East Beltline Developments

[Rizzo]

Not sure if this has been posted, but VOOH is blogging about Urban Planet.

[GRDadof3]

Thanks for the bump Rizzo. It reminds me that I saw a big new development sign the other day on the Knapp/EBL property (Evergreen Properties) advertising their village.

[blueradon]

My only beef with that site plan is they should have bumped up major A and major B up to the road so nobody has to see a huge sea of parking. And then the bank could have been moved to the parking spot in front of Major C.

Otherwise - this is a lot better than the other site plan that was on here before.

[EGR-ARCHI]

My only beef with that site plan is they should have bumped up major A and major B up to the road so nobody has to see a huge sea of parking. And then the bank could have been moved to the parking spot in front of Major C.

Otherwise - this is a lot better than the other site plan that was on here before.

Attached is the brochure from Clinton Township, this delevopment has just come through its first winter. With all of its heated sidewalks and outdoor firepits business was still slow during this harsh winter. It should be interesting to see how successful ours will be considering West Michigan snowfall. It sure would be nice to see the rest of the urban fabric on this towncenter site. Lifestyle centers must drive Leon Krier and the rest of the new urbanist mad!!

http://www.taubman.com/images/pdf_cache/3152.pdf

[blueradon]

Yeah and you also wonder how long it'll be before all the potholes set in and people will get ticked off.

[blueradon]

That brochure got me thinking...

What if Woodland Mall did something similar like that with an open roof in their mall - but in the winters (or when it rains) they could put a retractable roof over the walkway to keep things dry and warm. Wonder if there are malls out there that do that.

Even a glass roof wouldn't be so bad - more energy efficient too

[Veloise]

Attached is the brochure from Clinton Township, this delevopment has just come through its first winter. With all of its heated sidewalks and outdoor firepits business was still slow during this harsh winter. It should be interesting to see how successful ours will be considering West Michigan snowfall. It sure would be nice to see the rest of the urban fabric on this towncenter site. Lifestyle centers must drive Leon Krier and the rest of the new urbanist mad!!

http://www.taubman.com/images/pdf_cache/3152.pdf

Ah yes, the latest Taubman salvo for contemporary retail. I went right by that place on a recent visit, and did not notice it until my first mate pointed it out.

From M-59, it's no great shakes (and I'm someone who's taken special field trips to look at schmancy developments). For those who haven't gotten to enjoy Macomb County, M-59 is like 28th Street with a big ol' boulevard and telegraph turns.

(reminding myself why I evacuated the 313...recalling another planning forum where I mentioned the namesake for the School of Urban Planning at U-M, and someone replied "who else has done more to keep the planning profession alive??")

[GRDadof3]

From what I've heard...Spartan Stores/D&W Fresh Market has pulled out of the Village of Orchard Hills and switched over to the Knapp's Crossing development.

Looks like you may have been right j3shafer. The Village of Knapp's Crossing is seeking approval for a drive-thru window for a new D&W Fresh Market at the Southernmost (Knapp St) end of their project. Here are some renderings of the new D&W. They are also seeking a variance on parking.

[twoshort]

Any guesses for Orchard Hill's Major B (almost 60,000 sq ft with a drive-thru)?

[suydam]

Any guesses for Orchard Hill's Major B (almost 60,000 sq ft with a drive-thru)?

Whole Foods or Trader Joe's

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[blueradon]

Whole Foods or Trader Joe's

Sorry, couldn't resist.

omg. omg. omg. omg. please. please. please.

-crosses fingers-

[GRDadof3]

I'm surprised no one commented on the design. I hope the Michigan Street D&W has this "look" to it. It looks a lot more interesting than the original rendering they showed for the Michigan St site.

[Eridony]

I'm surprised no one commented on the design. I hope the Michigan Street D&W has this "look" to it. It looks a lot more interesting than the original rendering they showed for the Michigan St site.

I like that the design looks like the building is two stories. Even though I'm guessing it will actually be a 1 story structure.

[EGR-ARCHI]

I'm surprised no one commented on the design. I hope the Michigan Street D&W has this "look" to it. It looks a lot more interesting than the original rendering they showed for the Michigan St site.

Any idea who the architect is? Where did you get the renderings? I think you are comparing apples and oranges. Both designs are nice but this one has a lot more going on because it has retail built into it, and it is intended to be seen from all sides where the Michgan St. one probably will not have as many exposed sides.

Edited April 22, 2008 by EGR-ARCHI

[GRDadof3]

Any idea who the architect is? Where did you get the renderings? I think you are comparing apples and oranges. Both designs are nice but this one has a lot more going on because it has retail built into it, and it is intended to be seen from all sides where the Michgan St. one probably will not have as many exposed sides.

I don't think this one has separate retail built into it. I believe the second doorway toward the North end is just another entrance, because the drive-thru is for D&W and is at the very Northern end of the building. And actually, the Michigan St site is also on a corner, just like the EBL/Knapp site.

Don't know the architect, but the renderings are from the Planning Commission.

[EGR-ARCHI]

I don't think this one has separate retail built into it. I believe the second doorway toward the North end is just another entrance, because the drive-thru is for D&W and is at the very Northern end of the building. And actually, the Michigan St site is also on a corner, just like the EBL/Knapp site.

Don't know the architect, but the renderings are from the Planning Commission.

If that is true then it is a little disapointing, since it looks like it is multiple tenants/stores. That would make it more like the Cascade Meijer (before the latest renovation) where it had multiple false store fronts in a Disney sort of way. The second set of doors does not look like a set of automatic doors like the main entrance so maybe it is additional retail.

[GRDadof3]

If that is true then it is a little disapointing, since it looks like it is multiple tenants/stores. That would make it more like the Cascade Meijer (before the latest renovation) where it had multiple false store fronts in a Disney sort of way. The second set of doors does not look like a set of automatic doors like the main entrance so maybe it is additional retail.

I dug up the site plan and it looks like there isn't any retail in the D&W building:

Also, keep in mind this D&W is part of a proposed "village", so there will be several hundred thousand square feet of retail to go along with it.

[Allison Slater]

Ooooh! Do you see that?! Outside the front door there's a CROSSWALK leading to a short SIDEWALK which connects to the street's SIDEWALK! They've accomplished what 99% of our other developments around town cannot seem to fathom, ESPECIALLY at waterfall.

(The new Walgreens near Metro Health also has a wide crosswalk and paved walkway leading to the sidewalk, whereas the CVS across the street forces pedestrians through the parking lot and across a section of grass or down the car-traffic driveway. Guess which business I now support?)

[GRDadof3]

Ooooh! Do you see that?! Outside the front door there's a CROSSWALK leading to a short SIDEWALK which connects to the street's SIDEWALK! They've accomplished what 99% of our other developments around town cannot seem to fathom, ESPECIALLY at waterfall.

(The new Walgreens near Metro Health also has a wide crosswalk and paved walkway leading to the sidewalk, whereas the CVS across the street forces pedestrians through the parking lot and across a section of grass or down the car-traffic driveway. Guess which business I now support?)

Probably because this falls within the City of Grand Rapids, which has tightened up its "Lifestyle Center" requirements tremendously. It is nice to see the connectivity.

[GRDadof3]

Whole Foods or Trader Joe's

Sorry, couldn't resist.

In an article in the Press this weekend, they talk about these two retailers and the probabilities of coming to GR any time soon.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/spec...ores_trade.html

Trader Joe's sounds like a definite "no" anytime soon, but Whole Foods gives an interesting quote:

"We know Grand Rapids customers are interested in having a store there. It's just a matter of finding something that works the best for us," said Kate Klotz, spokeswoman for the Austin, Texas-based chain with 265 stores across the country and five in the United Kingdom.

That to me reads "we're scouting out several locations to capture the best demographics".

The fact that AA is getting a second store tells me they might be ramping up their expansion plans to possibly new demographic areas. Maybe the VOOH actually let D&W slide so that they could capture a bigger fish (Whole Foods), which might help draw more national retail interest.

[metrogrkid]

The fact that AA is getting a second store tells me they might be ramping up their expansion plans to possibly new demographic areas. Maybe the VOOH actually let D&W slide so that they could capture a bigger fish (Whole Foods), which might help draw more national retail interest.

O.K.? Speak the truth and keep doing it often, just mention Nordstrom, Von Maur and Roots-Canada when you do.

[blueradon]

"We know Grand Rapids customers are interested in having a store there. It's just a matter of finding something that works the best for us," said Kate Klotz, spokeswoman for the Austin, Texas-based chain with 265 stores across the country and five in the United Kingdom.

That to me reads "we're scouting out several locations to capture the best demographics".

The fact that AA is getting a second store tells me they might be ramping up their expansion plans to possibly new demographic areas. Maybe the VOOH actually let D&W slide so that they could capture a bigger fish (Whole Foods), which might help draw more national retail interest.

I can just FEEL it...

[twoshort]

That could also read "We know Grand Rapids customers are interested in having a store there. It's just a matter of finding something that works the best for us, and Grand Rapids just isn't it at this time."

[The ATX]

Whole Foods is a great place, but it is expensive. It will take a lot of people in Grand Rapids willing to greatly increase their weekly grocery budget to support a Whole Foods.

[FloridaSpartan]

We have a whole foods about a mile from us. We usually only go there for their seafood, meat and prepared meals. They do have excellent lobster bisque as well I just couldn't see myself buying the staples there... milk, eggs, bread, P and J, canned stuff. As our friends from Meijer would say...Why pay more?