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GVSU Downtown Development


GRDadof3

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I'm starting to get seriously worried about the direction Allendale is heading in.

Controversial Allendale student housing plans are blocked.

As far as I know, the only "controversy" surrounding this project exists between the developers and their competition. And the township is being sucked in. This doesn't seem like any way to plan for a successful city at all.

Allendale isn't a city it's a township, which might be more the problem.

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I'm starting to get seriously worried about the direction Allendale is heading in.

Controversial Allendale student housing plans are blocked.

As far as I know, the only "controversy" surrounding this project exists between the developers and their competition. And the township is being sucked in. This doesn't seem like any way to plan for a successful city at all.

I don't think allowing massive suburban scaled housing complexes is a good way to grow into a "city" either.

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  • 2 weeks later...

All that's left of the old A&P warehouse:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/5924306349/in/photostream

5924306349_cd1cbc3900_b.jpg

I wonder if they will use this as fill for the new bldg, or cart it all away? I thought it was interesting that they ground up the whole building right on site. Maybe that's normal. If so, I didn't realize that was how it worked.

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All that's left of the old A&P warehouse:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoman311/5924306349/in/photostream

5924306349_cd1cbc3900_b.jpg

I wonder if they will use this as fill for the new bldg, or cart it all away? I thought it was interesting that they ground up the whole building right on site. Maybe that's normal. If so, I didn't realize that was how it worked.

I saw that and thought it was interesting too. Maybe it's just not often that we see a building built entirely of concrete/masonry torn down. Although, if they're going for LEED, maybe reusing it gets them some points??

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All that's left of the old A&P warehouse:

I wonder if they will use this as fill for the new bldg, or cart it all away? I thought it was interesting that they ground up the whole building right on site. Maybe that's normal. If so, I didn't realize that was how it worked.

That appears to be be "new" way, crush everything on site, use what you need and truck the rest away, most likely to another job-site. You can see the big crushed concrete pile and the smaller crushed asphalt pile. The same process was used at Michigan/Fuller for the new Walgreen's.

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They're putting the jib on the tower crane out in Allendale today. Sorry for the fuzzy photo -- all I had with me was a phone, no camera, but this does show the scale of the crane. That's Kirkhof Center in the foreground and the bell tower to the right. The crane is behind Kirkhof.

5940562958_fbcf6e4d7e.jpg

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Steel for the new business school s being pieced together pretty quickly. You can watch the progress from a live webcam that must be perched on the engineering building. I also located a number of renderings and context plans that weren't posted here. My only complaint is that the building sits alone in a sea of parking.

context_plan.jpg

aerial_view.jpg

The building is expected to be open for the fall 2013 semester

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I cannot believe the university did not take the opportunity to realign Front from the Butterworth intersection over to Winter get rid of Front north of Butterworth, Watson and Mt Vernon from Watson to Fulton. The land is all chopped up by those street segments. With them gone, it could be a nice pedestrian friendly campus area.

Edited by Raildudes dad
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I cannot believe the university did not take the opportunity to realign Front from the Butterworth intersection over to Winter get rid of Front north of Butterworth, Watson and Mt Vernon from Watson to Fulton. The land is all chopped up by those street segments. With them gone, it could be a nice pedestrian friendly campus awea.

Sketch? Maybe they read this forum.

ETA: from a PM.

sketch.jpg

Edited by Veloise
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  • 2 weeks later...

Personally, I think it would be crazy to get rid Mt. Vernon, Front and Watson. I could see some re-aligning, but it is an URBAN campus. I think a walkable campus with buildings pushed up to the street is the way to go.

I took a picture of the new building going up. Hopefully the sea of parking will eventually be filled in with additional buildings.

6576594547_dc034bb555_b.jpg

Joe

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Ahh, you beat me Joe! :) I took some pics yesterday too.

Personally, I think it would be crazy to get rid Mt. Vernon, Front and Watson. I could see some re-aligning, but it is an URBAN campus. I think a walkable campus with buildings pushed up to the street is the way to go.

I took a picture of the new building going up. Hopefully the sea of parking will eventually be filled in with additional buildings.

Joe

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If I were to realign the streets I'd try to make Front more of a straight-through.

I really kind of doubt they are going to put Watson back through and create another at grade crossing with the RR tracks. I do like routing Front like that though. The only problem is that it creates what is basically an unbuildable parcel behind the gas station. Perhaps it could become an open, park-like space.

Edited by fotoman311
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Yea. Build more buildings like there engineering school. Get rid of the sea and build a parking ramp.

The surface parking lots do not worry me too much. As long as new surface parking is not introduced within new development, then it will remain holding land until new university-related buildings are required -- much the way DDA is transferring parking Lots 4 and 5 in preparation for future development. Surface parking becomes problematic when the orientation of existing buildings would make it difficult to eliminate. The parking lots on the west and SW sides of the student apartments across from the main DT GVSU campus are a good (bad) example.

I would not be surprised if the next downtown GVSU project is a parking garage in order to free up more increasingly valuable land.

Edited by Jippy
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I really kind of doubt they are going to put Watson back through and create another at grade crossing with the RR tracks. I do like routing Front like that though. The only problem is that it creates what is basically an unbuildable parcel behind the gas station. Perhaps it could become an open, park-like space.

The MDOT Rail Safety Section will NOT approve a new crossing. In fact, they would like to see moredcrossings closed. I do not like the Front realignemnt because it does nothing for the N-S traffic flow. Front linng up with Turner will put more traffic thru the campus that has lots of foot traffic between classroom buildings. Using Winter at least puts the traffic between a parking structure and the classroom building. Plus it's already a "transportation " corridor with the RR tracks :whistling:. I'd like to see the area south of Fulton developed with all lthe buildings surrounded by "green" and ped facilities, not streets :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why don't we see any activity/structural steel going up on the south half of the building?

They've been working from north to south, which makes it difficult to follow the progression via the webcam. When I was at the site on Sunday there were a few pieces of steel going up on the south end:

6674097957_fc721bc31b_z.jpg

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