Welcome to UrbanPlanet - Metro Grand Rapids!

[Moore&Co]

Well...you should all be proud of me...this is my first discussion group. I'm still trying to figure out all of the ins and outs, buttons, terminologies, etc. Broadening my horizons and apparently never to late to learn.

I've been a resident of the area for over 20+ years (Georgetown Twp.) and have been in the real estate business for almost that same amount of time. I'm kickin' the door down on 48, father of 3 boys, and have an awesome wife who's way smarter than me. My oldest son is 23 and a partner in my business. (Moore & Company) Not very inventive in my alias.

A partner and I buy, sell, swap, develop etc. and I generally dig the entire business (throwback terminology) front to back. I've been perpetually pursuing a CCIM (for years) as I find time. (want the education more than the designation, but probably should finish it, eh?) I also work with a contracting partner to service the needs of the disabled community.

I have a severe passion for high rise development, "out of the box" projects, innovative solutions to old problems, and vibrant and exciting downtown areas. (I love New York. Electric!) I can't wait until we break out of our current mindset and intentionally set out to attract big business, residential high rise, and retail to interior downtown. It's so ripe with possibilities!! I'm dedicated to being a part of the changes that will allow us to have a vibrant market that we can develop in without having to seek tax free status, before it's to late for our schools.

Re-use, re-use, re-use, infrastructure, fight sprawl with intelligent and innovative zoning policy, and build green. That about sums it up what I care about in my work. - Looking forward to more chats. This could get to be fun. - kev

[GRDadof3]

Well...you should all be proud of me...this is my first discussion group. I'm still trying to figure out all of the ins and outs, buttons, terminologies, etc. Broadening my horizons and apparently never to late to learn.

I've been a resident of the area for over 20+ years (Georgetown Twp.) and have been in the real estate business for almost that same amount of time. I'm kickin' the door down on 48, father of 3 boys, and have an awesome wife who's way smarter than me. My oldest son is 23 and a partner in my business. (Moore & Company) Not very inventive in my alias.

A partner and I buy, sell, swap, develop etc. and I generally dig the entire business (throwback terminology) front to back. I've been perpetually pursuing a CCIM (for years) as I find time. (want the education more than the designation, but probably should finish it, eh?) I also work with a contracting partner to service the needs of the disabled community.

I have a severe passion for high rise development, "out of the box" projects, innovative solutions to old problems, and vibrant and exciting downtown areas. (I love New York. Electric!) I can't wait until we break out of our current mindset and intentionally set out to attract big business, residential high rise, and retail to interior downtown. It's so ripe with possibilities!! I'm dedicated to being a part of the changes that will allow us to have a vibrant market that we can develop in without having to seek tax free status, before it's to late for our schools.

Re-use, re-use, re-use, infrastructure, fight sprawl with intelligent and innovative zoning policy, and build green. That about sums it up what I care about in my work. - Looking forward to more chats. This could get to be fun. - kev

[dtown]

Welocme Moore&Co. This was the first online discussion group i joined, too. Youll find yourself right at home.

Also visit the Michigan Section of UrbanPlanet, as well.Youll find topics about all of Michigans other major cities that you might be interested in. Feel free to post, and make new topics in those places.

[Moore&Co]

Welcome again Moore&co! UrbanPlanet was the first online discussion group I'd ever joined when I signed up 2 years ago. With your enthusiasm for urban issues and love for Grand Rapids, I think you'll find yourself right at home. When I found UrbanPlanet, I couldn't believe there were so many people interested in the same things I was.

Here is sort of an UrbanPlanet 101:

As you can probably tell, the "Grand Rapids" section is mainly for urban related issues and development: design, construction, built environments, pedestrian-friendly design, redevelopment, mass transit, land use, historic preservation and much more. The "Grand Rapids Coffee House" is where you can discuss Grand Rapids related topics that don't necessarily fit into those categories. If there is a project going on that you have a question about, please use the search function at the bottom of the page to see if a topic has already been opened about it, and post your question in the existing topic. With over 1600 active topics right now, there's a good chance someone has touched on it before, and it just helps things run smoother to keep existing topics running. Otherwise, feel free to start any topic you would like. If you want to test some of the features, there is a test forum here where you can play around a bit.

As a topic is replied to, it "jumps" to the top of the page again. When you first log in, there are little orange pages just to the left of each topic where someone has posted a reply and you have not read it yet. There is also a Private Message function where you can contact other members directly. Just click on the particular username you want to contact, and then a Send Message tab will appear under their profile. There are many many other settings and functions that you can use, but those should get you started.

UrbanPlanet is based in North Carolina and has sections devoted to just about every metro area in the country, as well as some international pages. so you have the opportunity to see what trends are happening around the country. There is also a general forum that touches on urban-related issues as they pertain to cities in general. You can also start topics in any section that you wish on UrbanPlanet. The only big taboo is discussing selling, buying or investing in specific real estate (for obvious reasons).

Of the over 200 active members in the Grand Rapids section, only a handful are developers. The rest of us are just urban and Grand Rapids enthusiasts. joedowntown and I are the moderators here in the GR section, and we both contribute quite a bit as well (since we both started off as contributors first and were asked to be moderators).

If you already had figured out a lot of the above, sorry. Have fun and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Jeff (GRDadof3)

[RLS]

Hello, new as of yesterday.

I am 32 and president of a tech company in GR. I am proud of my city and talk about it where ever I travel!

I really enjoy UrbanPlanet threads. My software deals with the built environment so I enjoy the construction photos and conversations.

Ryan

[concretepoem]

Great to see the number of contributors to the GR Forum grow.

My story:

Ancestors came to Kent County from Vermont in 1839. I was born at Blodgett Hospital about 120 years later, and raised in EGR. Spent my summers as a kid playing on top of a hill over on the West Side, looking back across the river at tall buildings like the Pantlind and the McKay Tower. I'm just old enough that I caught the tail end of what downtown was once like, with the big departments stores and a couple of movie palaces and the old museum, where the re-creation of an 1880s GR street fascinated me as a kid.

Lived in some great cities over the past 20 years, including New York, Amsterdam, Austin and Detroit. Now live in California, but would rather be in GR. I get back often to look after some investment properties. Betting on the long term vitality of GR and West Michigan.