What commercial section of Grand Rapids needs the most work?

[john_denver]

Fulton Heights needs the Gilmore Group to sh*t or get off the pot on the old Wolverine Litho site.

[Yankee Fan]

My vote would have to be the Alger Heights/Burton Heights area. Having grown up in that neighborhood, it has always been an up and down area. The reason that I say that it needs the most work is because it has always teetered on being a very successful area but always seems to lack that one final nudge over the top to make it a sustainable business area.

Some of the old standbys- like Sheldons in Burton Heights or Ace Hardware in Alger Heights- prove that businesses can be successful in this area.

This is an area that can actually be taken to the next level with a diverse amount of investment. The neighborhood is a great place to live and the area could use come nice upgrades on facades and good influx of new businesses. It would be a good investment in an area that is ripe for a little revival.

[Allison Slater]

I think another worth mentioning that I've yet to see is North Division. The buildings themselves along this stretch don't need a lot of work, the infrastructure is good, but there's nothing down there. The only tennant inside the Keeler building at all is GrandLAN, and then there's Kendall College, Civic Theatre, and a coffee shop in part of Kendall.

From what I was told by somebody who knows the owner of the Keeler, Azzar's been trying to sell the building to somebody that can improve it and draw in tennants, but developers keep backing out at the last minute. Getting that building filled up would do wonders for N Division and the location is great too, wedged right in the middle of a triangle housing GRCC, Kendall, and the Civic. The trend could be continued by filling in the many many parking lots along Division with some buildings.

[concretepoem]

what commercial sections need the most work to bring them up to a caliber that makes people want to flock there? What is currently holding them down from that that level? What areas do you think have the most hidden potential?

[GRDadof3]

Another challenge to S. Division is that most of GR's large benefactors (no need to list them) have good relationships with Dennis Sturtevant (Dwelling Place), Johnathan Bradford (ICCF), and Mel Trotter, who run most of the non-profits and missions in Heartside. None of those benefactors want their legacy to be that they kicked all the poor people out of Heartside. The smaller developers can only do it piecemeal, and they have the challenge of convincing buyers or tenants to locate in the area alongside the homeless people. The only hope is that land values keep going up to a point where the missions can't resist cashing out and moving into new digs.

[AlexPKeaton]

Well, homeless people have to go somewhere, and downtown makes the most sense because things are within walking distance. Where would you propose the missions go? I agree that having a large number of homeless people around makes some people uncomfortable, but they're a fact of life. Perhaps if there were more stores and well-off people the homeless would be a smaller proportion of the people there and make the area feel more inviting.

[GRGridGirl]

Well, homeless people have to go somewhere, and downtown makes the most sense because things are within walking distance. Where would you propose the missions go? I agree that having a large number of homeless people around makes some people uncomfortable, but they're a fact of life. Perhaps if there were more stores and well-off people the homeless would be a smaller proportion of the people there and make the area feel more inviting.

[nonnekes]

Another challenge to S. Division is that most of GR's large benefactors (no need to list them) have good relationships with Dennis Sturtevant (Dwelling Place), Johnathan Bradford (ICCF), and Mel Trotter, who run most of the non-profits and missions in Heartside. None of those benefactors want their legacy to be that they kicked all the poor people out of Heartside. The smaller developers can only do it piecemeal, and they have the challenge of convincing buyers or tenants to locate in the area alongside the homeless people. The only hope is that land values keep going up to a point where the missions can't resist cashing out and moving into new digs.

[GRDadof3]

[rant]

I don't think the heads of Division Avenue's various missions are trying to avoid displacement of the poor, underprivileged and homeless in order the secure their legacy. Gentrification is not always a good thing. Unless you want to keep pushing the poor farther away into some ghetto farther down Division or in the deep SE side. Then we wouldn't have to see them right? Seems to me there are plenty of places in Grand Rapids for upscale eateries and retail and skyscrapers

[nonnekes]

No, that's not what I meant. What I meant is that the people with deep pockets (Devos's, Van Andels, Meijers, Weges) don't want to be the ones to be accused of kicking the homeless out of downtown, so the chances of them spearheading any development plans along S. Division are null. Especially when they provide all kinds of philanthropic funding for those very entities through various foundations.

I don't want S. Division to become another Cascade destination, but it would be nice if it also wasn't "bombed out" in several areas.

[GRDadof3]

No, I understand what you're saying. That's the big dilemma in any urban setting. How do you redevelop and bring in new businesses without "gentrifying"? What technically is the definition of gentrification I wonder?

[GRDadof3]

In related news:

Alger Heights rises from the ashes

Exciting story.

[Allison Slater]

I think I'll browse around the Alger Heights area and do some shopping there, to show some additional support. It's good to hear about that area's community strength.

[Quercus]

My vote would have to be the Alger Heights/Burton Heights area. Having grown up in that neighborhood, it has always been an up and down area. The reason that I say that it needs the most work is because it has always teetered on being a very successful area but always seems to lack that one final nudge over the top to make it a sustainable business area.

Some of the old standbys- like Sheldons in Burton Heights or Ace Hardware in Alger Heights- prove that businesses can be successful in this area.

This is an area that can actually be taken to the next level with a diverse amount of investment. The neighborhood is a great place to live and the area could use come nice upgrades on facades and good influx of new businesses. It would be a good investment in an area that is ripe for a little revival.

[concretepoem]

In related news:

Alger Heights rises from the ashes

Exciting story.

[concretepoem]

What these Alger Heights merchants and building owners are doing is very inspiring. The fact that they posted a blog on their situation is especially cool.

Locally-owned hardware stores help give a neighborhood its backbone, and the people who live in or near or who simply give a damn about this city just need to stop and think about the consequences of routinely shopping the big box stores.

I'm guilty of it, from time to time, but after reading this I'm going to insist that any hardware and materials bought for my business come from locals stores like Riley's on Michigan , Standard Lumber and Modern Hardware in Boston Square, Godwin, and certainly Alger Heights.

You can't buy everything on 28th Street and then wonder why why your old neighborhood has withered away.

[6th Gen local]

Alpine Avenue is another street that I think is ripe for development. I'm not sure where the city limits are to the North, but there is a lot of potential on Alpine with the added plus of residential within a lot or two of the street at least up to Ann Street.

[PRCH]

You can't buy everything on 28th Street and then wonder why why your old neighborhood has withered away.

[rivegauche]

Amen to that. "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need"

[PRCH]

"Pleased to meet you! Won't you guess my name?"

Who abandoned the city, and put up the strip malls?

"After all, it was you and me."

[Veloise]

Alpine Avenue is another street that I think is ripe for development. I'm not sure where the city limits are to the North, but there is a lot of potential on Alpine with the added plus of residential within a lot or two of the street at least up to Ann Street.

[PBJ]

In related news:

Alger Heights rises from the ashes

Exciting story.

[Veloise]

I guess this is a fair enough location to post this:

Alger Heights Hardware is closing today at 4pm to start moving into the new location (which looks great by the way). They are planning on being open in the new place Monday.

Pretty exciting.