Sligh Furniture Block Redevelopment

[HomePortSupplyCo]

13 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

I talked to them maybe 12 - 13 years ago and they had no interest in selling. IIRC. 

But now they could sell for 12 - 13 times more than when you talked to them 

[joeDowntown]

Developer is asking for a 6 month extension to tweak the design, account for pricing/supply chain issues:

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-planning-massive-sligh-factory-housing-project-requesting-extension

[GRDadof3]

16 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Developer is asking for a 6 month extension to tweak the design, account for pricing/supply chain issues:

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-planning-massive-sligh-factory-housing-project-requesting-extension

Sounds like what I had heard. 

[HomePortSupplyCo]

Meanwhile, the fencing just went up this week for the redevelopment of the Sligh Furniture building downtown Zeeland.  Will also be apartments.  City is vacating the street next to the project as it's not needed and very close to the building.  (sadly, the long time restaurant in the background burned to the ground this week...)

https://goo.gl/maps/tgRtJArh3teWH8jY6

[Cookin_peacocks]

Did I miss news about 503 Century?

 

 

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

Did I miss news about 503 Century?

 

 

When in doubt about new development, assume it's a related to weed... It's weed.

Joe

[Cookin_peacocks]

23 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

When in doubt about new development, assume it's a related to weed... It's weed.

Joe

Anything online about it?

[walker]

5 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

Did I miss news about 503 Century?

 

 

Seeing where that building is located in relationship to the CSX tracks and the Amtrak station, I was hoping that one day when the federal pork money was being handed out for transportation projects, that Amtrak or the state would buy this property and tear down the building and build a rail siding there to connect the station to the CSX tracks going west so that the train would no longer have to travel south down along 131 to back in and out of the station.  That would probably shorten the trip time to and from Chicago by at least fifteen minutes each way.  It should have been done as part of the original train station project.    

Edit: well, taking a look at the Google view of the area just now, it might be a little tight fitting a siding in there.  Maybe there is a civil engineer that knows about railroads that reads this that might know.

Edited May 24, 2022 by walker

[Guest]

2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

When in doubt about new development, assume it's a related to weed... It's weed.

Joe

lol, yes, weed shop

[joeDowntown]

3 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

Anything online about it?

There was an article back in 2021. I think it’s a dispensary and growing operation. Can’t remember if the two are in separate buildings, or all in one. If you google the address and look for news articles, there’s a few articles floating around.  

[GRDadof3]

It's a little pricey but I signed up for this tour of development sites, including the Sligh building. 

https://web.cvent.com/event/e1729d7a-6c67-4c6f-a475-8615f7378786/summary?i=Estf0ZLvnUC8NYqZs_LcuA&locale=en-US

[uncus]

It's a little pricey but I signed up for this tour of development sites, including the Sligh building. 
https://web.cvent.com/event/e1729d7a-6c67-4c6f-a475-8615f7378786/summary?i=Estf0ZLvnUC8NYqZs_LcuA&locale=en-US

Interesting. I can’t tell from the website who is running this. Any ideas?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[walker]

1 hour ago, uncus said:

Interesting. I can’t tell from the website who is running this. Any ideas?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The agenda is a little vague too.  It looks like someone unspecified is going to give introductory remarks somewhere to all the participants together for a half hour then participants have fifteen minutes to disburse somehow (by bus maybe) to various political entities for the tour they've individually signed up for.  All tours take place simultaneously.  Each tour will last for an hour.  Then a half hour is allotted for everyone to return to an unnamed central location for a happy hour.  City of Grand Rapids tour will presumably include the Sligh building,

agenda

I wonder if you are allowed to take photos (to share with those of us that can't make it .)    

EDIT: reading the site again, maybe the Sligh Building is the central location for the remarks and the happy hour.  Not really clear to me though.

Edited August 28, 2022 by walker
later thought

[GRDadof3]

22 hours ago, uncus said:

Interesting. I can’t tell from the website who is running this. Any ideas?


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The Right Place.

Here's more info on it. 

https://www.rightplace.org/events/developer-day-2022

 

[MJLO]

Developer still pursuing this project.  Though I have my worries it's just too big for them to pull off given the current state of resources. 

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-charging-ahead-with-redevelopment-of-sligh-furniture-building-despite-delays

[RiversideGR]

3 minutes ago, MJLO said:

Developer still pursuing this project.  Though I have my worries it's just too big for them to pull off given the current state of resources. 

https://mibiz.com/sections/real-estate-development/developer-charging-ahead-with-redevelopment-of-sligh-furniture-building-despite-delays

For anyone else who may be confused like me, the John Gibbs quoted in the article is NOT the congressional candidate....

[joeDowntown]

The only thing Iresd wasi “blah, blah, waffle, delay, blah,, waffle, delay….”   I get that construction costs are high, but make it work or move on. Sick of these 12,24,36 month delays developers discuss wholst dangling a carrot at the salivating city planners, yet they are still trying to figure out which tax credits they’ll apply for?! Do it, or move on.

Joe

[cstonesparty]

9 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

The only thing Iresd wasi “blah, blah, waffle, delay, blah,, waffle, delay….”   I get that construction costs are high, but make it work or move on. Sick of these 12,24,36 month delays developers discuss wholst dangling a carrot at the salivating city planners, yet they are still trying to figure out which tax credits they’ll apply for?! Do it, or move on.

Joe

this is the new normal

[joeDowntown]

5 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

this is the new normal

Haha. I think we can even remove “new”. It’s just standard operating procedure in Grand Rapids. 

[joeDowntown]

Some updated to this project. 

Lots of tweaks to the design.

- One of the new buildings will now be five stories (instead of six); this building will also be split in two and built in phases

- they're keeping the older concrete structure and converting it to Manufacturing (was proposed to be demo'd with addition units and a parking structure). 

- Less units (438 vs 753), more retail, more street level parking

- Adding a rooftop garden to the Sligh building, and keeping the historic one story structure on Front Street (was going to be demo'd for a dropoff area. 

- The new buildings will be brick:

Quote

The 5-story mixed-use buildings are envisioned as brick masonry facades to be a modern interpretation of the existing historic fabric. The architectural design meets the requirements of the Downtown Street Space Guidelines. New window openings and exterior materials will be detailed in a modern way to respect and fit within the existing historic context. Pronounced residential lobby entries and welcoming retail storefronts dispersed throughout the site will activate the ground floor and create a friendly pedestrian experience.

There is a LOT in January's planning commission packet. Here are a few highlights I found, but others may discover more information. http://grandrapidscitymi.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=5133&Inline=True

 

 

[Zads]

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Some updated to this project. 

Lots of tweaks to the design.

- One of the new buildings will now be five stories (instead of six); this building will also be split in two and built in phases

- they're keeping the older concrete structure and converting it to Manufacturing (was proposed to be demo'd with addition units and a parking structure). 

- Less units (438 vs 753), more retail, more street level parking

- Adding a rooftop garden to the Sligh building, and keeping the historic one story structure on Front Street (was going to be demo'd for a dropoff area. 

- The new buildings will be brick:

There is a LOT in January's planning commission packet. Here are a few highlights I found, but others may discover more information. http://grandrapidscitymi.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=5133&Inline=True

 

 

This is fantastic news to see more saved rather than torn down. 

[GR_Urbanist]

My nitpick is that they have "revised" in more surface parking lots. In the "interior" of the development, it's not a big of an issue than the abandonment of the corner of Logan and Grandville to one, but that seems to stem from canceling their "microunit" plans and keeping the original building as manufacturing, which I'm confused precisely what that would even be because it's attached to a complex full of housing.

 

But outside of that? Looks good! Glad they didnt abandon this project. Especially liking the frontage along Century. People taking the Amtrak into GR need to see something a lot more inviting than what is there now when they get off the train. I'm hoping that one day the building on Century and "old wealthy" becomes some sort of boutique hotel or one is integrated into this project.

[Cookin_peacocks]

Maybe I'm dreaming too big here, but I see the Wealthy/Ellsworth/Cesar Chavez triangle as an area with huge potential. Anchored by Founders, I've noticed several under utilized or empty storefronts. I could see that area becoming a cool little area with bars and restaurants, like a mini Wealthy St area. Grand Rapids lacks those types of pockets over most of the city. 

[organsnyder]

The renderings remind me a lot of Brassworks, and how it was a key component of the revitalization of Monroe North.

[joeDowntown]

3 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

But outside of that? Looks good! Glad they didnt abandon this project. Especially liking the frontage along Century. People taking the Amtrak into GR need to see something a lot more inviting than what is there now when they get off the train. I'm hoping that one day the building on Century and "old wealthy" becomes some sort of boutique hotel or one is integrated into this project.

I was curious about this as well (in a 7 story building). One consideration, maybe they talked to some of the tenants currently using the space and will be working with artists, small businesses, etc? It's marked as Manufacturing, but wondering if it'll end up being a mix of office/warehouse/work space for small companies (which would be pretty cool). Just a thought.