Knew they were now interconnected, but the relation between the two I couldn't recall...
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14 minutes ago, walker said:
Not likely as a tech event but it does look like Artprize is in for another reinvent:
WOODTV: ArtPrize being handed over to city, DGRI, Kendall College
Is UICA a subsidiary of KCAD now? Wondering how they're part of this...
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On 10/26/2022 at 1:26 PM, demhem said:
Speaking of West Fulton, the Tim Hortons on West Fulton is becoming "Vibe Energy Cafe."
KFC didn't make it, and Tim Horton's didn't make it... I wouldn't bet on something called Vibe Energy Cafe.
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The Grand River?! You mean GR has a River?
in Grand Rapids
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The whole thing is artificial if you want to use that language...