Wealthy Street Mega Thread

[terra firma]

6 hours ago, Zads said:

Workers were out yesterday putting up windows in this building.

Also surveyors I believe were out at the old Tatum BookBinding building site as well. I wasn't able to get any photos unfortunately. I'll try for that next time.

710 has it's new storefront largely installed, Lease was signed yesterday and i'm gonna let the Tenant make their own announcement before I spill the beans but it's a great use for the space and is a name many of you will recognize.

Surveyors at 680 ("Tatum" site) are for topographical work being done in conjunction w/ our permits and drawings - hope to have something to post here in a couple weeks per my convo with Joe Downtown above.

Standby for some exciting changes

[walker]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:29 AM, GRDadof3 said:

300 Wealthy has apparently sold and rumor has it that it will be proposed condos/residential.  (the corner right at the roundabout)

A follow-up with rendering today on GRDadof3's rumor from back in May:

MLIVE: Townhome, retail development would transform stretch of Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids  

[Zads]

11 hours ago, walker said:

A follow-up with rendering today on GRDadof3's rumor from back in May:

MLIVE: Townhome, retail development would transform stretch of Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids  

I love this idea for this stretch of road. I drive it daily to get from home to work and that parcel of land is so boring and empty. It needs the infill. I don't live in the neighborhood but I'm close enough to know that saving the home and moving it to give it new life and then adding more housing in the area is far from the worst thing and is definitely better than leaving it empty. I look forward to this development in the area.

[Prankster]

I’m digging it because it won’t be putting a house on a big lot, but truly infilling a vacant parcel. 

[Chester Cheeto]

From the article:

The other is a 1,100-square-foot, two-story retail building located mid-block on Wealthy Street SE. That structure could not be built until a lease for a billboard that’s currently located on the property expires in three years, Schmidt said

So a lease on a billboard is going to hold up construction on one building for 3 years? Seems like they could come to some compromise to buy out the lease or move the billboard to not hold up construction..

[GR_Urbanist]

Likely means it will have to be done in stages with them basically building around it, completing that retail building last. Then again, if the other buildings obscure the billboard enough that it becomes useless, it may go sooner.

Goodness knows why the city allowed that to be built in the first place, but it potentially can blunt some myopic HPC member from jinxing this project seeing that they were fine with an ugly, and very unhistorical billboard and a convivence store to exist on this site with no issues, so something like this certainly can!

[joeDowntown]

Billboards are notoriously bad at locking good property up (or having developers do backflips to work around them). A few interesting items from the proposal:

1. "As part of the development, Schmidt wants to move one of the two single-family homes slated for renovation from 406 Lafayette Ave. SE to 415 Prospect Ave. SE. The move is necessary to maximize the number of townhomes on the site, Schmidt said."

Didn't someone on this forum propose this WAYYYY back? I'm pretty sure it was @civitasor someone other OG Urban Planet user. Loved the idea then, love it now! I hope the HPC doesn't get all crazy. I think moving the house and adding density to another residential street (totally restored) is much better than what exists now. 

2. 18 townhomes, two restored homes and commercial space will make for a nicer transition from Heritage Hill to the hospital area.

3. South side of Wealthy is going to look MUCH different (better) in the next 5 years with the Mary Freebed children's hospital, and the tapestry square area fully filling out. Throw the McConnell in the mix and it'll be a pretty impressive stretch all the way to 131.

Posting the plans here for those too lazy to click through.

 

[Jonesey]

3 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Billboards are notoriously bad at locking good property up (or having developers do backflips to work around them). A few interesting items from the proposal:

1. "As part of the development, Schmidt wants to move one of the two single-family homes slated for renovation from 406 Lafayette Ave. SE to 415 Prospect Ave. SE. The move is necessary to maximize the number of townhomes on the site, Schmidt said."

Didn't someone on this forum propose this WAYYYY back? I'm pretty sure it was @civitasor someone other OG Urban Planet user. Loved the idea then, love it now! I hope the HPC doesn't get all crazy. I think moving the house and adding density to another residential street (totally restored) is much better than what exists now. 

2. 18 townhomes, two restored homes and commercial space will make for a nicer transition from Heritage Hill to the hospital area.

3. South side of Wealthy is going to look MUCH different (better) in the next 5 years with the Mary Freebed children's hospital, and the tapestry square area fully filling out. Throw the McConnell in the mix and it'll be a pretty impressive stretch all the way to 131.

Posting the plans here for those too lazy to click through.

 

So between Prospect and Division, Wealthy will have this, the new children's hospital and the two other buildings down by Division!  Awesome!

[gvsusean]

12 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Billboards are notoriously bad at locking good property up (or having developers do backflips to work around them). A few interesting items from the proposal:

1. "As part of the development, Schmidt wants to move one of the two single-family homes slated for renovation from 406 Lafayette Ave. SE to 415 Prospect Ave. SE. The move is necessary to maximize the number of townhomes on the site, Schmidt said."

Didn't someone on this forum propose this WAYYYY back? I'm pretty sure it was @civitasor someone other OG Urban Planet user. Loved the idea then, love it now! I hope the HPC doesn't get all crazy. I think moving the house and adding density to another residential street (totally restored) is much better than what exists now. 

2. 18 townhomes, two restored homes and commercial space will make for a nicer transition from Heritage Hill to the hospital area.

3. South side of Wealthy is going to look MUCH different (better) in the next 5 years with the Mary Freebed children's hospital, and the tapestry square area fully filling out. Throw the McConnell in the mix and it'll be a pretty impressive stretch all the way to 131.

Posting the plans here for those too lazy to click through.

 

OG UrbanPlanet user….. I think most of us have been on here for the better part of a decade… im almost to two decades on this site (which is kinda crazy to think about)

[Khorasaurus1]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:18 AM, NoDustBusterNoMore said:

So a lease on a billboard is going to hold up construction on one building for 3 years? Seems like they could come to some compromise to buy out the lease or move the billboard to not hold up construction..

They're probably planning to use the billboard income to help finance the project.

[Khorasaurus1]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:32 AM, GR_Urbanist said:

Goodness knows why the city allowed that to be built in the first place, but it potentially can blunt some myopic HPC member from jinxing this project seeing that they were fine with an ugly, and very unhistorical billboard and a convivence store to exist on this site with no issues, so something like this certainly can!

I wonder if the billboard pre-dates the historic district. Clearly there was a time when tearing down entire blocks, modernist hospitals with big setbacks, and theme park " Bavarian" buildings (as much as I miss the Schnitzelbank) were OK in that area.

[joeDowntown]

On 2/28/2007 at 12:47 PM, joshleo said:

Hey gang. I live on the corner of College and Wealthy and drive down Wealthy all the time. I love visiting The Wealthy Street Bakery, and like what is happening with some of the stores such as Wealthy and Charles and the antique store. I think that Wealthy Street is coming together slowly (especially down by the wealthy street theatre) but there is still plenty of work to do. I thought I would post pictures of all the buildings that I think need still need some help. I would love to know the history of the buildings and also if there are any plans for renovating them. If what ideas you have for the buildings if there are no current plans

I will list the images in the order I encountered them, from College and Wealthy down to the Diamond area...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/405792843_4b39ff96f5_o.jpg

 

The sign between these two buildings reads: "Developing Soon" I hope so, this could be a cool storefront

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/405792845_ef835d49ac_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/405792852_e79b79d301_o.jpg

 

Pretty sure this place isn't still doing business

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/405819743_c2ca626bc0_o.jpg

 

This would have been an interesting store to visit when it was actually selling beer...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/405792857_248dae3922_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/79/405792860_ac43e4be1f_o.jpg

 

Somerdyke Plumbing and I think some law offices are right next to the thin beer store... they need some exterior help too

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/405804324_65db9d6499_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/405819745_bfa213df7b_o.jpg

 

Across the street is another service station that could use a little cleanup here and there

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/405804327_7be7d82f1f_o.jpg

 

and next to that, a house/storefront/BBQ and ice cream place?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/405804328_5479001940_o.jpg

 

Again back on the south side of the street is a building that I think would make a great little specialty food store.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/405819739_691d2708db_o.jpg

 

on the adjacent corner is a recently sold building

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/405819735_74d0247b11_o.jpg

 

But next to that, it the bane of my existence, the biker building where all the loud bikes gather and then scream past my house while i sleep. I have always said to myself, what this street needs is a grim reaper riding a chariot to spice things up.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/405819731_016bb01c0a_o.jpg

 

and next to that, an equally ugly building, was the mural added to make it look nicer or worse? not sure.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/405819728_24cfb6e37f_o.jpg

 

Back on the north side, this gas station would be nice to have, if it was actually in operation and not BRIGHT yellow

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/405804329_b93393c61c_o.jpg

 

on the south side next to Wealthy and Charles is EToys?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/405808580_3cdea30ffe_o.jpg

 

Then going down the line towards Eastern Ave (skipping over the buildings that are ok)

this building looks cool but is it going to be anything else besides blinds?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/405808577_ecaf61c24c_o.jpg

same question for this:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/405808576_8882c97670_o.jpg

 

Interesting design and color...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/405808573_54176fce15_o.jpg

 

on the corner of Eastern and Wealthy. Was this a bank? is something happening here? I really like this building

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/405808570_63b38a0329_o.jpg

 

I know this building is being used by a screen printer but does he really need all the old garages etc?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/405804333_56d336e4a7_o.jpg

 

there was one more that I didn't take a picture of, and that is that yello ice cream place by the wealthy theatre... someone please do something with that too.

 

when I was trying to think about what would go well in these places, I couldnt really think of much. I think with the big box stores of today, the small retail storefront which used to house hardware stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, furniture stores (I imagine) the only thing these storefronts could house would be offices and specialty stores with low rent...

 

sorry if this was too many photos, but there is a lot of work yet to be done on Wealthy Street.

I was looking back through old posts to try and find the plans someone on UP had showed years ago for the development on Wealthy and found this. Pretty amazing to see the changes since 2007. Thought everyone might enjoy seeing this so bumping this thread.

[TheLonesomeHobo]

On 1/21/2023 at 11:59 AM, joeDowntown said:

I was looking back through old posts to try and find the plans someone on UP had showed years ago for the development on Wealthy and found this. Pretty amazing to see the changes since 2007. Thought everyone might enjoy seeing this so bumping this thread.

Thank you for that trip down memory lane, I spent an hour today reading back through the thread. It was especially a blast from the past reading links and comments regarding where I live now! 

Edited January 23, 2023 by TheLonesomeHobo

[joeDowntown]

Beat Eric to the punch on this (sorry, slow news month).  Looks like 3 apartments plus 2 retail on first floor. 

Would love to know if there are plans for another building on the lot in the future (does this take up the whole lot? Seems like the building that burnt down was super long and rambling).

 

[GR_Urbanist]

Part of me would love to see just one more story, but that's me being greedy!

 

This is by far a good replacement for what was there before.

[Zads]

Wow this is fantastic. I would agree, a third story would be awesome, but this pretty much matches the height of the previous building. The length is hard to tell but if parking is going back there, that totally makes sense. My brain is having a hard time seeing 3 apartments up top but if it can work and it's comfortable, I'm all in. I love to see a vacant lot turned into something useful in the community, especially after it was a previous building devastated by fire.

[joeDowntown]

The residential building at 415 Sheldon (in the Tapestry Square development near Wealthy and Division) was approved:

https://grbj.com/news/real-estate/cella-building-company-moves-forward-on-housing-development/

[Zads]

4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

The residential building at 415 Sheldon (in the Tapestry Square development near Wealthy and Division) was approved:

https://grbj.com/news/real-estate/cella-building-company-moves-forward-on-housing-development/

Great news to finish that streetwall on Wealthy, provide much-needed housing (affordable, they say) and to see a vacant lot redeveloped. A win all around.

[Zads]

On 1/11/2023 at 3:07 PM, terra firma said:

710 has it's new storefront largely installed, Lease was signed yesterday and i'm gonna let the Tenant make their own announcement before I spill the beans but it's a great use for the space and is a name many of you will recognize.

Surveyors at 680 ("Tatum" site) are for topographical work being done in conjunction w/ our permits and drawings - hope to have something to post here in a couple weeks per my convo with Joe Downtown above.

Standby for some exciting changes

Forgive me for posting ahead of your company, but just saw this news and excited to see it come forward.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-plans-2-story-mixed-use-building-on-wealthy-street-where-business-burned-down

Also speaking for the East Hills Council of Neighbors, for which I am seated, we'd love to have businesses and developers present to us at our monthly meetings just to let us know what you're planning on building or developing in our neighborhood (bounded by Wealthy, Union, Fulton and Fuller). So technically I think this property might be on the outside, but only by inches if the middle of Wealthy is the dividing line. Either way, we would welcome a presentation at a future meeting.

Reach out to our Executive Director, Jessica Young, at [email protected]

Current lineup of meetings:

Feb. 20; March 20; April 17; May 15; June 19; July 20; Aug. 21; Sept. 18; Oct. 16.

They all start at 6:30 p.m. and don't run usually longer than 8 p.m.

[terra firma]

On 1/25/2023 at 12:34 AM, GR_Urbanist said:

Part of me would love to see just one more story, but that's me being greedy!

 

This is by far a good replacement for what was there before.

I hear ya man.  going up one more woulda been great but it changes lots of code related expectations, additional means of egress and stairs etc that gobble precious square footage and add cost and complexity.

our goal was to replace what was there in terms of ‘scale’, respect what it used to be, and add a residential component upstairs.  remainder of the site is for 3 parking spaces, basicllly one per apartment.    

I think we’ll have a fun project here, of course haven’t priced it yet, and no we don’t have a Tenant for the ground floor.  All our stuff is done on spec and we’re very uptight about keeping just the right Tenant mix in this neighborhood

i’m surprised to see this MiBiz announcement but yeah, their info is pretty accurate..

[terra firma]

On 1/31/2023 at 2:46 PM, Zads said:

Forgive me for posting ahead of your company, but just saw this news and excited to see it come forward.

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-plans-2-story-mixed-use-building-on-wealthy-street-where-business-burned-down

Also speaking for the East Hills Council of Neighbors, for which I am seated, we'd love to have businesses and developers present to us at our monthly meetings just to let us know what you're planning on building or developing in our neighborhood (bounded by Wealthy, Union, Fulton and Fuller). So technically I think this property might be on the outside, but only by inches if the middle of Wealthy is the dividing line. Either way, we would welcome a presentation at a future meeting.

Reach out to our Executive Director, Jessica Young, at [email protected]

Current lineup of meetings:

Feb. 20; March 20; April 17; May 15; June 19; July 20; Aug. 21; Sept. 18; Oct. 16.

They all start at 6:30 p.m. and don't run usually longer than 8 p.m.

Thanks for the suggestion here, we've done some of this historically  as I I was initially counseled by City staff to do this, and we went through those steps with 619 wealthy, 650, and 620 as well.    Maybe not every group for every project (none of t hem were formally consulted on the current project) but In all, we've presented in the past to East Hills, Heritage Hill Assoc., Uptown business district, Wealthy Street business alliance,  a group called Seeds of Change, seems like there may have been more.     In sum, there were lots of meetings and with some groups only meeting once a month it took forever to go through these processes.   We did get some good input.   We also got lots of suggestions from group members that were downright silly.   Perhaps a more streamlined understanding about who governs what could simplify this.

Not to say we dont care what each group thinks, cuz we certainly do !    We want to be viewed as a good neighbor and  a responsible developer who remains interested in the 'shop local' vibe and proves it out through our actions and the Tenant mix we bring.

As investors in the neighborhood, our view is that asking someone to seek this much approval from this many groups- while not a requirement by law- is a pretty big ask.    It has not been / is not clear which groups are even relevant on some of these in terms of 'boundary areas' and which buildings are governed by which organizations.    Nonetheless, our very existence depends on market / neighbor approval in these areas and thus we respect the value of community buy-in on these projects.    

Using a platform like UrbanPlanet is quite a bit more effiecient as a way to disseminate information, but you're right we could do a better job in the future and at minimum could share plans with these groups to give everyone a clearer picture of our intent.

I'll do my best to be more inclusive, as we used to be.    Thanks for the note and the suggestion, a good reminder for sure.

Side note:   the HPC approved our plans for 680 Wealthy just last night.   Now its time to get some numbers and see if we can actually make sense of it, hate it that the cats outta the bag already because then we look dumb if we dont perform but- I guess thats the way this one is gonna be...     standby for updates and thanks for the support and input !

eric wynsma/ terra firma development

 

[Zads]

4 hours ago, terra firma said:

Thanks for the suggestion here, we've done some of this historically  as I I was initially counseled by City staff to do this, and we went through those steps with 619 wealthy, 650, and 620 as well.    Maybe not every group for every project (none of t hem were formally consulted on the current project) but In all, we've presented in the past to East Hills, Heritage Hill Assoc., Uptown business district, Wealthy Street business alliance,  a group called Seeds of Change, seems like there may have been more.     In sum, there were lots of meetings and with some groups only meeting once a month it took forever to go through these processes.   We did get some good input.   We also got lots of suggestions from group members that were downright silly.   Perhaps a more streamlined understanding about who governs what could simplify this.

Not to say we dont care what each group thinks, cuz we certainly do !    We want to be viewed as a good neighbor and  a responsible developer who remains interested in the 'shop local' vibe and proves it out through our actions and the Tenant mix we bring.

As investors in the neighborhood, our view is that asking someone to seek this much approval from this many groups- while not a requirement by law- is a pretty big ask.    It has not been / is not clear which groups are even relevant on some of these in terms of 'boundary areas' and which buildings are governed by which organizations.    Nonetheless, our very existence depends on market / neighbor approval in these areas and thus we respect the value of community buy-in on these projects.    

Using a platform like UrbanPlanet is quite a bit more effiecient as a way to disseminate information, but you're right we could do a better job in the future and at minimum could share plans with these groups to give everyone a clearer picture of our intent.

I'll do my best to be more inclusive, as we used to be.    Thanks for the note and the suggestion, a good reminder for sure.

Side note:   the HPC approved our plans for 680 Wealthy just last night.   Now its time to get some numbers and see if we can actually make sense of it, hate it that the cats outta the bag already because then we look dumb if we dont perform but- I guess thats the way this one is gonna be...     standby for updates and thanks for the support and input !

eric wynsma/ terra firma development

 

Oh for sure, no worries on that. We are over a half year into our new Executive Director and just trying to get back to normal since COVID.

And yes, the process figuring out the boundary areas and who governs what and what meetings to go to, we are still trying to figure that one out along with the city and what we should/have to do with them.

Thanks for responding and for the updates on here, personally I love it.

Looking forward to connecting.

- Chris

[joeDowntown]

Mammoth Distilling is opening up shop on Wealthy street. A bridal shopping is opening as well but booze is obviously more exciting than bridal wear. LOL. 

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/distillery-bridal-shop-coming-to-wealthy-street/

[GR_Urbanist]

WOOD ddint specify, but is Mammoth Distilling going into the old Elk Brewery space?

[Pattmost20]

2 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

WOOD ddint specify, but is Mammoth Distilling going into the old Elk Brewery space?

No, it is in the new building on Wealthy that is adjacent to Elk. It will be in the same building as the bridal shop.