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Grand Rapids Renaissance Zones


GRDadof3

Should Grand Rapids' Renaissance Zones be extended  

61 members have voted

  1. 1. How effective do you think the GR Ren Zone program has been so far?

    • Very effective across the board
      31
    • Only effective in certain areas
      26
    • Not effective at all
      3
    • Other
      1
  2. 2. Should current Ren Zones be extended for another 15 years

    • Definitely, across the board
      12
    • Yes, on a case-by-case basis
      45
    • No, they are not needed anymore
      4
    • Other
      0
  3. 3. Which Renaissance Zones could use the extension the most

    • Railroad Junction
      1
    • Furniture Center
      2
    • Grandville
      4
    • Division - Buchanan
      9
    • Madison Square
      2
    • Wealthy - Eastern - Franklin
      9
    • All of these
      16
    • None of these
      5
    • Unsure
      10
    • Other
      3


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Renaissance Zones give businesses and residents virtually tax-free status for property, income and business taxes while located in the zone.

State House Bill 5942 was signed into law back in October, which would allow cities to extend current Renaissance Zones by another 15 years if they can show there will be economic development in those areas. Most of the Grand Rapids Renaissance Zones were created in 1997 and expire in 2011 (slowly phasing out from 2009 - 2011).

2009/2011 may seem far away, but in essence it's not. If you started a project today that would be ready in 2007, you or your future tenants would only get the full benefits of Ren Zone status for two years.

According to the City of Grand Rapids, over $247 Million has been invested in the current Renaissance Zones, a true Michigan success story.

Should the city consider extending certain Renaissance Zones for another 15 years? Or have these areas in Grand Rapids reached critical mass yet that they are un-needed?

You can see a map of the different zones HERE. The last 4 were created in 2002 and go through 2017, and would not be part of an extension program.

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I would say, ABSOLUTELY, yes. on certain zones. Some zones have, imo, reached a critical mass and the everyone in the city would benifit more from a boost in tax revenue from those areas. Other areas (perhaps grandville ave, division ave and madison/hall) are far more fragile and, i think, we all could benefit from more stabilization that extensions could bring in those areas. I'm no expert, but seems like common sense to me...

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I agree with dragt. Where the zones have since "filled in", then I think we can let these go, because that is the way the program was intended to work. However, where areas are just starting to redevelop, I say extend the renaissance zones since it is becoming apparent that they work.

The RZ near my office was gerrymandered around our building, and when we asked "why" we weren't included the response was "because your building is already occupied." :lol: I suppose that makes sense, though.

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The privelege has been abused in some instances (ie: reap the tax savings but don't renovate the building) but on the whole they've done what they were supposed to do: create economic vitality and (future) tax base in areas where no re-investment / re-development was occuring. How many more years would some of these areas have sat unrenovated and desolate ?

The BrassWorks bldg. is a great example. That project in 1997 would not have been economically viable without the RenZone. As a result of the benefits of the renzone, it is now fully occupied and resultantly kicked off much development in an area that would otherwise still be a mix of industrial and vacant buildings.

Oak Industrial drive is another good example, what was once a vacated 200,000 s.f. hot dog factory and a 17 acre parking lot is now home to Pella Windows, Integra printing, Eerdman's publishing and the City of GR water / sewer dept. 4 new world-class industrial facilities filled with new jobs =It worked for the City as well as the developer.

South Division and Monroe Mall are 'getting there' but may need an extension..... I'd support that.

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http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ss....xml&coll=6

"Rooks is asking the city to extend its Renaissance Zone status on the property for another 15 years. This would allow his residents to escape state and local income and property taxes -- a key element in Rooks' development successes. Rooks told city officials Tuesday he needs a commitment from them within five weeks if he is going to follow through on his option to buy the building. The building's tax-free status expires in 2011. "

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  • 6 months later...

I'll admit that I'm not that familiar with Renaissance Zones, but how exactly are they decided? Specifically, I am curious as to why the Peck Building is not a Ren Zone, but the condos across the street, Monroe Center, are so designated. Does anyone know the logic behind this? Is there a way to change the zoning to make it a Ren Zone?

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  • 3 weeks later...
I'll admit that I'm not that familiar with Renaissance Zones, but how exactly are they decided? Specifically, I am curious as to why the Peck Building is not a Ren Zone, but the condos across the street, Monroe Center, are so designated. Does anyone know the logic behind this? Is there a way to change the zoning to make it a Ren Zone?
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FWIW, I spoke to a few city people the other day about Ren Zones (they showed me the carved-up Monroe Center map that prompted my question a ways back), and one of them told me that Grand Rapids has had the most success in Michigan with Ren Zones.

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  • 1 year later...

Anyone else catch the blurb at the bottom of the front page of the Press' Region today? I quote:

An agreement expected to be approved by the Kent County Commission on Thursday would pave the way for a trio of Grand Rapids developments that have stalled as city and county officials worked out a compromise between conflicting economic development policies. The agreement recommended Tuesday by the county
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