36th Street GM stamping plant site to be redeveloped

[GRDadof3]

This is big news. They mention the very low 5.6% vacancy rate of industrial space in West Michigan. 

https://mibiz.com/item/24250-franklin-partners-to-lead-development-at-former-gm-stamping-plant-known-as-site-36

WYOMING — Stakeholders looking to redevelop one of West Michigan’s most storied industrial sites and attract high-quality manufacturing jobs have brought on a new partner.

Franklin Partners LLC, the Grand Rapids- and Naperville, Ill.-based commercial development and property management firm, will take over as lead marketer and development partner for the Site 36 Industrial Park in Wyoming, principal Don Shoemaker told MiBiz in an exclusive interview last week.

 

[sparky05]

Cool beans. It's a really lovely expanse of dirt and gravel right now. Look forward to seeing something get started there...

[GR_Urbanist]

My dad worked there, when it was GM, for 30 years, and I remember touring the plant in like 1984 or so, and it took FOREVER to walk it. So it is a massive plot of earth.

 

Happy to see it being used again. Not happy that it is being designed like an old industrial park.

[GRDadof3]

I have to agree with Franklin Partners. When it's just a big massive piece of land, and most of your potential users are 100,000 or 200,000 sf, it's hard for them to envision how they'll be situated on the site. You have to get some of the roads in and get some construction going to create momentum. 

[WMrapids]

Remember Tesla? 

[organsnyder]

Maybe this would be a good fit:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2017/01/apple-manufacturer-foxconn-considers-7-billion-screen-factory-in-us/

[Chester Cheeto]

There could be some activity here in the not so distant future, another potential 1/2 million square foot facility

Edited August 17, 2018 by mielsonwheels

[joeDowntown]

20 minutes ago, mielsonwheels said:

There could be some activity here in the not so distant future, another potential 1/2 million square foot facility

Do tell. Rhymes with... ? LOL. Any idea of a timeline for an announcement?

Joe

[Chester Cheeto]

2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Do tell. Rhymes with... ? LOL. Any idea of a timeline for an announcement?

Joe

Crood mistribution pacility...  my rhyming skills need some work I guess.

Sorry my last post was a bit misleading, I have no idea on an announcement, this is just budgetary stuff at the moment, no drawings yet that I know of.

[GRDadof3]

15 minutes ago, mielsonwheels said:

Crood mistribution pacility...  my rhyming skills need some work I guess.

Sorry my last post was a bit misleading, I have no idea on an announcement, this is just budgetary stuff at the moment, no drawings yet that I know of.

What word rhymes with crood? 

[Chester Cheeto]

18 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

What word rhymes with crood? 

Food... 

[organsnyder]

35 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

What word rhymes with crood? 

Crude (or maybe this one is a homophone rather than a rhyming word)
Lewd
Nude
Rude

[GRDadof3]

6 minutes ago, organsnyder said:

Crude (or maybe this one is a homophone rather than a rhyming word)
Lewd
Nude
Rude

Nude distribution facility (ie data center for porn?). 

What's with all the porn on this site lately.

[joeDowntown]

Local company, or someone from outside of GR?

Joe

[Sparty97]

I'm guessing Food...

• Whole Food(s)?
• Gordon Food (Service)?
• Spartan Food?
• Target Food?
• Amazon Food (Prime - 1-hour delivery??)

[GRDadof3]

2 hours ago, Sparty97 said:

I'm guessing Food...

• Whole Food(s)?
• Gordon Food (Service)?
• Spartan Food?
• Target Food?
• Amazon Food (Prime - 1-hour delivery??)

It makes a lot of sense, Franklin Partners owns the old Steelcase factories along Broardmoor which are all filled now with contract food manufacturers. Some of them may be looking at expanding (again). 

Someone from FP lurks and posts on here... 

[walker]

After all these years still no shovels in the ground.  News today is that Franklin Partners decides to buy the property themselves:

MLIVE: former-gm-stamping-plant-site-near-grand-rapids-purchased-by-real-estate-developer

Wonder if they've got some definite plans or this was just a good price they couldn't resist.

I think it would be a good spot for a new Tesla factory. 

[joeDowntown]

Hopefully they'll start building a couple of speculative buildings. It's crazy that it has sat empty for so long. I imagine once the ball gets rolling, this will get fully developed pretty quickly (3-5 years).

Joe

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, walker said:

After all these years still no shovels in the ground.  News today is that Franklin Partners decides to buy the property themselves:

MLIVE: former-gm-stamping-plant-site-near-grand-rapids-purchased-by-real-estate-developer

Wonder if they've got some definite plans or this was just a good price they couldn't resist.

I think it would be a good spot for a new Tesla factory. 

Good news!

[cutlervillegr]

I don't know much about the land (whether it is contaminated or not).  Would this be a good candidate for some residential in-fill?  Some high density housing could definitely fit in here; the area to the East and South is already the Godwin Heights neighborhood.  

 

I think the footprint is a little small for a Tesla factory, and it's been sitting for many years without any industrial development.  Maybe a candidate for re-zoning?  

[GRDadof3]

25 minutes ago, cutlervillegr said:

I don't know much about the land (whether it is contaminated or not).  Would this be a good candidate for some residential in-fill?  Some high density housing could definitely fit in here; the area to the East and South is already the Godwin Heights neighborhood.  

 

I think the footprint is a little small for a Tesla factory, and it's been sitting for many years without any industrial development.  Maybe a candidate for re-zoning?  

Great thought. And Franklin Partners has dabbled in medium density residential (they bought the Sunshine Church property on the Beltline and prepped it for an apartment developer). 

[GR8scott]

Tesla would not want to build a plant in such a UAW stronghold 

[Prankster]

59 minutes ago, GR8scott said:

Tesla would not want to build a plant in such a UAW stronghold 

Not being political, but West Michigan is not a UAW stronghold. 

[walker]

15 hours ago, walker said:

. . . I think it would be a good spot for a new Tesla factory. 

7 hours ago, cutlervillegr said:

I think the footprint is a little small for a Tesla factory,

6 hours ago, GR8scott said:

Tesla would not want to build a plant in such a UAW stronghold 

I was being facetious, I really kind of agree with both GR8scott and cutlervillegr.  I don't think Elon Musk would likely be interested in building a full size Tesla plant on that property.  That tool and die shop that they own out behind the airport was a special case likely not to be repeated.  But who knows for sure, remember, his brother built that hydroponic farm out of shipping containers out behind Gordon Foods. Who would've expected that?   

 

The current Grand Rapids Tesla plant out behind the airport

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by walker

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, walker said:

I was being facetious, I really kind of agree with both GR8scott and cutlervillegr.  I don't think Elon Musk would likely be interested in building a full size Tesla plant on that property.  That tool and die shop that they own out behind the airport was a special case likely not to be repeated.  But who knows for sure, remember, his brother built that hydroponic farm out of shipping containers out behind Gordon Foods. Who would've expected that?   

 

The current Grand Rapids Tesla plant out behind the airport

 

 

Speaking of hydroponics, Revolution Farms keeps expanding (the purple greenhouses out in Caledonia). 

Franklin Partners released this drawing, I assume of a proposed spec building for the 36th site.