DeVos Family Headquarters (Old 5/3 building)

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

Since we are dreaming, can we add a few floors to it?

I was thinking how easy it would be with all the steel exposed.  

It still will be a great improvement in a block full of garbage urban renewal buildings.   Speaking of gross urban renewal buildings, are they ever going to do anything to improve the look of the federal building?  At least paint over that ugly green?  I can't see government center being redeveloped in a very, very long time.  There's just too much parking underneath and city hall just put a ton into their new HVAC system.

[kevin8gr]

[mpchicago]

19 hours ago, kevin8gr said:

Love the "Haven-Bush Co."  on the steel.   My recollection is fuzzy, but weren't they a West Michigan based steel foundry based out of Grand Haven?  

[Raildude's dad]

Haven Busch - the largest steel fabricator in West Michigan located in Grandville where the Padnos is today.  Fabricated almost all the structural steel used around here.

[ironyisadeadscene]

[joeDowntown]

I noticed that they are starting to build a new foundation / wall on the south end of the property (near the 5/3 sign in the photo above).

Also watched as they took the "base" concrete panels and 1st floor windows down. They'd enclose the entire section in a plastic tarp, remove it and move on to the next section. Didn't make a ton of sense when they started, but wondering if part of the building was full of asbestos?

Joe

[discgrab21]

4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I noticed that they are starting to build a new foundation / wall on the south end of the property (near the 5/3 sign in the photo above).

Also watched as they took the "base" concrete panels and 1st floor windows down. They'd enclose the entire section in a plastic tarp, remove it and move on to the next section. Didn't make a ton of sense when they started, but wondering if part of the building was full of asbestos?

Joe

Considering when that was built, I'd be shocked if it wasn't full of asbestos.  And with them completely gutting it, I'm sure that was for abatement.  (I noticed the same when I walk down to DeVos Place along the skywalk from time to time.)

[GrSportsGuy]

On 8/6/2019 at 7:43 PM, Floyd_Z said:

I was thinking how easy it would be with all the steel exposed.  

It still will be a great improvement in a block full of garbage urban renewal buildings.   Speaking of gross urban renewal buildings, are they ever going to do anything to improve the look of the federal building?  At least paint over that ugly green?  I can't see government center being redeveloped in a very, very long time.  There's just too much parking underneath and city hall just put a ton into their new HVAC system.

The Fed is definitely a gross building. I’ve hated it for 40 years.

[joeDowntown]

13 hours ago, GrSportsGuy said:

The Fed is definitely a gross building. I’ve hated it for 40 years.

Agreed. This building has always been my least favorite. Over the years, some of the other urban renewal era buildings have grown on me (city/county building), but I hope, at some point this one gets replaced. I agree, even a paint job would do wonders. 
 

Joe

[joeDowntown]

The addition to the south end of the building is much bigger than I had expected. 

 

[Chester Cheeto]

Putting this here because it was briefly mentioned earlier in this thread, the stone wall along Lyon will be getting retail spots.

Glad this is happening sooner rather than later.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/cwd-to-add-street-level-commercial-space-along-lyon-street-in-downtown-grand-rapids

[joeDowntown]

This is great news (and sounds like they are starting ASAP)! It was always such a dead zone.  
 

joe

[mpchicago]

Does 5/3rd still have a branch along the street there, and if so wonder if it's apart of this project?

[discgrab21]

14 minutes ago, mpchicago said:

Does 5/3rd still have a branch along the street there, and if so wonder if it's apart of this project?

I was just in the 5/3 building today.  The bank branch is still open and operating.  I love retail getting added there, and the stairs to the plaza level halfway up the block.  Nice to see another bunker-wall bite the dust.

[GR_Urbanist]

I wonder if they have a makeover planned for the clock tower at some point?

Never much of a beloved landmark and more of a consolation  prize for losing the old city hall tower, it would be a shame for it to ever get taken down. It just really needs to have its 70s ugliness removed, and maybe an actual audible chime?

[GVSUChris]

If anyone wants to get technical and do some extrapolating, there are several different renderings of the new retail stretch in this DDA packet. 

http://s3.amazonaws.com/downtowngr.org/ourwork/November-13-2019-DDA-Agenda-Packet.pdf?mtime=20191108164904

[joeDowntown]

From the DDA packet:

 

[GRDadof3]

Looks a lot better!  Great spot for a pharmacy! 

They're saying between 111 Lyon (5/3 building) and 200 Monroe it's a $139 Million project to completely renovate and add onto both buildings. Zoinks. 

 

[arcturus]

3 thoughts:

Don't know what you call them but it would be nice to see vertical banners in that stretch not unlike what Kendall has to soften the 'blockiness.'

Could CDW's fast track be anyway related to the proposed convention hotel?

Regarding the federal building, were any major architectural changes made post Oklahoma City bombing to be in compliance with new federal codes ?

 

  

[andrew.w]

Nice to see some activation of the streetwall on that side, and the addition of a much needed stair (which has been lacking since the grand stair at the corner of Monroe was demolished). Like the building design though, I still wish the designs for this site had some sense of consistency, and hierarchy. It's like a jumble of boxes and ideas stuffed together. Say what you like about the fortress quality of the original Daverman design for the buildings and site, or even if you completely hate the aesthetics, there were some fine proportions, materiality, and consistency of design language at play to which this just doesn't live up.

[ironyisadeadscene]

5 hours ago, andrew.w said:

Nice to see some activation of the streetwall on that side, and the addition of a much needed stair (which has been lacking since the grand stair at the corner of Monroe was demolished). Like the building design though, I still wish the designs for this site had some sense of consistency, and hierarchy. It's like a jumble of boxes and ideas stuffed together. Say what you like about the fortress quality of the original Daverman design for the buildings and site, or even if you completely hate the aesthetics, there were some fine proportions, materiality, and consistency of design language at play to which this just doesn't live up.

What staircase on monroe?

[mpchicago]

7 hours ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

What staircase on monroe?

I think he's talking about this one before they renovated this plaza sometime in the late 80s or early 90s.  There is a person in white and yellow walking near it in the below postcard.

Edited November 12, 2019 by mpchicago

[andrew.w]

^Yep! That one. I have some additional pictures and renderings stored somewhere that I will have to dig up. It definitely wasn't a place for people by any means, but it was a pretty striking design, as was the upper plaza with the grove of trees and the reflecting pool around the clock.

[ironyisadeadscene]

1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

I think he's talking about this one before they renovated this plaza sometime in the late 80s or early 90s.  There is a person in white and yellow walking near it in the below postcard.

Ahhh that's cool. I always liked seeing pictures of how things used to be. 

 

I actually like that clock. While I doubt it will be back, I hope it is in some capacity.

 

Edit: It's still there? Guess it is staying

Edited November 12, 2019 by ironyisadeadscene

[andrew.w]

It's still there at the moment, but not in the rendering. That corner of the upper plaza now looks like forgotten space with some new tall blank walls and a planter.