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Medical Mile/Michigan Street Developments


joeDowntown

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know anything about this business other than Doug Meijer is on their board of directors but WOODTV and the Right Place say they are moving their world headquarters into the new Doug Meijer building.  Can't find anywhere anything about where their world headquarters might be currently:

WOODTV: medical-company-to-create-200-jobs-in-moving-hq-to-grand-rapids

RIGHT PLACE: bamf-health-medical-mile-hq

BAMF HEALTH WEBSITE

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15 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Once the Perrigo building is up, I-196 will be a lit shrine to the Spartans. So much signage. Wonder how many out of state people driving through will think they must be in E. Lansing. :)

Joe

East Lansing - West Side!  Seriously, has anyone else looked at the exterior of the Secchia Center lately? URS? (the architect) could not have picked a worse exterior material. The building is only 11 years old it looks like it's from the 70's now. 

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image.png.2972ea3cc5021519f73d3d338aba2940.pngimage.png.5f99b88e54c605f2c890e2e06ebbbb55.png

I may the odd man out on this one but I'd prefer the architecture of Secchia building over the New Gand valley building. I looks like someone took left over bathroom tile from a early-00's bathroom reno and stuck them on the sides and the mixed bag of windows randomly throughout...  : /               

That said the only large scale new buildings I love are Van Andel institute & new Flat Iron style building 

Edited by HavingAhoot
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15 minutes ago, HavingAhoot said:

image.png.2972ea3cc5021519f73d3d338aba2940.pngimage.png.5f99b88e54c605f2c890e2e06ebbbb55.png

I may the odd man out on this one but I'd prefer the architecture of Secchia building over the New Gand valley building. I looks like someone took left over bathroom tile from a mid-00's bathroom reno and stuck them on the sides and the mixed bag of windows randomly through out...  : /               

That said the only large scale new buildings I love are Van Andel institute & new Flat Iron style building 

I agree. Neither are ideal, but I definitely think the GVSU building is a big swing and a miss. Especially in context with the building it was added on to (the window placement is totally bizarre. It looks like they tried to do the asymmetrical window look but were just REALLY bad at it). It's unfortunate, since I think GVSU typically does a pretty good job with their buildings.

Joe

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28 minutes ago, HavingAhoot said:

image.png.2972ea3cc5021519f73d3d338aba2940.pngimage.png.5f99b88e54c605f2c890e2e06ebbbb55.png

I may the odd man out on this one but I'd prefer the architecture of Secchia building over the New Gand valley building. I looks like someone took left over bathroom tile from a early-00's bathroom reno and stuck them on the sides and the mixed bag of windows randomly throughout...  : /               

That said the only large scale new buildings I love are Van Andel institute & new Flat Iron style building 

Oh totally agree. The GVSU building is odd looking. Maybe the Secchia Center just needs to be power washed. It's supposed to represent "life sciences" and "innovation" etc.  and it looks like a dirty beaker. 

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What really kind of boggles my mind is that a building expansion with an an addition that seems intentionally designed to architecturely conflict with the existing structure’s design made it through all the levels of review and approval without someone looking at the renders, scratching their head, and saying, “hold on a second…” 

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 I'm fine with the different designs and like the contrast ("conflict") between the buildings.  Still would have liked it if the streetscape along Michigan and now Monroe had been more pedestrian friendly but that ship has sailed.

EDIT: I guess what it comes down to is that I like the new Grand Valley building.   The stone work reminds me somewhat of a building I admired in Manhattan across the street from Grand Central Terminal where a company I worked for many decades ago had their headquarters.  I'd visit there occasionally on business .   

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Edited by walker
to add some personal context
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  • 2 weeks later...

WOODTV has been doing a series this week spotlighting downtown development. While the article doesn’t have information that’ll surprise any of us, they do have some good photos from angles we can’t get without special access. :)

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/medical-mile-keeps-growing-with-eyes-on-the-future/

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On 5/19/2021 at 10:24 PM, joeDowntown said:

WOODTV has been doing a series this week spotlighting downtown development. While the article doesn’t have information that’ll surprise any of us, they do have some good photos from angles we can’t get without special access. :)

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/medical-mile-keeps-growing-with-eyes-on-the-future/

Those metal support beams are iconic, which is why we have them facing the parking lot in the back. :)

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/5/2021 at 9:11 AM, GRDadof3 said:

Oh totally agree. The GVSU building is odd looking. Maybe the Secchia Center just needs to be power washed. It's supposed to represent "life sciences" and "innovation" etc.  and it looks like a dirty beaker. 

From the old snippets of the Spectrum Health master plan I've seen (more than a year ago), the brick on the GVSU building will be consistent with the SH building that will eventually go next door at 414 Prospect. So it will probably end up looking fine in that regard.  I think the SH building will be visually similar to the Lemmen Holten building brick and glass.

image.thumb.png.64eb76028ee2109333cef4da91db0524.png

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
18 hours ago, whitemice said:

Yeah.  I dunno: meh.  My only real thought is how this development seems contrary to all the Planning Dept's jabber about design and the street.

The care for design and street is in direct opposite correlation to how many "jobs" will be created. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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