Front Street NW

[GRDadof3]

I think the Front Street NW corridor on the West side of the river holds a lot of potential like Monroe North does. There are some great old buildings still standing, it has riverfront access, and has some nice views to the East and toward downtown to the South. The Turner House is on the National Historic Register, at the corner of Front and 6th, and is probably one of the oldest standing residences in Grand Rapids. This company, nc3d, does 3D videos for urban planners and municipalities, and one of their projects got me thinking about this area. Check out the 4th video down in the middle (Spokane Regional Light Rail). If you don't have high speed, for ***'s sake, switch to regular coffee 4 times a month and upgrade It shows the complete conversion of an outdated retail district into an entire residential/mixed use neighborhood (keep watching, it really gets good about 2 - 3 minutes into it).

http://www.nc3d.com/gallery/movies

Turner House

Clipper Belt Lacer Company

Riverview Center

Apparently it is cool enough for Pinnacle Construction

I'll take it!

Another warehouse conversion, with the 1926 built Road Commission Building in the background (at the far Northern end of Front Street).

And Mercantile Bank has their new office.

BTW: I could watch those videos all day

[GRguy]

Dadof:

Not everyone can afford hi speed connections. I was just telling this to my maid and butler last week.

Actually, my boss is not cheap and I could look at the video while at work. It was very cool. I love the Front street area.

[GRDadof3]

Dadof:

Not everyone can afford hi speed connections. I was just telling this to my maid and butler last week.

Actually, my boss is not cheap and I could look at the video while at work. It was very cool. I love the Front street area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am fortunate enough to have high speed at work and at home, and no boss looking over my shoulder. We finally upgraded at home because we spend so much time on-line, and it was only $10 more a month (4 regular coffees ILO latte).

Those videos kick *ss. It is really awesome to see redevelopment and transit ideas visualized like that. They must go into these areas and catalog each existing building to create the different building facades. I am not going to post this website on the regular board, because I'm sure it will get overloaded

[zenstyle]

I like these big, clear photos. The more, the better!

I used to work in the Riverview Center, in the mid-eighties, but our dimwit manager decided to move the office to a character-free office building near Fuller and Knapp. It was (and maybe still is) a textbook "sick building"...no openable windows, little access to fresh air, and we cubicle rats constantly suffering from burning eyes and throats.

What a jerk that guy was!

Oh, well, the Women's Resource Center is now in the Riverview building, and what a very cool facility it is, too.

[GRDadof3]

I like these big, clear photos. The more, the better!

I used to work in the Riverview Center, in the mid-eighties, but our dimwit manager decided to move the office to a character-free office building near Fuller and Knapp. It was (and maybe still is) a textbook "sick building"...no openable windows, little access to fresh air, and we cubicle rats  constantly suffering from burning eyes and throats.

What a jerk that guy was!

Oh, well, the Women's Resource Center is now in the Riverview building, and what a very cool facility it is, too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It definitely is a focal point for the area, and hopefully would set the tone for future development. There is some kind of rust-colored water damage on the outside (not in the picture) that needs some work. If you haven't been in the area in a while, take a drive (or bike/walk) up Front Street sometime. It is all buildings like a Ryder facility, a bunch of small mfrs, and some showrooms. Plus the river wall is way high in that area. I wonder if you could build residential on the river with boat slips? The water is deeper in that area, and you might be able to boat or kayak up to Riverside Park, or even further up.

[GRDadof3]

An interesting article about Pinnacle Construction's new office pictured above:

http://mibiz.com/absolutenm/templates/temp...d=903&zoneid=33