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Downtown Construction Projects

GRDadof3

By GRDadof3
in Grand Rapids

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Thought I would do a comparison of downtown Grand Rapids high-rise construction projects vs. other select cities (excluding Southern), to give you reason to be optimistic and thankful this year that you live in such a great place with a great future (and to quell the nay-sayers). These are currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION (not counting proposed/approved):

Grand Rapids = 4 projects underway, 33 story condo (yes, I'm counting RH), 24 story hotel, 3 bldg medical complex (12 story highest), 9 story condo

Pittsburgh = 3 projects underway, 2 - 18 story condos, 14 st children's hospital

Cincinnati = 2 projects, 15 st office, 8 st university

Minneapolis = 4, 39 st condo, 28 st condo, 10 st condo, 10 st condo, and Target just announced they are not going to build a tower downtown, but a sprawling complex in the burbs

Cleveland = 1, 14 st condo

Denver = 4, 38 st hotel, 2 - 23 st condos, 17 st hotel

Buffalo = 0

Dayton = 0

Toledo = 0

Columbus = 0

Detroit = 1, 10 st office

Salt Lake City = 0

Philadelphia = 7, 57 story office, 5 condo buildings and a children's hospital

Chicago, 33 (OK never mind :P )

Another positive note is that half of the construction in GR right now will create permanent jobs, not just a doorman and a maintenance guy in a condo building.

BTW: This is not to say we are better than these other cities, just for perspective. :thumbsup:

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torgo Town

torgo

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Nice list. We're kickin' @ss - until chicago at least.

I think its also important to realize that the population of GR is much smaller than many of those cities listed, but we still have more activity going on in and around downtown. Go GR! :D

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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For this exercise, I was only counting current high-rise projects "under construction", which is where I found the stats on Emporis for the other cities. The Cancer Center and VAI, even if under construction, would not make the cut as high-rises. If you count proposed/approved etc., it would obviously be a lot more. :thumbsup:

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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edit: yeesh nm, that 57 story office tower looks like a brutalist nightmare :shok:

You mean :blink: :

20050104ap_ho_comcast_ctrPJ_450.jpg

arn't the new casinos in detroit under construction? I assume they are considered high rise at 15-17 stories also anything in des moines, fort wayne, indy, milwaukee, other simular cities?

Oh right, I can't forget the three casinos in Detroit, 18, 17 and 16 stories. Emporis only shows them as "Approved". I don't keep up on the casino business to know if they are under construction yet.

Des Moines = 0

Ft Wayne = 0

Indianapolis = 3, 23 st hotel/condo, 14 st office, 9 st condo (and a 6 story library)

Milwaukee = 3, 36 st condo, 12 st condo, 10 st condo

I could probably do a bevy of other cities, but it's just an illustration.

Hope that helps.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Not to rain on the parade, but I hope we are not so shallow to realize that one city could building 4 high-rises, and an another could be adding hundreds of housing units, that just happen not to be in high-rise form.

I started this thread because there was a disagreement over how excited we should be that we will have several high rises going up at the same time. The point was raised that we look "silly" because we get excited over tower cranes, when other cities are used to them. I beg to differ, and went on to show how MANY other cities in the country have virtually no high-rises going up currently, and that we have every reason to be excited (as people in these other cities would probably love to have tower cranes going up).

Grand Rapids has low rise construction projects going on, buildings being renovated, neighborhood revitalization, etc., but that's not what the discussion was.

Any other questions?

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RustTown City

RustTown

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BTW, you left out a nearby city. And, IMO, a much more telling statistic is the amount of high-rises that have went up in these cities since 2000. The timeline of "right now" is far too small to get a feel of a "boom"

Madison = 3 u/c, 2 approved, 1 proposed (9 completed since 2000)

And, while in another league, even a declining city like D.C. (if even with with an economy to support such construction) is constantly putting high-rises.

Washington = 15 u/c, 9 approved, 9 proposed (countless sense 2000)

Be excited, just keep it in the realm of reality is all that I'm saying. There are some cities clawing tooth and nail to keep height out of their cities (Madison, Ann Arbor...) which really shows how important this should be (or really is). I'm just trying to put things into perspective, as well, because while I read the disclaimer at the bottom of the first thread, it doesn't seem to genuine. You can be excited and proud about your city without handpicking certain cities at certain times in their history to compare them to.

I like Grand Rapids, a lot, which is why when I hear the bragging coming from there in recent years, it's a real turnoff.

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Understood LMich. I'm just trying to get people to stop feeling GUILTY or EMBARRASSED for being excited. I don't think there is bragging going on, but there is a very concerted effort to thrust Grand Rapids into the regional (if not national) spotlight more. I can see how people in other parts of Michigan might be put off by that, but....oh well.

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Prankster Burg

Prankster

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Understood LMich. I'm just trying to get people to stop feeling GUILTY or EMBARRASSED for being excited. I don't think there is bragging going on, but there is a very concerted effort to thrust Grand Rapids into the regional (if not national) spotlight more. I can see how people in other parts of Michigan might be put off by that, but....oh well.

One other thing to keep in mind, though, is a lot of these other cities were going through a boom a few years ago. We are just starting to hit our stride, and being proud of our city and being enthusiastic about it can be contagious and help get others excited too. All the pieces are in place to finally bring Grand Rapids up to a major city, now we sit back and enjoy the ride.

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