People talking about Grand Rapids

[joeDowntown]

On 12/11/2016 at 0:06 PM, SEsideguy said:

1970's Thunderchicken!!!!!!!

Thunderchicken is the best name ever. I've always thought, if I opened a bar, I'd resurrect that brand.

My parents told me Thunderchicken had a light up dance floor similar to Saturday Night Fever. Sweet!

Joe

[SEsideguy]

The only problem was it had tiered levels. The more you drank the harder it was to walk up and down.  The dance floor was cool.

[GR8scott]

anyone been the the old maze craze raves?

[SEsideguy]

All the chicks looked like Eric Foremans sister on "That 70's Show" and no bras!!!!!!!

[ctpgr34]

Winchester featured this week- http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/01/the_winchester_to_be_featured.html#incart_river_home

[arcturus]

Grand Rapids #13 in 'most recovered' midsized city.  Throw out TX and it comes in #5.

https://wallethub.com/edu/most-least-recession-recovered-cities/5219/

[RegalTDP]

On 1/9/2017 at 8:02 AM, ctpgr34 said:

Winchester featured this week- http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/01/the_winchester_to_be_featured.html#incart_river_home

Did anyone catch this on TV?  I don't have Cooking Channel, so I haven't seen it.  The entire episode featured GR.  You can look up everything they sampled in the show's location guide (scroll down to #207, "Great Lakes Craves"). They went to Anna's House, Donkey Taqueria, and Stella's Lounge, in addition to Winchester.

I'm surprised this wasn't better publicized.  All four restaurants posted about this on social media, but somehow only Winchester got picked up by MLive.

 

[GRDadof3]

Grand Rapids #3 tightest real estate market in the country. This report is for SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, not apartments. 

http://www.grbj.com/articles/87064-grand-rapids-housing-shortage-ranks-no-3-in-us

Not sure how the apartment occupancy is doing. Anyone see recent stats for 2016? 

[thebeerqueer]

34 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

Grand Rapids #3 tightest real estate market in the country. This report is for SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, not apartments. 

http://www.grbj.com/articles/87064-grand-rapids-housing-shortage-ranks-no-3-in-us

Not sure how the apartment occupancy is doing. Anyone see recent stats for 2016? 

I can speak about Fulton Place being at 80% rented. Not sure about other projects. 

1 hour ago, RegalTDP said:

Did anyone catch this on TV?  I don't have Cooking Channel, so I haven't seen it.  The entire episode featured GR.  You can look up everything they sampled in the show's location guide (scroll down to #207, "Great Lakes Craves"). They went to Anna's House, Donkey Taqueria, and Stella's Lounge, in addition to Winchester.

I'm surprised this wasn't better publicized.  All four restaurants posted about this on social media, but somehow only Winchester got picked up by MLive.

 

I didn't catch it but it's available on-demand. 

[arcturus]

48 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

Grand Rapids #3 tightest real estate market in the country. This report is for SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, not apartments. 

http://www.grbj.com/articles/87064-grand-rapids-housing-shortage-ranks-no-3-in-us

Not sure how the apartment occupancy is doing. Anyone see recent stats for 2016? 

Detroit ranks #7.  Guess they leveled too many.

[GRLaker]

It doesn't help that builders in the Grand Rapids area don't build middle class homes. Every new housing development is made up of homes that cost $300+ thousand. It is really putting a lot of people in this area in a bad position.

[GRDadof3]

18 hours ago, GRLaker said:

It doesn't help that builders in the Grand Rapids area don't build middle class homes. Every new housing development is made up of homes that cost $300+ thousand. It is really putting a lot of people in this area in a bad position.

It's not the builders' fault(s).

When lots START at $60,000, and you basically can't build a decent house for less than $120/sf anymore, you easily shoot up to close to $300,000. Plus many municipalities have house size minimums that you have to adhere to. Not to mention that code requirements keep increasing every year thanks to your State and Federal governments, and that's what happens. 

Just like it's hard for developers to build apartments buildings that rent for less than $2/sf now. 

 

[x99]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

When lots START at $60,000, and you basically can't build a decent house for less than $120/sf anymore, you easily shoot up to close to $300,000. Plus many municipalities have house size minimums that you have to adhere to. Not to mention that code requirements keep increasing every year thanks to your State and Federal governments, and that's what happens. 

^^^^^^^^^^This.

Building code and development requirements have gotten completely out of hand.  By the time you add up all the added costs from recently imposed energy and building code requirements, lot width minimums, stormwater management, infrastructure, permitting costs, and everything else, we have basically priced working class to lower middle class homes right out of existence.  It's been a long, slow death by a thousand cuts, and I'm not sure what the solution is other than scrapping a lot of this stuff and starting over.  A lot of it was well intentioned, a significant amount was rent seeking by manufacturers redrafting code provisions to require you to but their stuff, but all of it was done without a care to the ultimate affect on affordability.   It's not a new phenomenon, by any means, but it just keeps snowballing.  Same thing with cars.  Sure, they're better, but now new ones have gotten so expensive (in real, inflation adjusted terms) that you can't hardly afford them.  Ick.  I'm starting to sound like a cranky old man.

Edited January 19, 2017 by x99

[ctpgr34]

2 hours ago, x99 said:

^^^^^^^^^^This.

Building code and development requirements have gotten completely out of hand.  By the time you add up all the added costs from recently imposed energy and building code requirements, lot width minimums, stormwater management, infrastructure, permitting costs, and everything else, we have basically priced working class to lower middle class homes right out of existence.  It's been a long, slow death by a thousand cuts, and I'm not sure what the solution is other than scrapping a lot of this stuff and starting over.  A lot of it was well intentioned, a significant amount was rent seeking by manufacturers redrafting code provisions to require you to but their stuff, but all of it was done without a care to the ultimate affect on affordability.   It's not a new phenomenon, by any means, but it just keeps snowballing.  Same thing with cars.  Sure, they're better, but now new ones have gotten so expensive (in real, inflation adjusted terms) that you can't hardly afford them.  Ick.  I'm starting to sound like a cranky old man.

x99?

[GR_Urbanist]

Is it just a matter that we are simply out of room? I dont imagine there are too many empty places in the city to build more homes. Plenty of places that waste acres on parking lots, but no real virgin plots.

Part of me wishes large areas of older homes could be demolished, and the lots made smaller, with more compact houses, which seems to be the big trend these days (at least according to Dwell magazine).

 

[EastownLeo]

2 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

Is it just a matter that we are simply out of room? I dont imagine there are too many empty places in the city to build more homes. Plenty of places that waste acres on parking lots, but no real virgin plots.

Part of me wishes large areas of older homes could be demolished, and the lots made smaller, with more compact houses, which seems to be the big trend these days (at least according to Dwell magazine).

 

Seems like there may still be a lot of land, relatively close to downtown where specific, well designed, communities could be built.  (depending on the mines below)

Maybe more like.  http://www.mosaicproperties.com/celadon.php

 

[walker]

3 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

Seems like there may still be a lot of land, relatively close to downtown where specific, well designed, communities could be built.  (depending on the mines below)

 

Or think out of the box and utilize the mines.  How about well designed communities in the mines:

[GRDadof3]

5 hours ago, EastownLeo said:

Seems like there may still be a lot of land, relatively close to downtown where specific, well designed, communities could be built.  (depending on the mines below)

Maybe more like.  http://www.mosaicproperties.com/celadon.php

 

That entire swath of land all the way to Wilson is un-developable, from what I've heard. It's not just mines, but gypsum deposits. You can't get financing, you can't put in wells, you can't run water and sewer, nada. 

For the most part, I should say. You'll find a few developments tucked in there. 

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

Is it just a matter that we are simply out of room? I dont imagine there are too many empty places in the city to build more homes. Plenty of places that waste acres on parking lots, but no real virgin plots.

Part of me wishes large areas of older homes could be demolished, and the lots made smaller, with more compact houses, which seems to be the big trend these days (at least according to Dwell magazine).

 

This report isn't about the city of GR, it's about the entire metro area. 

But yes, unlike cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids does not have a lot of empty lots left. The few that are left are in areas where no human should live. 

[uncus]

The few that are left are in areas where no human should live. 

Hmmm

I guess you can have your opinion on where humans should live, but there are some empty lots within a few blocks of my house. There are not many, but all the people living around them don't seem to mind the neighborhood.

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, uncus said:

 

Hmmm

I guess you can have your opinion on where humans should live, but there are some empty lots within a few blocks of my house. There are not many, but all the people living around them don't seem to mind the neighborhood.

 

They're still sitting empty because everyone is fighting over them? 

My examples of where humans shouldn't live: next to a giant factory, next to a metal scrapyard, in an area overrun with gangs and drug houses, in an area where the water, sewer, streets and sidewalk infrastructure has completely deteriorated. You can find empty lots in those areas. 

[GRLaker]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

They're still sitting empty because everyone is fighting over them? 

My examples of where humans shouldn't live: next to a giant factory, next to a metal scrapyard, in an area overrun with gangs and drug houses, in an area where the water, sewer, streets and sidewalk infrastructure has completely deteriorated. You can find empty lots in those areas. 

Agreed. There is plenty of land for growth in Grand Rapids proper, but it would take a massive overhaul of the surrounding areas to make it actually worth developing. 

[MJLO]

I've wondered why the metro area is so unevenly developed.  Areas north and west of downtown turn rural within minutes of downtown.  Whereas areas south and east of the river are fairly densely built out for miles.  What gives?

[uncus]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

They're still sitting empty because everyone is fighting over them? 

Maybe -  but I'm guessing it more likely because it is much less expensive to buy the existing house next door and fix it up, than to build new.  But that might be changing.   Three new homes intended to be rentals are  going up in wealthy height right now 

 

[x99]

12 minutes ago, MJLO said:

I've wondered why the metro area is so unevenly developed.  Areas north and west of downtown turn rural within minutes of downtown.  Whereas areas south and east of the river are fairly densely built out for miles.  What gives?

Historically, that was farm land that did not get built.  Today, it is land that will not be built with single family homes the school districts generally do not warrant the infrastructure costs.