Medical Mile/Michigan Street Developments

[GRDadof3]

Hey, check out the steel going up on VAI Phase II! Looking nice!

[GRDadof3]

:Medical Mile News:

Van Andel Insitute and Children's Memorial Research Center of Chicago form partnership

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Van Andel Institute (VAI) has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Children's Memorial Research Center (CMRC) of Chicago for use of its XenoBase software and database system.

XenoBase is a unique, advanced bio-informatic system created by scientists at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) to support all aspects of the life sciences from basic research discovery to clinical application.

Read more here

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QIAGEN and Center for Molecular Medicine Collaborates for Molecular Diagnostic Markets for Breast Cancer

The Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM) has announced the formation of a collaborative effort with its affiliates and QIAGEN NV to support research focused on discovering molecular biomarkers capable of helping diagnose breast cancer and other women's health issues. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

At the center of the collaboration is the CMM's access to clinical samples, its molecular analysis capabilities as well as XenoBase, a one-of-a-kind software and database system developed at the Van Andel Research Institute. This specialized bio-informatic system is capable of analyzing a wide range of molecular and conventional clinical data to help researchers identify clinically actionable associations between diseases, biomarkers and treatments.

Full story

Qiagen Website

I guess they are taking this "translational science" to the next level (commercializing their research efforts).

[GRDadof3]

Parking lot costs GVSU $2.7 million

Posted by Nardy Baeza Bickel The Grand Rapids Press February 29, 2008 08:52AM

GRAND RAPIDS -- There's no real estate bust on the Michigan Street NE Medical Mile.

Grand Valley State University is paying $2.7 million for a 0.9-acre lot across the street from its Cook-DeVos Health Sciences building. That's more than the $2.5 million it paid nine years ago when it bought the land for the health science building at Michigan and Lafayette Avenue NE. The building parcel is twice as large.

The purchase, expected to be finalized by the GVSU board today, comes after weeks of negotiations with Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which owns the lot.

"It is a lot of money for anyone to pay for parking, but we don't have many alternatives," said Jim Bachmeier, GVSU's vice president for finances.

"We're handicapped by the lack of parking," he said. "We've built a $60 million building, but I can't adequately utilize it for lack of parking."

Read the rest of the story here

If anyone thinks that the downtown business community would not jump on board a mass transit system, think again. $2.5 Million for .9 acres is outlandish.

[MuskeMI]

$2.5 Million for .9 acres

Ouch. Makes that slummy apartment building up the road for 1mil look like a bargain.

Does anybody know what Spectrum paid for the old Burger King site?

[GRDadof3]

Ouch. Makes that slummy apartment building up the road for 1mil look like a bargain.

Does anybody know what Spectrum paid for the old Burger King site?

$6.25 Million.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:d4MPP...cd=13&gl=us

Does anyone see this going on much longer, paying outlandish prices for land for parking?

[fotoman311]

Parking lot costs GVSU $2.7 million

Posted by Nardy Baeza Bickel The Grand Rapids Press February 29, 2008 08:52AM

GRAND RAPIDS -- There's no real estate bust on the Michigan Street NE Medical Mile.

Grand Valley State University is paying $2.7 million for a 0.9-acre lot across the street from its Cook-DeVos Health Sciences building. That's more than the $2.5 million it paid nine years ago when it bought the land for the health science building at Michigan and Lafayette Avenue NE. The building parcel is twice as large.

The purchase, expected to be finalized by the GVSU board today, comes after weeks of negotiations with Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which owns the lot.

"It is a lot of money for anyone to pay for parking, but we don't have many alternatives," said Jim Bachmeier, GVSU's vice president for finances.

"We're handicapped by the lack of parking," he said. "We've built a $60 million building, but I can't adequately utilize it for lack of parking."

Read the rest of the story here

If anyone thinks that the downtown business community would not jump on board a mass transit system, think again. $2.5 Million for .9 acres is outlandish.

Geez, at that price, they might as well just start implementing some sort of incentive program to get people to get to work without a car. Let's see, we'll pay you $500-1,000/year not to use a parking space. With the 90-100 parking spaces they're getting, and say $10-15,000 in staff time to implement and monitor it, that's still only $50,000-$115,000 a year. Maybe some capital costs to setup a decent little bicycle parking lot. They wouldn't have to pay interest on the money they're borrowing for the lot, or they could spend that money elsewhere if they're paying cahs. And, they could implement it as a bicycling program and push it as a healthy, environmentally friendly type initiative.

If I'm thinking correctly, that piece of property is within Heritage Hill and can't be developed into a building at any time in the future, right? So it's pretty much destined to remain a parking lot.

[GRDadof3]

Geez, at that price, they might as well just start implementing some sort of incentive program to get people to get to work without a car. Let's see, we'll pay you $500-1,000/year not to use a parking space. With the 90-100 parking spaces they're getting, and say $10-15,000 in staff time to implement and monitor it, that's still only $50,000-$115,000 a year. Maybe some capital costs to setup a decent little bicycle parking lot. They wouldn't have to pay interest on the money they're borrowing for the lot, or they could spend that money elsewhere if they're paying cahs. And, they could implement it as a bicycling program and push it as a healthy, environmentally friendly type initiative.

If I'm thinking correctly, that piece of property is within Heritage Hill and can't be developed into a building at any time in the future, right? So it's pretty much destined to remain a parking lot.

Even if it's in HH, it can still be built on some day. But that would probably only happen if GVSU didn't need the parking there anymore.

[fotoman311]

Even if it's in HH, it can still be built on some day. But that would probably only happen if GVSU didn't need the parking there anymore.

Does anyone else find it ironic that Bethlehem got 2.5 times as much for their parking lot as they did for their beautiful old church?

[blueradon]

I don't understand why they can't build a parking garage, or is there something more to it?

[GRDadof3]

I don't understand why they can't build a parking garage, or is there something more to it?

Who, GVSU? They don't own any of the land around them. Spectrum does. They're land-locked.

It explains why MSU bought that chunk of land behind Big Apple Bagel. It's a land rush for parking in that area.

[fotoman311]

Who, GVSU? They don't own any of the land around them. Spectrum does. They're land-locked.

It explains why MSU bought that chunk of land behind Big Apple Bagel. It's a land rush for parking in that area.

Maybe they'll buy up some properties north of the highway and tear them down for parking lots? They could just pave the whole neighborhood over. When they redo the Coit Ave. bridge they could make it 6 lanes wide for easy access. And they could widen Jefferson under the highway as well.

*sick of all this parking lot news*

[Rizzo]

There's a tried and true method to help remedy this parking problem downtown. Its not a silver bullet, but it can help. Just how sustainable is this economic and community development through parking?

[GR_Urbanist]

Something has to give. This city just cannot go forward with the idea that it cant survive without ample surface parking.

Land is being wasted, and streets, that are a total mess, are being choked. And in the end the city looks cheap and tacky.

Who would want to pass up the chance to live in Portland or Chicago for this?

2.9 million for a lot to store used cars? Unreal!

[fotoman311]

Land is being wasted, and streets, that are a total mess, are being choked.

I don't know what you're talking about. I view the giant potholes where you can see the brick underneath as historical landmarks in the middle of our roads.

But I can also tell you that I wouldn't have been able to buy my house in Chicago or Portland for less than $100-150k more than what I paid.

Edited February 29, 2008 by fotoman311

[GRDadof3]

Actually, I'm glad all this is going on. It helps to make the case for expanded mass transit when it starts to effect Jim and Jan Commuter into downtown (nice folks btw). Just like high gas prices, as much as they hurt.

[Rizzo]

Consider the Weslin study came back to GRATA in 1999 with $16 million for a 12 mile "Metra style" commuter line. Not sure what the cost would be in '08 dollars, maybe up near $22 million. Now in 2008, a $37 million dollar bus route and the $70 million streetcar. I support the streetcar, but now I'm thinking transit priorities are a little backwards in Grand Rapids. This is especially when downtown seems to be building a larger workforce that commutes from the suburban regions not within The Rapid's funding and service area. What, some 10,000 people on Medical Mile alone after all is said and done? From what I'm hearing, $70 million (even $37 million) can establish a reasonable commuter line.

The article got interesting when referencing expanded mass transit. You can only expand it as far as the funding area. I think funding is in the way again. (sales tax?) Kent county sounds like it isn't all that enthused about funding transit or even studying it.

Edited March 1, 2008 by Rizzo

[GRDadof3]

Back to Medical Mile for a minute. I went to take pictures of the River House crane being expanded, but nothing much had changed as of late this morning. The REAL show was going on at MSU! I just may have to become a Spartan fan.

I have to say I was very happy how these turned out when I processed them.

[GRDadof3]

Here's another from later, with the 5500 included. Geez, that thing is huge.

[sparky05]

It feels good to be back to four tower cranes along michigan...

[Michi]

Thanks for the updade, dad! I always look forward to the progress photos.

Is the last one of the set Children's?

[GRDadof3]

I can see the future and it looks awesome.

I sure hope someone is saving all the pictures on UP-GR. It will be interesting to look back on this in 10 years. Even 20.

All 4000+ of mine are on my hard-drive, and then I back them up on a memory stick occasionally.

And yes Michi, that last one is the Children's Hospital. Seeing all those cranes again in person makes me a bit giddy.

[Allison Slater]

Doesn't look like the riverhouse crane has progressed any, and the street wasn't closed at all, but I saw two sections on a platform near the 'cockpit'

[GRDadof3]

Continuing the blitzkrieg of new client partnerships for the Center for Molecular Medicine:

Center for Molecular Medicine Partners with AviaraDx to Offer New Cancer Tests to Aid Physicians in Personalizing Treatment

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM) today announced an agreement with San Diego-based AviaraDx to support three new tests that help physicians personalize cancer treatment.

The AviaraDx tests can provide physicians greater understanding of the molecular biology underlying patients' tumors. These test results will help physicians make more informed decisions in managing their oncology patients.

Under the agreement, CMM will educate physicians on the value and clinical utility of the tests, and coordinate quality-controlled sample preparation and shipping. Analysis of the tumor samples will be handled by AviaraDx in California -- a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory.

Read more here

I've lost count. I think that's 4 big announcements this past month alone.

[d8alterego]

So I take it MSU will be going vertical very quickly since the foundation's already in place? Or do they have a waiting period for some reason? That'll be something to look forward too if they're jumpin' on it.

[Captain_Planet]

So I take it MSU will be going vertical very quickly since the foundation's already in place? Or do they have a waiting period for some reason? That'll be something to look forward too if they're jumpin' on it.

Concrete will begin immediately and run through mid-May, then it'll go vertical