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Developers now control 50+ properties in Belknap Lookout neighborhood

GRDadof3

By GRDadof3
in Grand Rapids

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Veloise City

Veloise

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...The reason that the freeway is capped on 696 was that when it was planned the freeway was going to divide a community that had a large population of orthodox Jews (if I remember properly). According to their religion they needed to walk to their temple. The freeway was going to make this impossible.

After much political wrangling and negotiation it was agreed that these green spaces capping the freeway would be built to allow them walking access. A massive amount of time and money went into the negotiation, design, and construction of these green spaces.

Approximately a year after the green spaces were installed over the freeway the temple closed up rendering them obsolete.

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NorthCoast Hamlet

NorthCoast

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Somesort of freeway capping or full out tunnel would be great for that section of 196. I'll once again use examples from Cincinnati as its the only city that I'm as familiar with as Grand Rapids. Here are a few links to things done there to solve these types of issues.

Lytle Tunnel runs underneath Lytle Park and serves as a connection from U.S. 50 (Fort Washington Way) to I-71 (which runs north to Columbus). Fort Washington Way itself is the major downtown avenue connecting I-71 to I-75. Cincinnati has just completed a major project which reduced the amount of land taken upon by the route and the beginning of the intial steps to reconnect downtown with the river. Preliminary plans exist to further cover FWW with some sort of deck which would both be aesthetically pleasing as well as pedestrianly functional.

Postcard of Original Fort Washington Way setup in the 1980's(notice all the concrete and complete seperation from the river :sick: )

fww-8.jpg

Lytle Tunnel (this picture was taken in 1999 during the major construction, the opposite entrance can be seen just behind the large, gray building in the top left corner.)

fww-air11.jpg

New Fort Washington Way setup (this picture was taken probably around 2001, the new surface streets are not yet finished, the baseball stadium has been demolished and replaced, and the Underground Railroad Museum has been built between the two stadiums but the consolidation of the freeway can clearly be seen.)

bp20050044.jpg

Proposed additional decking (this is a simple illustration of some additional decking which may eventually added)

xfwwtunnel1.jpg

The development of the land between the two stadiums is a really hot issue right now. Plans already exist but there seems to be a huge rift between the city and county which is preventing it from being completed. The project is known as The Banks.

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DSchoon Whistle-Stop

DSchoon

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I looked into the Belknap hill neighborhood a few years back for a project on land speculation. If I recall, this group was run by an Angel Gonzalez at the time, and I was able to trace 10 or so properties to it. This Horlings guy is new to me.

My conclusion, supported by the neighborhood association, was that there had been very little speculation related to the medical mile on that side of Michigan Street, for a variety of reasons, one being a preponderence of slumlords in the trough of the hill. This was in 2005, so maybe that has changed.

The real story was in the Midtown neighborhood just east or Heritage Hill, where specualtion was rampant. I found 16 owner-occupied homes there in a 1/4 mile radius near Martha's Vineyard for sale in Sept. 2005, 10 of which were bought the year prior. 19 properties were sold in that area in the 12 months prior (12 of which were purchased in the previous 5 years) with a median gain of $35,000.

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dtown Town

dtown

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Here is the image with an estimated budget for the improvements. They are 8ft high.

The major design considerations from the charrette that generated these drawings:

-Create a gateway and appropriate transition from Medical Mile to Residential Community

-Pedestrian safety in all seasons: there is a small 2ft wall between the cars and the wide sidewalk, accessible, safe

-Try to make it less of a bridge and more of an extension of the plain between Michigan and the neighborhood. Tie in with asthetics of Michigan Ave and neighborhood.

-Maximize the views of the valley

-Tie it into a linear park so visitors and employees will want to take their breaks and noontime jogs in the Belknap parks

-Fundable and doable in conjunction with MDOT, neighborhood and City

35overpassunderpasstreaje0.jpg

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Veloise City

Veloise

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I just spoke to Anita Prins (member of mobl nobl) today and she said there is a meeting coming up to discuss area specific plans Mobl Nobl has planned. The first step will be to replace the Belknap Stairs leading to Division/Plainfield. The vision they carry is very cool and I hope there is funded money available to pull off everything they have on the docket.

Angel and Rod were not aware of this site till about two weeks ago when I met with them to discuss their plans for the re-development of area specific plans they have detailed out. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement to not talk about what they have planned for the area, sorry :(. I have to be careful to not blow the whistle but perhaps sometime they can chime in on this discussion and give us the 411. I personally like the vision they have in store for the area...but not sure how it will all come to fruition. Their temporary office is at 509 Fairview (Belknap Lookout).

There seems to be a large push in the area to renovate existing houses which is very exciting to see. When houses go up for sale...it does not take long before there is a new owner with a deed in hand.

Hopefully Angel or Rod will jump in on our discussion.

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DSchoon Whistle-Stop

DSchoon

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I just spoke to Anita Prins (member of mobl nobl) today and she said there is a meeting coming up to discuss area specific plans Mobl Nobl has planned. The first step will be to replace the Belknap Stairs leading to Division/Plainfield. The vision they carry is very cool and I hope there is funded money available to pull off everything they have on the docket.

Angel and Rod were not aware of this site till about two weeks ago when I met with them to discuss their plans for the re-development of area specific plans they have detailed out. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement to not talk about what they have planned for the area, sorry :(. I have to be careful to not blow the whistle but perhaps sometime they can chime in on this discussion and give us the 411. I personally like the vision they have in store for the area...but not sure how it will all come to fruition. Their temporary office is at 509 Fairview (Belknap Lookout).

There seems to be a large push in the area to renovate existing houses which is very exciting to see. When houses go up for sale...it does not take long before there is a new owner with a deed in hand.

Hopefully Angel or Rod will jump in on our discussion.

Sincerely,

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Floyd Z Whistle-Stop

Floyd Z

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Rapid Growth has an interesting article regarding the Belknap area:

"A real estate development and property management company operating in Belknap Lookout is funding a series of public charrettes with a goal of helping neighborhood residents establish a plan to develop housing, retail, and restaurants in the neighborhood. "There was a time when there was a laundromat and a grocery store, a bank you could walk to," Gonzalez says. "Will those businesses serve our needs today, or do we want a deli or a coffee shop, instead?"

Another goal of the Belknap neighborhood's Area Specific Plan process is to develop housing for a variety of residents, lifestyles, and incomes ranging from college students to senior citizens. The charrettes will focus specifically on the types of housing, locations, and density that will most effectively accelerate revitalization."

Read the Full article here: http://rapidgrowthmedia.com/developmentnews/belknap0313.aspx

I think it's wonderful that this area is going through a change. It would be awesome to see Belknap full of restaurants, shops, cafes, high-density housing and maybe even office or a grocery store. What does everyone else think?

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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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Rapid Growth has an interesting article regarding the Belknap area:

"A real estate development and property management company operating in Belknap Lookout is funding a series of public charrettes with a goal of helping neighborhood residents establish a plan to develop housing, retail, and restaurants in the neighborhood. "There was a time when there was a laundromat and a grocery store, a bank you could walk to," Gonzalez says. "Will those businesses serve our needs today, or do we want a deli or a coffee shop, instead?"

Another goal of the Belknap neighborhood's Area Specific Plan process is to develop housing for a variety of residents, lifestyles, and incomes ranging from college students to senior citizens. The charrettes will focus specifically on the types of housing, locations, and density that will most effectively accelerate revitalization."

Read the Full article here: http://rapidgrowthmedia.com/developmentnews/belknap0313.aspx

I think it's wonderful that this area is going through a change. It would be awesome to see Belknap full of restaurants, shops, cafes, high-density housing and maybe even office or a grocery store. What does everyone else think?

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Veloise City

Veloise

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Posted
Rapid Growth has an interesting article regarding the Belknap area:

"A real estate development and property management company operating in Belknap Lookout is funding a series of public charrettes with a goal of helping neighborhood residents establish a plan to develop housing, retail, and restaurants in the neighborhood. "There was a time when there was a laundromat and a grocery store, a bank you could walk to," Gonzalez says. "Will those businesses serve our needs today, or do we want a deli or a coffee shop, instead?"

...

Read the Full article here: http://rapidgrowthmedia.com/developmentnews/belknap0313.aspx

I think it's wonderful that this area is going through a change. It would be awesome to see Belknap full of restaurants, shops, cafes, high-density housing and maybe even office or a grocery store. What does everyone else think?

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e49418 Unincorporated Area

e49418

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Not being too familiar with that area, I was poking around on maps.live.com.

What's that octagonal mound at the south end of Belknap Park?

If I were looking to redevelop that area I start with housing around Coit Park. Possibly some townhouses on the north end, and move out from there. What a great "town square" that would make!

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aiga1 Crossroads

aiga1

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Can't wait. (Did I describe the furnace repair push-back encountered from this article's spokesperson? Perhaps he'll implement a coffee shop without running water or a deli that had no counters. "Gee, I forgot my checkbook. My father-in-law took the keys with him to Florida.")

[cynical]

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