Two Buildings...

[GRDadof3]

So, when do people think development downtown will hit the critical mass needed to put development pressure on these two last vestiges of Grand Rapids furniture past?

 

The old Baker Furniture building on Monroe is about 250,000 sf in the five story older building, with about another 139,000 square foot newer warehouse that was added to it. Would be a nice spot next to the river when the River Edges trail is finally completed.

 

Assessed value is around 1.4 Million I believe.

 

 

 

 

 

The other is the old Century (?) Furniture company building on Logan. The big hulk with the "Antiques" sign that everyone surely knows about.

 

I believe when John Rooks was looking at redeveloping way back when, it was estimated at around 550,000 sf?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike the famed Packard Plant in Detroit, or the sinking Klingman's factory on Ionia, both buildings have been relatively well preserved and are in good shape for a makeover.

 

Thoughts?

[GRDadof3]

https://youtu.be/xUCsbz34Q_0

 

Nice overview! Thanks for doing that. I like a lot of your ideas.

 

Using part of the warehouse on the Baker Furniture factory for indoor parking is a great idea. Especially if you're going to do condos, you almost have to have indoor/heated parking. FYI, the whole building is vacant. Baker closed it about 10 years ago?

 

Most of that whole surface lot out in front could be sold off for infill and it wouldn't detract from the older factory building. You'd have a footprint of about 35,000 square feet to build up on. The other portion all the way to the corner of Ann and Monroe could be split off and would still be about 130,000 square feet.

 

You could in essence create an entire residential village up there, with a park and trail on the river, some views of downtown, and even a cool view of that old railroad bridge (Trestle View Lofts).

 

 

 

Also, the Northern end of the river restoration project will be right out your door. All of that riverfront land from Leonard to Ann has slowly been acquired by the DNR over the last few years in preparation for a trail, so I hear. Some pieces are also owned by the city.

 

 

 

 

The other building, which you're correct it's the Sligh Furniture building (not Century Furniture, I always think Century because it's ON Century), great idea for the pool and the indoor parking in the one annex. That portion of the building used to be a furniture outlet for Israels and would make fine parking floors, IIRC. 12 foot ceilings I think.

 

Which one goes first? Probably depends on which owners are willing to part with which building sooner. Sligh is a lot closer but I think they want a ton of money for it.

 

I think either might be on 616's or Mike Jacobsen's radar down the road, if I were a betting man and the rental market holds up for the next 5 years.

 

In addition to Google Earth, this is a fun site to play around with. It's how I measure spaces and find out who owns what pretty easily.

 

http://gis.kentcountymi.gov/public/kcviewerweb/

[MJLO]

I would think the big Warehouse off of Century would need a major tenant in order to be successful the likes of a corporate head quarters ect.  I think it's just too big to do a loft type conversion.    

 

The old Baker complex I can see being a good fit for a 616 type conversion and they've shown some aggressive interest in expanding into No-Mo and Creston,  I really think it's only a matter of time before that one goes.  It is definitely on the fringe of what would be living downtown however that might make it less attractive for investment. 

[GRDadof3]

I did not know land that "far" north had been purchased by the DNR. Would certainly add to the appeal of the property.

I can see Baker doing well if it built for and sold itself as a urban oasis. Especially if the stores and businesses north of the site on Monroe saw an increase in expansion, renovation, and/or redevelopment. The property is somewhat conviently located in a nice "forgotten about" area.

I do enjoy Kent county's online land map but the controls are not as intuitive and I felt this video didn't need the additional data layers supplied by it.

Also, let me know how you guys like my video. I might make more of them. What do you think of ads before the video? I didn't know if people would be cool with it or not. I put them there to help justify the (albeit small) amount of time I spend on them.

 

I've gotten used to Youtube ads, so I didn't even notice.

 

Everything outlined in red is DNR owned now:

 

[GRDadof3]

I would think the big Warehouse off of Century would need a major tenant in order to be successful the likes of a corporate head quarters ect.  I think it's just too big to do a loft type conversion.    

 

The old Baker complex I can see being a good fit for a 616 type conversion and they've shown some aggressive interest in expanding into No-Mo and Creston,  I really think it's only a matter of time before that one goes.  It is definitely on the fringe of what would be living downtown however that might make it less attractive for investment. 

 

The Sligh/Century factory is HUGE and might be a few years down the road. At 500,000+ square feet you'd have a 500 unit project, which is twice the size of Boardwalk.

 

It might be cool to split it up residential and commercial. Maybe Wolverine World Wide could move into it. Or the Baker Building. They could build a HQ fitness R&D campus like Nike has in Oregon (but way cooler). 

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/nike-office-headquarters-2013-11

[GRDadof3]

While investigating the Baker Factory a bit more today, I discovered a hobo village (shanty town, tent town). Very interesting.

[GRDadof3]

The city's economic development office now has a line item to look at going in and doing an environmental study, to see if they can help Baker get their property sold. Will be interesting to see what kind of cleanup is required. It's apparently big (probably like Klingman or maybe more expensive).

 

If the shear expense of having the environmental study done is keeping suitors away, it's great that the city is looking at stepping up.

[GVSUChris]

How long has this been for sale?

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19011114/211-Logan-St-Grand-Rapids-MI/

[EastownLeo]

How long has this been for sale?

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19011114/211-Logan-St-Grand-Rapids-MI/

GRL, Who I believe owns that building and a few other warehouses on the south west side, has been listing their buildings for years.

Usually at very high prices.  I think that building has been listed ever since there was talk of a Casino going in there.

[EastownLeo]

Blast from the past.

211 Logan seems to have been sold at the end of last year.

along with 1111 Godfrey

and 655 Godfrey.

3 of the largest old furniture buildings bought up from GRL properties.  $15 million total purchase price for all 3

Seems to have been purchased by First Holding Management Company out of West Bloomfield MI.

They look to be renovating the properties some,  Creating new branding, (naming 1111, Godfrey Hollows)

Not sure what will go on with the other properties, but GRL seems to have greatly stepped back.

 

[thebeerqueer]

I feel like this is part of that discussion.

 

[EastownLeo]

38 minutes ago, thebeerqueer said:

I feel like this is part of that discussion.

 

thought i remembered it but couldn't find it.  Thanks.

[Floyd_Z]

3 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

Blast from the past.

211 Logan seems to have been sold at the end of last year.

along with 1111 Godfrey

and 655 Godfrey.

3 of the largest old furniture buildings bought up from GRL properties.  $15 million total purchase price for all 3

Seems to have been purchased by First Holding Management Company out of West Bloomfield MI.

They look to be renovating the properties some,  Creating new branding, (naming 1111, Godfrey Hollows)

Not sure what will go on with the other properties, but GRL seems to have greatly stepped back.

 

I remember hearing they were in town to buy these and tour them.  They meant with tenants.  From what it sounded like they want to improve the spaces and probably keep the current tenants.  Also from what I heard they are very interested on improving the community like the bike path and Clemente Park.  I used to work at 655 Godfrey and did a lot of exploring.  I've always thought I would make great condos/apartments.  It also has one of the best view of downtown from the roof.

[GRDadof3]

On 3/29/2018 at 4:15 PM, Floyd_Z said:

I remember hearing they were in town to buy these and tour them.  They meant with tenants.  From what it sounded like they want to improve the spaces and probably keep the current tenants.  Also from what I heard they are very interested on improving the community like the bike path and Clemente Park.  I used to work at 655 Godfrey and did a lot of exploring.  I've always thought I would make great condos/apartments.  It also has one of the best view of downtown from the roof.

They have a request before the Planning Commission now to rezone 1111 Godfrey to make it more usable as mixed-use. They show banquet halls, a brewery, a restaurant and apartments.

[elcelc]

I did notice recently that 655 Godfrey has a small sign, "Heritage Antiques" or something similar replacing the  fish tank place.  Not much else though. 

It would be interesting to see it either of these buildings get any traction seeing that 470 Market at the corner of Godfrey has already undergone similar renovations but sits vacant looking for a buyer.

$9M+ for 470 vs whatever they paid for 1111 & 655 could be a huge factor.  I've been in 1111 & 655 many time and they'll both need extensive rework.  Although, this reuse (and moving the antique shops from Century to here) was what the previous owners used as the big selling point.  It became quite clear to me they did not want to do it themselves.  They were just trying to sell.

 

[Pattmost20]

There is a new antique shop open on the weekends in 1111 Godfrey. We were in there a few months ago chatting with the owners. They said "Heritage Antiques" will be the new location for the 3 antique stores currently on century. They also had mentioned the building owners were planning on paving the parking lot and adding more retail. Seems like they could make it into a destination once century antiques and the rest make the move. 

[joeDowntown]

4 hours ago, Pattmost20 said:

There is a new antique shop open on the weekends in 1111 Godfrey. We were in there a few months ago chatting with the owners. They said "Heritage Antiques" will be the new location for the 3 antique stores currently on century. They also had mentioned the building owners were planning on paving the parking lot and adding more retail. Seems like they could make it into a destination once century antiques and the rest make the move. 

Lost and Found has had a few "sneak peek" photos of their new location on Facebook. They're interior shots, so I couldn't really figure out where it is, but I assume it's this location. I think they're going to have a coffee shop as well. Lost and Found is a destination store (and awesome). I imagine if they move here, it'll be a good anchor.

Joe