Spectrum Health's new "consolidated offices" HQ's

[MJLO]

35 minutes ago, Prankster said:

Someone who works for Spectrum can correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Spectrum already has a good system of having employees part in remote lots and bussing them in. 

Yes they do, between a shuttle service and the 19 Bus(Not to mention the almost 7k parking spaces currently on the hill).  There is also a decent amount of foot traffic between the medical center buildings and the Brassworks/Bridgewater offices .  Though even with all of that their employment base is largely suburbanites, and the parking inconveniences are still a HUGE morale issue.  The opening of the gigantic ramp behind the GVSU campus will help a lot.  They are also looking at possible options for a Westside park-n-ride with all of the commuters coming in from the western burbs, and Ottawa County.  

I don't see a scenario where this facility is built without a parking structure.  Keep in mind this is for both Innovation and training.  One of the reasons they had originally settled on the Leffingwell property was it's easy on and off access from i-96, with ability to create a sea of parking.  Spectrum offers a significant amount of training and certifications for it's employees, which requires people from it's regional facilities to come to Grand Rapids.  One of the considerations in choosing Leffingwell was that it would be FAR less intimidating for someone coming from Reed City/Ludington/Fremont etc. in navigating.  Obviously a North Monroe location won't help that issue. In addition to the employees working at that location, there will be the need to accommodate 100-200 additional people at times during training/orientations.   Even if they were to tear down the current manufacturing facility, I don't see how that lot would be big enough to accomodate the potential parking needs.  Perhaps they don't need a 1000 space ramp, but several hundred spaces for sure. 

 

[grandrollerz]

4 hours ago, ctpgr34 said:

Also, if Acrisure is moving 400 into Studio Park, it would seem Spectrum would need a huge spot for 1200......

with the new Center for Transformation and Innovation (CTI) we will be.....working differently.  So likely not 1200 butts in seats.  We've partnered with Steelcase and will be creating some creative workspaces, and will allow for work flexing, remote working, etc.

[GRDadof3]

Wow, huge news. Maybe someone high up at Spectrum reads our forum.  

They're going to need that offramp from I-196 Westbound to North Division that they've talked about for a long time. 

[GRLaker]

On 10/9/2019 at 2:51 PM, mpchicago said:

Agreed.  I hope the idea is not to just "fix up" the warehouse to warehouse people.    It will be interesting to see the plans.

EDIT:  I guess the Press article does state they are constructing a building,....

This could also be a catalyst for moving forward with the Ionia linear park.   This would be a great direct biking and walking route to  Spectrum's hospital campus

Like this one on 44th?

[joeDowntown]

Quote

To help finance the project, the health system is seeking a $100 million tax-exempt loan through the Kent Hospital Finance Authority. Spectrum officials did not disclose the total project cost.

The Kent County Board of Commissioners passed this last night. So I would imagine this project should keep moving forward. 

Joe

[grandrollerz]

2 hours ago, GRLaker said:

Like this one on 44th?

I'm pretty sure this building we will NOT be exiting AFAIK.

[elcelc]

Years ago I was told the VAI had the rights to that Gill Industries site.  I'm curious what would happen to Gill.  Currently the building houses several presses and heavy duty machines in a metal building shell.  I can't imagine anything useful for an office building.

[GRDadof3]

The article said new construction, didn't it? 

They'll have quite a view of Michigan Street Hill from down there. 

[MJLO]

38 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

The article said new construction, didn't it? 

They'll have quite a view of Michigan Street Hill from down there. 

It's an Mlive article, they are cartoonishly inept when it comes to breaking details on new developments.  Seems likely, but I'm withholding my excitement until official plans and renderings are released.  That GR Spring and Stamping plant (now Gill)is pretty big.  If it were stripped down to it's skeleton could it be large enough to house that amount of personnel over a couple floors?  Although they are looking at $100 million in financing.  That's more than it has cost for the current completed portions of Studio Park.   I don't think a facility overhaul would come close to that, so it seems to point to a couple of new structures including parking.  Or maybe one structure with 10-15 floors?

 

[MJLO]

2 hours ago, elcelc said:

Years ago I was told the VAI had the rights to that Gill Industries site.  I'm curious what would happen to Gill.  Currently the building houses several presses and heavy duty machines in a metal building shell.  I can't imagine anything useful for an office building.

Gill has 2 other manufacturing locations in W. Mich (Plainfield, and Alpine), along with locations in Kentucky and Georgia.  They acquired that location when they absorbed GR Spring and Stamping.  It's got to be a dinosaur in terms of equipment and processes.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if they've slowly been moving product lines out of there.  

[GRDadof3]

15 minutes ago, MJLO said:

It's an Mlive article, they are cartoonishly inept when it comes to breaking details on new developments.  Seems likely, but I'm withholding my excitement until official plans and renderings are released.  That GR Springs and stamping plant is pretty big.  If it were stripped down to it's skeleton could it be large to house that amount of personnel over a couple floors?  Although they are looking at $100 million in financing.  That's more than it has cost for the current completed portions of Studio Park.   I don't think a facility overhaul would come close to that, so it seems to point to a couple of new structures including parking.  Or maybe one structure with 10-15 floors?

 

I'd be shocked if they try and repurpose that warehouse, especially as they'll probably need parking for at least 1/2 that 1200 head count. I picture a 3 to 4 story text-book medical innovation center on the GRS&S lot with a ramp somehow wrapped in or on the first couple of floors, and maybe something taller and more compact on Monroe. Parking probably also next to the Embassy Suites  ramp. 

Footprint of the GRS&S/Gill lot is right around 100,000 sf, FYI. 

[demhem]

On 10/9/2019 at 6:42 PM, GRDadof3 said:

 

They're going to need that offramp from I-196 Westbound to North Division that they've talked about for a long time. 

Phew, let's hope not. 

[GRDadof3]

12 minutes ago, demhem said:

Phew, let's hope not. 

Don't like that idea? I seem to remember a lot of MOBL NOBL opposition to it but I can't recall why.

It would be interesting to see something like this along Monroe. Nice views of the river and rapids. 

 

[Guest]

I'm not holding out for anything spectacular, just praying it looks decent with some decent height.  Not sure what the point of re purposing the Gill would be.  It would probably be cheaper to tear it down and start fresh.   It would be nice to see parking with office on top, but I get a feeling it may be ramp next to office building like everything else around there.  Also the footprint is pretty large, so we might not see much height.  Could end up being pretty 'meh'.   (I'm setting my expectations low, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.)

Either way it should be a great catalyst to get some of those old industrial buildings out of there.

I wonder when (if) the autodie plant will ever make a move, that property is massive.

[GRDadof3]

12 hours ago, Floyd_Z said:

I'm not holding out for anything spectacular, just praying it looks decent with some decent height.  Not sure what the point of re purposing the Gill would be.  It would probably be cheaper to tear it down and start fresh.   It would be nice to see parking with office on top, but I get a feeling it may be ramp next to office building like everything else around there.  Also the footprint is pretty large, so we might not see much height.  Could end up being pretty 'meh'.   (I'm setting my expectations low, so hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.)

Either way it should be a great catalyst to get some of those old industrial buildings out of there.

I wonder when (if) the autodie plant will ever make a move, that property is massive.

I agree, I'm not holding out hope that this building will be anything spectacular (Spectrum would probably catch heat for spending too much while claiming to try to reduce healthcare costs)

Between Acrisure, Spectrum and Consumers Energy (?), that's about 2000 more workers in the downtown area. There's the corporate HQ's numbers that people have been hammering about. 

 

[kwl]

Anyone w/ commercial construction knowledge know the avg. sq foot per employee? Knowing they're looking to hold 1,200. I did find this similar project in Dublin which claims to hold about 1,200 employees and sits on a 100k sq. foot lot. 

 

 

[Khorasaurus1]

On 10/12/2019 at 8:38 AM, GRDadof3 said:

I agree, I'm not holding out hope that this building will be anything spectacular (Spectrum would probably catch heat for spending too much while claiming to try to reduce healthcare costs)

Between Acrisure, Spectrum and Consumers Energy (?), that's about 2000 more workers in the downtown area. There's the corporate HQ's numbers that people have been hammering about. 

 

Most of the Spectrum employees are already downtown, aren't they?

[organsnyder]

47 minutes ago, Khorasaurus1 said:

Most of the Spectrum employees are already downtown, aren't they?

Many are. I'd assume that Spectrum will be discontinuing leases in Bridgewater and Brassworks with this move.

[joeDowntown]

22 minutes ago, organsnyder said:

Many are. I'd assume that Spectrum will be discontinuing leases in Bridgewater and Brassworks with this move.

Right, I'd assume most of the leases were downtown or the surrounding area. It would be interesting to see the 27(?) leases they are combining. But I'd assume the number of new workers downtown for Spectrum will be relatively low (% wise) from the 1200 listed. 

But retaining 1200 workers is huge. 

I'm also interested to see what will happen to buildings like the Brassworks building. It might be a good opportunity to retool these buildings. 

Joe

[GRLaker]

3 hours ago, organsnyder said:

Many are. I'd assume that Spectrum will be discontinuing leases in Bridgewater and Brassworks with this move.

They dropped their Widdicomb lease the minute this HQ was announced.

[thebeerqueer]

1 hour ago, GRLaker said:

They dropped their Widdicomb lease the minute this HQ was announced.

You can see 'For Lease' signs in almost all of their leased spaces. 

[GRDadof3]

On 10/14/2019 at 8:33 AM, Khorasaurus1 said:

Most of the Spectrum employees are already downtown, aren't they?

26 or 27 leases spread around the city, apparently. I think consolidating them gives more of a "bang" that a corporate HQ's would give. 

[NotALocalDeveloper]

Who do you think will get construction bid/should get the bid? 

[MJLO]

2 hours ago, NotALocalDeveloper said:

Who do you think will get construction bid/should get the bid? 

Based on their ties to the DeVos's and the fact that RDV had a huge hand in so much of their early 2000s structures, my guess would be Rockford.

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, MJLO said:

Based on their ties to the DeVos's and the fact that RDV had a huge hand in so much of their early 2000s structures, my guess would be Rockford.

My guess would be the same, with a partnership with a large national commercial contractor.