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Keeler Building - 56 North Division

joeDowntown

By joeDowntown
in Grand Rapids

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GR_Urbanist Burg

GR_Urbanist

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West Michigan Housing Alliance plans to develop the building into Keeler Flats, a low-income housing development with a community day care center and commercial space on the ground floor. Forty-two apartments also will be set aside for persons with physical and developmental disabilities.

So am I wrong that I envisioned a cross between the Herkimer Apartments and the Morton House here? Seriously, is there no one in the DT area developing any apartments outside of non-profits creating thinly-veiled housing projects?

 

Oh well, it's out of the hands of Azzar, and it wont be an eyesore, so I guess what can I really complain about. Just make sure it's run by a staff that isnt going to let this place become a problem for the surrounding area.

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joeDowntown
joeDowntown

With the work they've been doing, I hope they buy and sell many more properties in GR. joe

GRDadof3
GRDadof3

Agreed, thanks for posting Chris. There are solutions to issues and then there are really bad "solutions" to issues. 

ModSquad
ModSquad

Here you go folks, more renderings for this project. I am biased because I was part of this process from the beginning but I think it is going to add so much to this area!

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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6 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

Keeler Building added to National Register, paves way for redevelopment

http://s.mlive.com/SjXSBzJ

Looks to be initiated by West Michigan Housing Alliance

$20 million in tax credits they're going to sell for a $42 million project? Half the project funded by tax credits? This has to be a joke and I hope the city's attorney digs into this proposal and this fly-by-night West Michigan Housing Alliance before any tax credits are approved on this. Usually tax credits are about 10% of a project, not half.

This reeks of Jack Buchanan's film studio scam on Alpine that he got busted for. Wow.

And also, the city core and certainly not Division does not need more low income housing. It's already nearly half the housing in city center and heartside. Spread it out. 

I do hope the designation does get this building back into use, but not this way.

 

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GVSUChris Hamlet

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8 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

$20 million in tax credits they're going to sell for a $42 million project? Half the project funded by tax credits? This has to be a joke and I hope the city's attorney digs into this proposal and this fly-by-night West Michigan Housing Alliance before any tax credits are approved on this. Usually tax credits are about 10% of a project, not half.

This reeks of Jack Buchanan's film studio scam on Alpine that he got busted for. Wow.

And also, the city core and certainly not Division does not need more low income housing. It's already nearly half the housing in city center and heartside. Spread it out. 

I do hope the designation does get this building back into use, but not this way.

 

Agreed. With every twist and turn this project screams red flags in regards to their use of credits and funding tools. 

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x99 Burg

x99

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Just go back a bit and see what I posted about this outfit in, I think, the Kent County building thread.  The principals are by all accounts I could find a bunch of mortgage brokers who collectively appear to have zero or near zero experience (at least, none publicly mentioned) in LIHTC or other projects.  So, yeah, we'll see how this one goes.  The amount of credit requests is astonishing for a firm with what appears to be comparatively little to no experience compared to others in the LIHTC sphere.  Hopefully they will correct the public record and highlight just how it is that they or someone else on their team has the experience and acumen to pull this off.  As I have mentioned before, we have a number of highly experienced low income developers in town from ICCF to Dwelling Place.  If this were such a great idea, I have to believe one of them would have tried to pull it off.  There is a limited pool of LIHTC funds, and it would be a shame to see them misused or poured into a boondoggle.  It's unlikely, but perhaps Dwelling Place and others just didn't have the vision to see how this could be a great idea.  

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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16 hours ago, x99 said:

Just go back a bit and see what I posted about this outfit in, I think, the Kent County building thread.  The principals are by all accounts I could find a bunch of mortgage brokers who collectively appear to have zero or near zero experience (at least, none publicly mentioned) in LIHTC or other projects.  So, yeah, we'll see how this one goes.  The amount of credit requests is astonishing for a firm with what appears to be comparatively little to no experience compared to others in the LIHTC sphere.  Hopefully they will correct the public record and highlight just how it is that they or someone else on their team has the experience and acumen to pull this off.  As I have mentioned before, we have a number of highly experienced low income developers in town from ICCF to Dwelling Place.  If this were such a great idea, I have to believe one of them would have tried to pull it off.  There is a limited pool of LIHTC funds, and it would be a shame to see them misused or poured into a boondoggle.  It's unlikely, but perhaps Dwelling Place and others just didn't have the vision to see how this could be a great idea.  

I think a very similar project to this would be the Klingman warehouse renovation, which was done by a very experienced developer (Bob Jacobson). It too was layered with federal and state historic tax credits, MSHDA LIHTC tax credits, and a number of other tax credits. I don't think the total reached anywhere near 50% of the projects cost. And like you said, MSHDA only has so much to award. 

The best thing to do on this, if this developer is allowed to move forward, is cap the number of units that will be "income restricted." 30 - 40% tops.  If that disrupts their financing "house of cards" than so be it, it wasn't meant to be. 

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GR_Urbanist Burg

GR_Urbanist

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I guess it may just be time to demolish this thing, outside of the ornate lower 2 floors, and give someone the chance to build anew above it to accommodate modern tastes and standards.

 

I just dont think this building is ever going to survive being a crumbling eyesore for another 10 years. It is beyond an embarrassment at this point.

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3 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

I guess it may just be time to demolish this thing, outside of the ornate lower 2 floors, and give someone the chance to build anew above it to accommodate modern tastes and standards.

 

I just dont think this building is ever going to survive being a crumbling eyesore for another 10 years. It is beyond an embarrassment at this point.

Isn't it in the National Registry for historic buildings?  I never really liked the Keeler building, wouldn't mind seeing it torn down for something nice and tall, no 12 story metal/plastic BS.  Is parking the big problem with the building?  Why not double the size of the Library parking structure? 

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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On 1/27/2018 at 3:16 PM, Floyd_Z said:

Isn't it in the National Registry for historic buildings?  I never really liked the Keeler building, wouldn't mind seeing it torn down for something nice and tall, no 12 story metal/plastic BS.  Is parking the big problem with the building?  Why not double the size of the Library parking structure? 

Yes, it's registered historic now. That was apparently so the developer could get historic tax credits to layer on top of its hilariously rich low income tax credit cake. 

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ModSquad Hamlet

ModSquad

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12 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Yes, it's registered historic now. That was apparently so the developer could get historic tax credits to layer on top of its hilariously rich low income tax credit cake. 

The good news in all of this is now that it is on the National Historic Registry, that stays on the building no matter what.  I can't imagine the option the developers that had on this building is still alive.  Most likely the historic designation might open the door for another development to make sense on this site.

 

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

Franklin Partners..... Do you think you could try to make this work, now th

at a ramp is in the works at the Library a block away?   

:P  Are you trying to conjure them?  j/k I know they lurk around here. 

I honestly don't remember what happened with that deal..  That'd be great to see that plan brought back to life.

giphy.gif

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mpchicago Burg

mpchicago

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14 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

:P  Are you trying to conjure them?  j/k I know they lurk around here. 

I honestly don't remember what happened with that deal..  That'd be great to see that plan brought back to life.

giphy.gif

HA!  Whatever works!   Not sure if it was a parking issue, lack of interest from tenants, or a combination?   FP - Let's make this happen!  :)

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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4 hours ago, mpchicago said:

HA!  Whatever works!   Not sure if it was a parking issue, lack of interest from tenants, or a combination?   FP - Let's make this happen!  :)

Haha. I was literally going to post the same thing GRDad did. Make it happen Franklin Partners. I’ll even pay $10 to a go fund me page. :):)

Joe

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GRLaker Hamlet

GRLaker

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The sidewalk outside of this building has been closed off for years it seems like due to structural issues. Every project proposed for this building has fallen through. Now they're working on doing critical foundation work on it? Honestly...Tear the thing down and build something there that the city has use for.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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3 hours ago, organsnyder said:

The problem isn't the building—it's the owner. Razing the structure wouldn't help with that.

Hopefully the city is levying fines on Azzar for the repairs.

I agree. It's a great building and has so much potential (just look  back at the Franklin Partner plan). A "little bird" told me that some of things the city has tried to do to get Azzar to fix the building, have also caused problems for potential buyers of the property. 

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GVSUChris Hamlet

GVSUChris

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They FINALLY opened Fountain Street back up, as well as new sidewalk on Fountain Street. They have also removed the fencing and concrete barricade along Division and appear to be finishing that sidewalk stretch up as well. I work next door at Fountain Street Church and they've been telling us for MONTHS that they were going to be done any day now, so it is nothing short of a miracle that they are actually wrapping this project up. 

As for the actual Keeler? Who even knows...

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