EastownLeo

More glass than I expected.

St. James School at 750 1st St. will be converted into 36 apartments, 16 townhomes. I always forget about this area.

They do need more seating, many people walk away when they find out the wait. Harmony is not a place where you eat and run, its nice to sit and take your time. With that said, the emphasized take out option is great because of the foot traffic that is always increasing in the neighborhood. Eastown is slowly putting more focus on pedestrian traffic and this will only help. Gaslight did a good job by removing the traffic lights and there is talk about other changes to Eastown to help push the pedestrian friendly feel.

Anyone have pictures of the new development on the west side of the river, north of 6th street. Seems like its more than 50% done?

Could it be that all the new additions have a destination appeal? Marketing and image that draws a crowd? Where as Black Heron seemed to be taking a more neighborhood established feel that was not "changing things" They came in with a whisper and left with a whimper, while New holland, BU and sovengard all came in with a bang?

I have my own opinions but I'm interested in hearing why other think this place failed? While BU does well down the street?

That building is a perfect example of late 90's architecture that was influenced by the startup boom and then busted. I remember when it was new and toured it as an architecture student. It seems ahead of its time. Now seeing it as a novelty points to how classic themes will hold the test of time.

Went downtown and parked near one of the new Central payment spots. The ones with the electronic payment computer. It was after 6pm and no where on the machine or on any of the parking spot signs did it say what the parking hours were. Hours of enforcement were posted no where. City must be making a lot more from those that don't know that the parking attendants go home at 6.

Ha, any developer knows how to get around these requirements. they exist already.

I agree, and I know this group does not like to hear it, but West Michigan has a Public Transportation problem. The people don't want to use it. (because they they they don't have to) Any grown city relies on public transportation to push parkingless workers into the city core. Companies setup offices in major metro areas, giving public transportation stipends that are usually cheaper than giving them monthly parking passes. Until the people of GR grownup, we will always have this issue. We want growth and density, and if our hopes and dreams come true, we will never catch up with parking as long as the people want to drive and park 1 block from their desired destination. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/nashville-charlotte-public-transit/412741/

If they are willing to move out to Wyoming, There are many locations on the west side, and south that they could have purchased. They wanted a move in read space and were not looking to renovate. And a good portion of their work is being done for out of city and out of state clients. So location is irrelevant for them at this point. Especially as more work is done online and less in person.

Just saw another person who used to work at 616 has now moved on. They must be cutting.

I think that the 200,000 deal was a family transaction. The 1.2 is not bad, but compared to an almost ready to go building like 470 market going for 7mil. The amount of work tanglefoot needs is a lot of money, but that is what keeps the rents low for those who use it. It is exactly what they want and need. And renters end up putting more of their own money into the spaces to make them what they want. I hope it holds on.

SW and not sure where to put this but. Tanglefoot is back up for sale. One of the last cheap, artist, hobby and small business locations available near the city center. I hope this stays focused on lower rent, diverse use and not turned into apartments. http://mls.carwm.com/listing/30055724/314-Straight-Ave-SW-Grand-Rapids-MI-49504

I was there a while back, on a weekday, and the place was dead. I was, maybe, one of 15 people in the store. I found them to be slightly overpriced. They took some of the best parts of Meijer and combined them with ideas stolen from the other stores. The selection was good but it felt like an experiment and not something that had been refined. I may have to visit again on a weekend to see how busy it is. Whole foods are busy almost 24/7.