Gaslight Village

[GRDadof3]

Isn't Visbeen Architects building an office right in this area as well?

Joe

 

I think he bought one of the live/work units. 

[egrguy]

 

Yup. And I noticed today the foundation is in for the second live/work commercial building at the North end of the site. Nice looking project. I hear they dumped their sales guy because they weren't selling fast enough though. 

Looks like the new salesperson worked. According to GRAR it looks like there are sales pending on the rest of these units.

 

New townhouses going up across from Croswell Mews. One of the guys involved in this used to post on here. Not sure if he still does..

 

Looks like there is a sales pending on this unit as well.

 

[joeDowntown]

Isn't Visbeen Architects moving into Gaslight Village. Where will their offices be located? In another new building?

Joe

[GRDadof3]

Isn't Visbeen Architects moving into Gaslight Village. Where will their offices be located? In another new building?

Joe

In one of the mixed use buildings in Croswell Mews. 

[egrguy]

Biggby Coffee took over the barbershop/mini scooter store on the south end of the retail that D&W anchors.

[john_denver]

That's too bad...my least favorite place that sells coffee.

For the aura Gaslight Village likes to portray, this outdated strip mall is very underwhelming.

[egrguy]

That's too bad...my least favorite place that sells coffee.

For the aura Gaslight Village likes to portray, this outdated strip mall is very underwhelming.

I agree. I'd love a complete remodel, but probably a pipe dream. I have been hoping for an alternative to Starbucks in Gaslight, but I imagine the rents are probably pretty high in that outdated strip mall for a beginner  coffee shop.

[GRDadof3]

I agree. I'd love a complete remodel, but probably a pipe dream. I have been hoping for an alternative to Starbucks in Gaslight, but I imagine the rents are probably pretty high in that outdated strip mall for a beginner  coffee shop.

 

 

They talked about reconfiguring the mall and moving it out to the street, I believe, but the costs and disruption to the current tenants would be too great for not much of an ROI, is my guess.

Edited October 16, 2015 by GRDadof3

[GR_Urbanist]

Seems like the only thing they really need to do is just build a couple of two-story buildings along the street with a road leading behind them. They can leave the strip mall in place, just hide it from the road.

[egrguy]

 

They talked about reconfiguring the mall and moving it out to the street, I believe, but the costs and disruption to the current tenants would be too great for not much of an ROI, is my guess.

I wonder when property values get to a point where the ROI increases? From what I can tell, the two condo projects just south of Wealthy have sold out or nearly sold out. I imagine or would not be surprised to see the long-abandoned condo project behind the parking structure get revisited within the next year or so.

The church on Croswell and Lake appears to have sold and is now owned by J Peterson? I wonder if its getting gutted into condos or being torn down. 

Seems like the only thing they really need to do is just build a couple of two-story buildings along the street with a road leading behind them. They can leave the strip mall in place, just hide it from the road.

With that front parking lot, seems like you could do any rebuild in phases to eliminate any sort of disruption to current tenants.

[joeDowntown]

Seems like the only thing they really need to do is just build a couple of two-story buildings along the street with a road leading behind them. They can leave the strip mall in place, just hide it from the road.

They actually did this but buried the foundation when the real estate market went south. I don't know if they busted out the footings or just left them, but the area mounded and landscaped in front of the D&W parking lot *HAD* started construction at one point. Does anyone have old renderings?

Joe

[GRDadof3]

I wonder when property values get to a point where the ROI increases? From what I can tell, the two condo projects just south of Wealthy have sold out or nearly sold out. I imagine or would not be surprised to see the long-abandoned condo project behind the parking structure get revisited within the next year or so.

The church on Croswell and Lake appears to have sold and is now owned by J Peterson? I wonder if its getting gutted into condos or being torn down. 

With that front parking lot, seems like you could do any rebuild in phases to eliminate any sort of disruption to current tenants.

There's a limit to how much business that D&W can draw. Moving it out to the street would probably not get you that many more customers, no matter how many dozen condos there are across the street. Change it to a different model (like a Whole Foods) and the numbers for a rebuild would probably work.

I think I remember reading somewhere that a grocery store needs 5000 rooftops to be viable. Another 20 won't make or break the bank.

 

Edited October 16, 2015 by GRDadof3

[egrguy]

Wok & Mortar replacing the old Biggby location.

[EastownLeo]

15 minutes ago, jdkacz said:

Wok & Mortar replacing the old Biggby location.

Brick & Porter

Books & Mortar

now

Wok & Mortar?

(SMH)

[GVSUChris]

29 minutes ago, EastownLeo said:

Brick & Porter

Books & Mortar

now

Wok & Mortar?

(SMH)

At least the first two a punny - I don't understand Wok & Mortar. Is it a play on Rock & Mortar? Maybe I'm just sensitive because I own one of the aforementioned businesses hahaha. 

[egrguy]

I am glad its a restaurant and it sounds interesting.

[egrguy]

Athleta is moving into the old Mason James location in Gaslight.

[mpchicago]

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the way these turned out.   They look awkward to me, and I don't think the design will stand the test of time.   I guess I would have preferred a more traditional exterior in this area of town.  If they were going for a modern look, I think it could have been handled better.  Inside materials/design don't look $610,000 to me.   My parents $250,000 interior looks better.   With that said, the townhouses are more appropriate than what was there before, and better suited for this street. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by mpchicago

[joeDowntown]

I agree. I can't really pick a style they were going for. I generally like the infill they've added in Gaslight Village, but this seems like a bit of a swing and a miss. It's a shame, because they used some expensive materials. Seems like a better design would have been fairly easy without additional costs. I also agree that I don't think they'll age well. 

Joe

[GR_Urbanist]

I'm more of a fan of the one that is closest to Lake Drive. The one in the top photo peeking out from the side.

I drive by it frequently, and that one really looks nice.

 

These types of designs dont really work well with brick exteriors

[GRDadof3]

5 hours ago, mpchicago said:

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the way these turned out.   They look awkward to me, and I don't think the design will stand the test of time.   I guess I would have preferred a more traditional exterior in this area of town.  If they were going for a modern look, I think it could have been handled better.  Inside materials/design don't look $610,000 to me.   My parents $250,000 interior looks better.   With that said, the townhouses are more appropriate than what was there before, and better suited for this street. 

The guy who developed these "used" to be a member here but I haven't seen him post in a while. The one to the far left I believe was done by J Peterson? A different developer/builder who does a lot of detached single-family in EGR.

[jthrasher]

9 hours ago, mpchicago said:

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the way these turned out.   They look awkward to me, and I don't think the design will stand the test of time.   I guess I would have preferred a more traditional exterior in this area of town.  If they were going for a modern look, I think it could have been handled better.  Inside materials/design don't look $610,000 to me.   My parents $250,000 interior looks better.   With that said, the townhouses are more appropriate than what was there before, and better suited for this street. 

Couldn’t agree more. 

[egrguy]

Is this development finally seeing the light of day? This is the first action I've seen at this spot in years.

[egrguy]

Sorry for the double post. But to clarify this is the empty lot by the parking garage.

[joeDowntown]

Wow, interesting. I haven’t heard anything about them resurrecting the Derby project. Parking lot maybe? 

I’d love to see them develop the rest of Gaslight as they envisioned it before the recession. 

Joe