Shrinkage

[RustTown]

Or so one hopes. I think it is possible for ripple effect to happen, but it is always an exception rather than a rule. MOST established (older) urban cities are losing populations for a variety of reasons, and yes, many with downtowns that have "made it." Downtown revitalization is but one piece of the puzzle, and, again, it doesn't solidfy an entire city-wide revival as shown time and time again. This is not to say that downtown revitalization shouldn't be a priority, but as far as I'm concerned, and the facts back this up, it really has little to do with retaining a significant amount of citizens, and growing neighborhoods outside of the core.

[superNOVA]

The good news is that it seems to be happening. Developers (local) are starting to note that there is a real demand for residential and even some not so local developers are noticing this town - important for those very large projects. Hell, with the current rash of residential development the demand is still as strong as it was when they started and there really does not seem to be an end in sight.

This is good, and it will go a long way to change the mentality of this town. An active and populated downtown is the first and most important step to really accepting it as a significant portion of the city. I really think that we are witnessing round one and that there are numerous more large projects on the way in the next decade or so. Grand Rapids is just a bit behind other similar cities in this respect, but I see us playing catch up quickly. Honestly, in five years, even with the current batch of projects, downtown will literally be unrecognizable.

[Rizzo]

You say this ALL THE TIME, almost like you know it's going to happen.

[superNOVA]

Just have a good feeling. All of the signs are there at the moment - however, this does not mean that it is a sure thing.

[michaelskis]

I think that some of you might be a bit hard on the downtown. I think while it does have room for improvement, it is far better than a lot of places. Additionally, there is so much momentum going on in downtown, especially for the size of the community, that it is only a matter of time before things change.

Remember one major thing; Grand Rapids is what WE make of it. If we want Grand Rapids to look, feel, and operate a particular way, look for examples of that, and tell others about it. We live in a world where a super powered individual with internet access can have more pull than a government superpower. Although most of us don't realize it, we all know someone or have some influence in making Grand Rapids the premiere place in the Midwest to live.

[GRDadof3]

I think that some of you might be a bit hard on the downtown. I think while it does have room for improvement, it is far better than a lot of places. Additionally, there is so much momentum going on in downtown, especially for the size of the community, that it is only a matter of time before things change.

Remember one major thing; Grand Rapids is what WE make of it. If we want Grand Rapids to look, feel, and operate a particular way, look for examples of that, and tell others about it. We live in a world where a super powered individual with internet access can have more pull than a government superpower. Although most of us don't realize it, we all know someone or have some influence in making Grand Rapids the premiere place in the Midwest to live.

I think only a few people here are still hard on downtown. Most of us are big downtown cheerleaders I would imagine.

[Rizzo]

SuperNova, for the past few years you've been pretty consistant. Things have an odd way of panning out, and it looks like it will be for the better.

Just to make a point, like some of you I was downtown before it was "cool". My ma brought me up to appreciate my hometown, its history, and how it relates to my family so that its much easier to vision a future here. For that upbringing I am thankful. I plan on making some "I was downtown before it was 'cool'." bumber stickers and tshirts for myself to proudly display when I'm doing my business there.

For me Downtown has always been "cool"

[michaelskis]

I think only a few people here are still hard on downtown. Most of us are big downtown cheerleaders I would imagine.

Well, posts like this is just my way of releasing my pent up motivational speaker side now that I don

[Rizzo]

Who was being down on our Downtown?

[Allison Slater]

I plan on making some "I was downtown before it was 'cool'." bumber stickers and tshirts for myself to proudly display when I'm doing my business there.

For me Downtown has always been "cool"

That'd actually be some pretty good promotion. People who don't go downtown often will see it and think 'it's cool?' and check it out. =p

[gvsusean]

i like that as our branding for grand rapids, "it was still downtown before it was cool" or something

[ariesjow]

Grand Rapids.

Area: 45.3 square miles

2000 population: 197,800

2004 population: 195,115

Increase 2000-2004: -2,865 (-1.4%)

Map:

Grand Rapids + first tier of suburbs.

Area: 142.8 square miles

2000 population: 375,348

2004 population: 377,051

Increase 2000-2004: +1,703 (+0.5%)

Map:

Grand Rapids + second tier of suburbs.

Area: 575.7 square miles

2000 population: 567,259

2004 population: 583,106

Increase 2000-2004: +15,847 (+2.8%)

Map:

(Actually, if I threw out tiny Wright Township and Alpine Township (both of which, apparently, lost population), and included fast growing Allendale Township, these numbers would be more impressive. It doesn't make a nice square, though. )

Now, compare that with Nashville, a so-called "boomtown".

Area: 502.3 square miles

2000 population: 545,524

2004 population: 546,719

Increase 2000-2004: +1,195 (+0.2%)

So, compared to Nashville, Grand Rapids + second tier of suburbs has a greater population within a comparable area, plus much greater growth, yet it is GR than shows up on the list of fastest shrinking cities.

EDIT: had the land area incorrect fo Grand Rapids + second tier of suburbs. So, it is a bit bigger than Nashville (15% larger), but it has roughly the same population density.

I'm not sure if this is really a fair comparison considering that Nashville-Davidson County's suburbs, which rely on the city, are not also included. Like most of the Southeastern boomtowns, Nashville's metro is over-sprawled. The city of Nashville itself isn't growing in leaps and bounds but it's suburbs, particular those in Rutherford and Williamson Counties like Franklin, Murfreesboro, and Brentwood, are on fire which bodes well for the city ias a whole. The city is indeed a boomtown but it's not growing in the same way as, say, Las Vegas or Phoenix. Nashville isn't adding people quite that fast but, instead, rapidly adding new, exciting urban projects, luring big and diverse businesses, and seriously striving to create a world-class city.

It's been a joy reading this thread and reading the comparisons to Nashville since I'm originally from that area and it's really exciting seeing all the positive growth going on there. I don't think GR is quite there yet but it's on it's way. As I believe someone hinted at, Nashville's sphere of influence is quite a bit larger than that of GR. It's sphere of influence includes not only all of Middle TN but even parts of KY to the north and AL to the south. This is one of the reasons why the city has been able to successfully attract pro sports.

Nashville should be a great gauge for GR. One of the cool things about Nashville right now is that they are creating entirely new urban districts from the ground up (The Gulch, SoBro, and Rolling Mill Hill). Nashville has also recently been featured several times in the NY Times concerning these new neighborhoods, the city's projects, and business growth.

Here's just a small sampling of what's going on in just urban Nashville alone:

Signature Tower - 1,047 ft.!!! - 65 floors - residential/hotel/retail - approved

West End Summitt - 25 and 23 floors - office/residential/retail - approved

ICON in the Gulch - 22 floors - residential/retail - U/C

Terrazzo - 14 floors (across from ICON) - residential - U/C

Adelicia - 18 floors - residential - U/C

SunTrust Tower - 13 floor - office - U/C

Encore - 20 floors - residential - U/C

Sounds Stadium Projects - stadium/10-floor condo tower/office - approved

Viridian- 33 floors- residential/retail - almost complete

Rolling Mill Hill Development - massive development of old General Hospital site with 1000+ residential units - approved

Here's a pano view of Nashville skyline in it's totality including downtown and West End. It's expansive with a few miles of building tops.

This isn't even close to all the projects. There's another office tower announced recently as well as a Westin on the table and another residential supertower rumored for the Gulch. I think Nashville is well on it's way and GR would do well to emulate some of the positive things going on down there.

[GRDadof3]

Thanks for the Nashville rundown ariesjow. Nashville has really redefined itself over the past 10 years, and is certainly a good city to emulate. I think one way that GR stands differently from other mid-sized cities in its downtown development is that well over 1/2 of it is medical and institutional growth, and not just residential. I think some of the mid-sized cities in the country are going to feel the pinch with the amount of condos going up. I think Mpls has already cancelled one of its signature condo towers due to an oversaturated condo market.

We're not even close to being oversaturated on the residential side if you ask me.

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=19783