Is something big coming?

[GR8scott]

One thing you can have if GVSU moves to D1 is a NCAA tournament at VAA, that would be big money and visibility, however unrelated to this project but this COULD help facilitate the move 

[wingbert]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:53 AM, GRDadof3 said:

City officials are up in arms that developers are not even close to meeting the city's housing goals. But really, it's not the developers' fault. I think we're going to see some serious housing proposals downtown over the next 3-5 years, with the city opening up their arsenal of incentives to help make them happen.  I think it will greatly eclipse the downtown housing we've seen built over the last 10 years. 

It would seem that what both the city and developers lack in vision, they make up for in risk aversion 

[GRDadof3]

4 hours ago, wingbert said:

It would seem that what both the city and developers lack in vision, they make up for in risk aversion 

It's not risk aversion, it's costs. Every project I've seen looked at recently, the numbers are all upside down. No private investors or lenders are going to give you money for a project that has an upside down pro-forma. i.e. single family starter homes for $500K+ or starter townhouses for $450k+.  There are no buyers for those products, especially with higher interest rates expected for the next few years at least. We just don't get enough transplants here who just NEED to own a home. Many are just renting. 

I do know that new suburban housing projects have ground to a halt, and anything that was in the works is pretty much on hold now. Just what we need with an already tight housing shortage. Thanks Feds. 

[Jonesey]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

It's not risk aversion, it's costs. Every project I've seen looked at recently, the numbers are all upside down. No private investors or lenders are going to give you money for a project that has an upside down pro-forma. i.e. single family starter homes for $500K+ or starter townhouses for $450k+.  There are no buyers for those products, especially with higher interest rates expected for the next few years at least. We just don't get enough transplants here who just NEED to own a home. Many are just renting. 

I do know that new suburban housing projects have ground to a halt, and anything that was in the works is pretty much on hold now. Just what we need with an already tight housing shortage. Thanks Feds. 

You're probably referring to all the other developers in the city, but would the DeVos' need an investor or lender?  Seems like pocket change to me.  Hell, it was projected they were going to spend $100 million this election.

[droonus2000]

On 9/2/2022 at 1:20 PM, Pattmost20 said:

.

A 20 minute drive to a stadium with ample parking isn't going to deter college football fans and the benefits to GVSU would far outweigh the negatives of not being closer to the city. 

 

Very true. Most major college towns see a doubling of population on football game days. I know people that regularly go to MSU and UofM games. It’s a nice day trip. Hell, I drove down to Purdue a few years back because they were playing TCU, of which I am a big fan. People will drive to Allendale from GR city. I’m also a Ferris Alum and. Try to make a home game once a year. 

[Pattmost20]

6 hours ago, droonus2000 said:

Very true. Most major college towns see a doubling of population on football game days. I know people that regularly go to MSU and UofM games. It’s a nice day trip. Hell, I drove down to Purdue a few years back because they were playing TCU, of which I am a big fan. People will drive to Allendale from GR city. I’m also a Ferris Alum and. Try to make a home game once a year. 

I'm actually a Purdue alum. Hope you enjoyed your time in West Lafayette. Lot of good memories from game days down there. 

[GRDadof3]

15 hours ago, Jonesey said:

You're probably referring to all the other developers in the city, but would the DeVos' need an investor or lender?  Seems like pocket change to me.  Hell, it was projected they were going to spend $100 million this election.

Yes I was mainly talking about everyone else. Not the big families. But even the big families can't make enough housing to fix the aforementioned shortage issues.

Anyway, moving on. 

A little more formal statement from Grand Action and their PR firm today.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2022/09/downtown-parking-lots-eyed-as-site-for-professional-grand-rapids-soccer-stadium.html?utm_campaign=grandrapidspress_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Sounds like it's a little more serious that previously thought. 

[Chester Cheeto]

1 hour ago, Pattmost20 said:

I'm actually a Purdue alum. Hope you enjoyed your time in West Lafayette. Lot of good memories from game days down there. 

Also a Purdue alum, Boiler Up!

[droonus2000]

On 9/7/2022 at 6:45 AM, Pattmost20 said:

I'm actually a Purdue alum. Hope you enjoyed your time in West Lafayette. Lot of good memories from game days down there. 

I did. It was my first big college game, and everything was well organized and the people stellar. I can’t say a bad thing about West Lafayette or Purdue.  Wish I could have explored campus more, but didn’t want to get lost and late. I did make sure to grab a burger and root beer from the Triple XXX. 

[Pattmost20]

3 hours ago, droonus2000 said:

I did make sure to grab a burger and root beer from the Triple XXX. 

So many great 2am meals there lol

[whitemice]

Did something big happen?

[joeDowntown]

3 minutes ago, whitemice said:

Did something big happen?

Ok, you’re either teasing or trolling.  which is it? 

Something about to be announced? Or, just pointing out that nothing big has been announced?

Joe

[Cookin_peacocks]

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Ok, you’re either teasing or trolling.  which is it? 

Something about to be announced? Or, just pointing out that nothing big has been announced?

Joe

We are kind of due for a bigger announcement.

 

Maybe it's the Top Golf clone the city teased a few months back?

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

Maybe it's the Top Golf clone the city teased a few months back?

If a knockoff top golf run by the city is the transformative, big development you discussed a while back (you started this thread LOL), we need to just cash in our chips and all go home.  

Joe

[Jonesey]

Somebody get Geha on this!!

[whitemice]

22 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Ok, you’re either teasing or trolling.  which is it? 

Merely amusing myself. Isn't this entire thread pretty much an exercise in trolling?

I suspect we have moved out of the era of big things into the era of very hyped park renovations as stand ins for doing big things,  oh-yet-another-apartment-building, and too many parking ramps.

[Khorasaurus1]

58 minutes ago, whitemice said:

Merely amusing myself. Isn't this entire thread pretty much an exercise in trolling?

I suspect we have moved out of the era of big things into the era of very hyped park renovations as stand ins for doing big things,  oh-yet-another-apartment-building, and too many parking ramps.

I'd rephrase this as "the era of GR being a mature urban market that doesn't need big, 'transformative' projects and instead has a stready pipeline of medical, hospitality, residential, and neighborhood infill going all the time."

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, whitemice said:

Merely amusing myself. Isn't this entire thread pretty much an exercise in trolling?

I suspect we have moved out of the era of big things into the era of very hyped park renovations as stand ins for doing big things,  oh-yet-another-apartment-building, and too many parking ramps.

Hope you had fun… feel free to keep it to yourself next time. Blatant trolling is not encouraged here.