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RFP - 201 Market


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This is a rendering from 2015 showing how this property could be tied into other sites along the river.  It obviously leans heavily on public space and amenities that reward those who want to enjoy the river.  It will be interesting to see how close any eventual finished development will be to this concept.  This is a lot of frontage on the Grand and it could go a long way to transforming the way we access and enjoy the river in the near future.  

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/05/grand_river_restoration_update.html


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Edited by scottythe1nonly
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To me there is not enough of a street wall along Market. I'm hoping for a really solid extension of DT along the road. Parks are great along the river, but that gap in the middle is really bothering me.

 

Also the freeway off-ramp isnt accurately drawn. There is a much wider curve coming off the S-Curve which would slice through much of the northern part of their plans. MDOT would pitch a fit at the idea of moving it! :lol:

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20 hours ago, scottythe1nonly said:

This is a rendering from 2015 by Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, showing how this property could be tied into other sites along the river.  It obviously leans heavily on public space and amenities that reward those who want to enjoy the river.  It will be interesting to see how close any eventual finished development will be to this concept.  This is a lot of frontage on the Grand and it could go a long way to transforming the way we access and enjoy the river in the near future.  

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/05/grand_river_restoration_update.html


-7f6b34b02f2c275c.jpg

Rendering by Interface Studio as part of GRForward. http://interface-studio.com/projects/grand-rapids

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

looks like it'll be a couple more months before we see the Proposals.  I have to believe, though, that this is Rockford's to lose and that they've primed GR officials on their proposal.  This could be a marque project for the city.  Both in relationship to the reengineering of the river and what it could do to the look and feel of downtown.  

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Plus they had to renovate it just a couple years ago after the fire. 

I'm guessing it'll be several mixed used developments there with a park to accommodate kayaking or something of that sort for the river.

It would be really cool to have a mini boardwalk/walkway along the river with small independent shops and restaurants there.

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3 hours ago, scottythe1nonly said:

Why move the Whitecaps downtown?  They have a nice stadium that's paid for, and it's a bit bigger than they actually need.  

 

Because it would help drive future development. Its a much better location to help businesses in DT. Urban stadiums are cool :)

Edit: also, id like the lot north of this one to be developed into a stadium for GVSU football, GRFC, summer concert "amphitheater", stadium 

Edited by gvsusean
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then what does the team do with their current stadium?  The team owns that stadium.  They built it 23 years ago for $6 million, which I'm assuming they long ago paid off.  Unlike municipal stadiums they can't simply leave to go downtown.  Nobody is going to buy a 9,000 seat baseball stadium.  Also, their average attendance is less than 5,000, so it's not like they've outgrown it.  If they were to build a new stadium downtown it could cost them several times what Fifth Third cost.  

There are other sports venues that the city is lacking.  Baseball is already taken care of

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1 hour ago, TheSutterKing said:

Plus they had to renovate it just a couple years ago after the fire. 

I'm guessing it'll be several mixed used developments there with a park to accommodate kayaking or something of that sort for the river.

It would be really cool to have a mini boardwalk/walkway along the river with small independent shops and restaurants there.

that's basically the whole point of this development.  The city is going to extra lengths to make this property something more than just a bunch of market rate apartments.   

My prediction is that Rockford will propose something very different from what they've done so far downtown.  And the outside bidders will propose something much more typical of what we've already seen.  At least that's my hope.  

From the city's RFQ  

 

Quote

The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan is investing in the growth, vibrancy, and resilience of the downtown area and focusing on the Grand River as a key asset. 

The City currently owns and operates a 15.8 acre municipal facility located at 201 Market Avenue SW. This facility is situated along the Grand River, just south of the Van Andel Arena and steps away from the popular Founder’s Brewery. 201 Market Ave also commands a strategic location in the City’s plans to develop recreational facilities geared towards kayaking and other activities on the Grand River.

This Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) is being issued as part of a two-stage procurement process. The purpose of the RFQ is to identify Respondents that demonstrate the technical and financial capacity required to deliver a large-scale mixed-use development to the site. Shortlisted Respondents will subsequently be invited to submit an acquisition and development proposal to the City, in accordance with a subsequent Request for Proposals (“RFP”).
 

  

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I would hate to see the whitecaps move downtown. That would be a huge chunk of space. Even with the gazillion games baseball plays each season, it's still would be a total deadzone most of the time, with no activity October through April. As someone said, Whitecaps seem to have it pretty good where they are. Nice facilities, and they aren't bursting at the seams. 

IMHO, baseball stadiums are kind of a lousy multi-purpose venue. I hope they stay where they are. 

Joe

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6 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I would hate to see the whitecaps move downtown. That would be a huge chunk of space. Even with the gazillion games baseball plays each season, it's still would be a total deadzone most of the time, with no activity October through April. As someone said, Whitecaps seem to have it pretty good where they are. Nice facilities, and they aren't bursting at the seams. 

IMHO, baseball stadiums are kind of a lousy multi-purpose venue. I hope they stay where they are. 

Joe

Do you think the Van Andel Arena should have been placed outside of the core? They hold about the same number of events a year. According to their respective websites there were 103 events/sports/etc in 2015 at VAA. There were/are 72 baseball games + a number of events that I cant find a schedule of at 5/3. I would just like to see something like Wrigley.

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51 minutes ago, gvsusean said:

Do you think the Van Andel Arena should have been placed outside of the core? They hold about the same number of events a year. According to their respective websites there were 103 events/sports/etc in 2015 at VAA. There were/are 72 baseball games + a number of events that I cant find a schedule of at 5/3. I would just like to see something like Wrigley.

Van Andel was the catalyst for the revitalization of downtown. So no. A baseball team that already has a nice home 6 miles up the road isn't even in the same category. Without The arena, we quite possibly would have a dumpy downtown. Not even a fair comparison. 

Joe

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8 hours ago, gvsusean said:

Do you think the Van Andel Arena should have been placed outside of the core? They hold about the same number of events a year. According to their respective websites there were 103 events/sports/etc in 2015 at VAA. There were/are 72 baseball games + a number of events that I cant find a schedule of at 5/3. I would just like to see something like Wrigley.

They don't really build stadiums like Wrigley anymore. Most of the new ones are surrounded by a sea of parking. Toledo moved its baseball stadium downtown, and while it looks cool, downtown Toledo is still a dump. 

I agree with Joe, there's no need to move the Whitecaps downtown. Plus, there's no real room for a baseball stadium. We went through an exercise of placing a baseball stadium downtown about 5 or 10 years ago on here. :)

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1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

They don't really build stadiums like Wrigley anymore. Most of the new ones are surrounded by a sea of parking. Toledo moved its baseball stadium downtown, and while it looks cool, downtown Toledo is still a dump. 

I agree with Joe, there's no need to move the Whitecaps downtown. Plus, there's no real room for a baseball stadium. We went through an exercise of placing a baseball stadium downtown about 5 or 10 years ago on here. :)

I think you just need to have a better imagination ;)

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4 hours ago, scottythe1nonly said:

It's 16 acres.  A baseball field is typically around 3 acres.  A football or soccer field is only about 2 acres or less.   You could pick up Houseman Stadium and fit it onto that property three times over.

5/3 ballpark itself is 13 acres with the stands, and 27 acres with all of the parking. Not sure where you're getting 3 acres? Plus it's almost 1000 feet across (the stadium) in either direction and the city-owned land is a long narrow 16 acres, only about 620 feet across. 

Although maybe a ballpark would fit. I don't think it would ever happen though. 

59580330409f4_53parkon16acres.jpg.c8d6eec5f79b4271023229279555aa7b.jpg

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