New projects on the West Side

[ironyisadeadscene]

3 hours ago, localtalent said:

Drywall has been hung....even in units that have no windows installled.

It really is a train wreck.

What's the plan then? Is this just going to be some abandoned eyesore? Will they pick it back up when they find someone to take over? Or will they have to tear it down?

[demhem]

30 minutes ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

What's the plan then? Is this just going to be some abandoned eyesore? Will they pick it back up when they find someone to take over? Or will they have to tear it down?

I can almost guarantee that the city will not just let it sit there unfinished and exposed. You would have to look at the requirements and conditions of the approval, but something will have to be done. 

[Raildude's dad]

I'm guessing the lender will take possession before the city does anything.

[joeDowntown]

Unless the thing gets tangled in some sort of court case, we should have zero worries. It's in too good of a location to just sit. No way this thing doesn't ultimately become a successful development.

Joe

[GRDadof3]

23 hours ago, localtalent said:

Drywall has been hung....even in units that have no windows installled.

It really is a train wreck.

Oof. 

15 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Unless the thing gets tangled in some sort of court case, we should have zero worries. It's in too good of a location to just sit. No way this thing doesn't ultimately become a successful development.

Joe

I would agree, someone will pick it up for a song in foreclosure and even with demo-ing the inside, would be able to finish it probably less expensively than the original. My guess is with Rockford so invested in that neighborhood, they'll take it over even if they have to eat part of it.  I haven't heard any rumors as such, just spitballin. 

I'm actually surprised the media hasn't picked up on this yet. Or investigated. 

[ironyisadeadscene]

I drove past today and saw it being worked on. Two construction workers on the 4th balcony on the east side to be exact. Driving by, I could hear more work being done inside.

 

For what it's worth 

[MJLO]

1 hour ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

I drove past today and saw it being worked on. Two construction workers on the 4th balcony on the east side to be exact. Driving by, I could hear more work being done inside.

 

For what it's worth 

Work over the last week has picked up a decent amount from previous weeks.  Someone mentioned whatever was going on had been resolved and work would pick up again.

[ironyisadeadscene]

51 minutes ago, MJLO said:

Work over the last week has picked up a decent amount from previous weeks.  Someone mentioned whatever was going on had been resolved and work would pick up again.

Didnt see that. Terrific

[NotALocalDeveloper]

16 hours ago, MJLO said:

Work over the last week has picked up a decent amount from previous weeks.  Someone mentioned whatever was going on had been resolved and work would pick up again.

Do you know who said it had resolved and would begin construction again? Credible source? 

[MJLO]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:25 AM, NotALocalDeveloper said:

They are going to proceed as planned with building on West Side site. The slight delay was due only in part to some building redesign efforts but they should be moving forward rather quickly once finished with redesign. 

You lol.

[NotALocalDeveloper]

1 hour ago, MJLO said:

You lol.

I was talking about the new Consumers Energy building going in on the west side, not this project...

[mpchicago]

36 minutes ago, NotALocalDeveloper said:

I was talking about the new Consumers Energy building going in on the west side, not this project...

So they are going to start construction on the Consumers Energy building?    What do you know?

 

 

[ironyisadeadscene]

2 hours ago, NotALocalDeveloper said:

I was talking about the new Consumers Energy building going in on the west side, not this project...

 

*shrugs*

 

So what did I see and hear yesterday? Just a few guys doing routine work?

[mpchicago]

Meadery, Arktos, is getting ready to set up shop along the burgeoning Bridge Street corridor.   The project includes a mead hall and production facility.

https://mibiz.com/sections/food-agribusiness/arktos-meadery-plans-move-to-grand-rapids-bridge-street

https://arktosmeadery.com/

[thebeerqueer]

1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

Meadery, Arktos, is getting ready to set up shop along the burgeoning Bridge Street corridor.   The project includes a mead hall and production facility.

https://mibiz.com/sections/food-agribusiness/arktos-meadery-plans-move-to-grand-rapids-bridge-street

https://arktosmeadery.com/

Glad to see the space activated again. Hopefully this one will last longer than the last two. 

[organsnyder]

Arktos has been located in a little office building by Hall/131 for the past few years. It's a strange experience walking past the office for a cleaning company and all of a sudden being in a mead hall with brick wall coverings, etc. Their mead is really good, and they seem to have a dedicated following.

I'll be sad that they're not as close to me anymore, but excited to see them grow.

[GRDadof3]

657 Fulton St W is on the permit activity report stating "2 three story buildings." Have we seen renderings for these? 

[TheLonesomeHobo]

The project at the old red lion site is finally starting to noticeably move along. Almost all of the windows / patio doors are in and they’re beginning to install siding on the back portion of the building.

Any news on the ground floor for this space?

[localtalent]

Just now, TheLonesomeHobo said:

The project at the old red lion site is finally starting to noticeably move along. Almost all of the windows / patio doors are in and they’re beginning to install siding on the back portion of the building.

Any news on the ground floor for this space?

Was just about to comment that the pace here has picked up significantly in the past couple weeks. Good sign.

[GRwestsider]

Hey everybody! So great to finally post on here... I've been lurking on Urban Planet for more years than I can count. I just moved back to GR from overseas, where I've been living for the last ten years or so. I thought now would be as good a time as any to make myself an account.  

Has anyone heard anything new about this proposed church renovation on 4th and McReynolds on the Lower West Side? A MiBiz article that came out back in February mentions construction would be starting potentially by late summer, but I still haven't noticed any movement on the property or heard any updates. 

Hoping everything works out with this project--it's unbelievable how much the Steepletown area (running down 4th street, between Stocking and the basilica / Seward) has improved over the last few years. The additional foot traffic this project would generate would really add a lot to the neighborhood's momentum.

 

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developers-plan-mixed-use-project-for-former-grand-rapids-church

[joeDowntown]

Welcome @GRwestsider! Glad to have you here (and posting  ).

I haven’t heard anything about this project in a while either.  It’s a cool building, I hope everything is still a go!

Joe

[grandrollerz]

Steepletown area (running down 4th street, between Stocking and the basilica / Seward)

I have never heard of that area referred to by that name. No results in forum search either.

Is that for real? Is there a map of neighborhood be names that would show other names?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[GRwestsider]

Yeah, isn't it a cool name? It was coined back in the 90's to describe the neighborhood located roughly between the three large, highly visible Catholic churches in the area: St. Mary, St. James and St. Adalbert--hence the "steeple" in "Steepletown." The name started with Steepletown Neighborhood Services, which is a Catholic charitable organization and community center in the area that the three churches co-founded a number of years ago, and it caught on from there. I used to do a lot of volunteer work with them back in high school and everyone I know that either worked there or used to frequent the community center referred to the surrounding area as Steepletown.

(Here's hoping people see this post and start using it more! Ahahaha. I think it's a pretty fun, distinctive name. After doing a quick Google search, it doesn't look like any other city in the country has a "Steepletown" either. It's definitely unique to GR.)

Here's a link to the organization's page that describes a little bit of its history:

https://www.steepletowncenter.org/about_us.php

You're totally right though--there is an insanely large number of overlapping neighborhood nicknames in the city, especially on the West Side. Experience GR and Rapid Growth have put together their own very limited lists of them online but, as you can see, they're hardly comprehensive. Just to name a few off the top of my head, you have the Upper and Lower West Side, Stockbridge, West Leonard, Steepletown and Shawmut Hills. Any others I'm missing?

[demhem]

11 hours ago, GRwestsider said:

Yeah, isn't it a cool name? It was coined back in the 90's to describe the neighborhood located roughly between the three large, highly visible Catholic churches in the area: St. Mary, St. James and St. Adalbert--hence the "steeple" in "Steepletown." The name started with Steepletown Neighborhood Services, which is a Catholic charitable organization and community center in the area that the three churches co-founded a number of years ago, and it caught on from there. I used to do a lot of volunteer work with them back in high school and everyone I know that either worked there or used to frequent the community center referred to the surrounding area as Steepletown.

(Here's hoping people see this post and start using it more! Ahahaha. I think it's a pretty fun, distinctive name. After doing a quick Google search, it doesn't look like any other city in the country has a "Steepletown" either. It's definitely unique to GR.)

Here's a link to the organization's page that describes a little bit of its history:

https://www.steepletowncenter.org/about_us.php

You're totally right though--there is an insanely large number of overlapping neighborhood nicknames in the city, especially on the West Side. Experience GR and Rapid Growth have put together their own very limited lists of them online but, as you can see, they're hardly comprehensive. Just to name a few off the top of my head, you have the Upper and Lower West Side, Stockbridge, West Leonard, Steepletown and Shawmut Hills. Any others I'm missing?

John Ball Park and West Fulton

[GRwestsider]

Speaking of Steepletown, I had a chance to take a few snapshots of the neighborhood the other day while I was passing through. I thought I'd share them here in case anyone doesn't get a chance to head down that way too often. So many hidden architectural gems in that neighborhood! 

They've recently redone the basilica complex as well as the 5th Street Hall / St. Adalbert's Fraternal Aid Society building, which you can barely recognize. One street up you have the 6th Street Hall / Polish Armory building, which could still use a bit of a facelift. You can tell that with a little love, that building would look fantastic. A lot of history and character in that area. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by GRwestsider