MisterMike

Hey folks. Grand Rapids got a nod from MSN as one of ten cities with great transit. Check it out. http://cityguides.msn.com/articles/cityart...3&gt1=24000

Libertarian, I have lusted over that house for more that 30 years after seeing it in Architectural Digest in the mid-70's. During the summer, the sun sets over Beaver Island and Lake Michigan are breath-taking. For a measly 1.9 mil. it really is an architechural gem.

You're right GRDad. I lived in Indianapolis in the early 80's and it wasn't the corporate HQ's (Eli Lilly, Simon Malls, AUL insurance) that started the redevelpment of downtown GR. They came late to the party. It was the then "Hoosier Dome" and a few small housing and condo projects that sparked life. Once the dome was finished, an entire nightlife district that had been empty buildings before (sound familiar?) sprung to life to support events that took place at the dome. And when that nightlife had a foothold, the corporate sugar daddies reinvested, out-of-town developers started projects, Simon Malls (with a lot of taxpayer help, a strong mayor of each party, and a lot of local government path clearing) put in the DT shopping. The dome was finished in like 83 or 84 and the downtown mall opened in the mid to late 90's. But the dome, just like Van Andel was step 1. Everything we talk about on Urban Planet will happen in Grand Rapids. It's just a matter of how involved we (the public) stay that will determine how close the development in GR is to what we want. Our neighborhoods and schools are already decades ahead of Indianapolis. With a clear vision of where we want our city to go, there's no reason Grand Rapids can't be as good if not better than Indy or any other Midwest city.

Thank you GRDad! In the face of this proof, can we now officially shoot anyone who says that there is a parking problem in downtown Grand Rapids? Up with mass transit in Grand Rapids!

Following the links on the article civitas referenced about the Dallas Calatrava bridge, I found an interesting little tidbit that should interest many Urban Planeteers. The Urban Market in Dallas is reporting financial trouble. Seems they can't make a go of it in downtown Dallas because there are only 3400 people currently living in the core. Heck, we could muster that many right now if you included downtown, Heritage Hill, the near west side, and Belknap couldn't we? Thought this was interesting. Dallas Urban Market