Hey, what's that?

[GRDadof3]

6 hours ago, Pattmost20 said:

After they moved to Packard Ave, I was curious what was going on with the building. Looked into the records and it appears Valley City Linen bought it. I don't have high hopes that they will do anything cool with the property.

I actually saw this on an agenda recently, that Valley City Linen was expanding (or maybe making it a parking lot?). Didn't think it was worth posting.  

[EastownLeo]

15 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

I actually saw this on an agenda recently, that Valley City Linen was expanding (or maybe making it a parking lot?). Didn't think it was worth posting.  

From What I have read they are expanding more facility, not parking.

[EastownLeo]

On 10/2/2017 at 10:10 AM, EastownLeo said:

From What I have read they are expanding more facility, not parking.

"Construction of approximately an 11,000 square foot building addition for added facilities to Valley City Linen. Structure will consist of concrete, structural steel, masonry and new landscaping. "

[GR_Urbanist]

Three Misc. projects around town:

New Dollar Tree building on S. Division just south of Franklin. Boy, looks like Dollar Tree can actually put an effort into making their storefront not look like a bunker *hint* Dollar General *hint*. And it is actually built to the sidewalk! Wonder of wonders!

I actually really love Dollar Tree's stores as they are always clean, bright, have great products, and everything is actually 1 dollar. Too bad Uptown got stuck with the 2 crappy brands.

This is the former fish restaurant by Leonard and Plainfeild  under renovation. No sign as to what is coming there.

And on the corner of Burton and Breton, a new building is going up. Looks to be a Rite Aide, because goodness knows GR is short on pharmacys.  Maybe they will shock us and have an entrance facing the street?

[walker]

24 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:

 

This is the former fish restaurant by Leonard and Plainfeild  under renovation. No sign as to what is coming there.

 

Nobody asked but back when I was a kid in the fifties, this building was a Standard Oil gas station.  The reason it has a second floor is because the oil company had offices up there.  Across the street on the east side of Plainfield they had storage tanks for what I assume was probably heating oil.   

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, walker said:

Nobody asked but back when I was a kid in the fifties, this building was a Standard Oil gas station.  The reason it has a second floor is because the oil company had offices up there.  Across the street on the east side of Plainfield they had storage tanks for what I assume was probably heating oil.   

That's interesting. My whole life, I thought it was some sort of train depot (somewhat logical conclusion in my mind with all of the rails close by). It wasn't until the started gutting it that I realized it was a gas station.

Joe

[Pattmost20]

1 hour ago, GR_Urbanist said:

This is the former fish restaurant by Leonard and Plainfeild  under renovation. No sign as to what is coming there.

I was super bummed when Peter's Camera Repair closed up shop. That place was a gem. Hopefully whatever goes in here will bring some life back to that corner.

[mgreven]

I feel like I heard it was a real estate office but I can’t seem to remember who...

[ctpgr34]

38 minutes ago, mgreven said:

I feel like I heard it was a real estate office but I can’t seem to remember who...

616 Realty

[mgreven]

20 minutes ago, ctpgr34 said:

616 Realty

Yep!  That's it!  I was almost gonna say that. Not to be confused with the other 616.

[ctpgr34]

2 hours ago, mgreven said:

Yep!  That's it!  I was almost gonna say that. Not to be confused with the other 616.

Correct, they are currently on North Park by the North Park bridge north of Riverside Park

[wmrharris]

13 hours ago, GR_Urbanist said:

Three Misc. projects around town:

New Dollar Tree building on S. Division just south of Franklin. Boy, looks like Dollar Tree can actually put an effort into making their storefront not look like a bunker *hint* Dollar General *hint*. And it is actually built to the sidewalk! Wonder of wonders!

I actually really love Dollar Tree's stores as they are always clean, bright, have great products, and everything is actually 1 dollar. Too bad Uptown got stuck with the 2 crappy brands.

This is the former fish restaurant by Leonard and Plainfeild  under renovation. No sign as to what is coming there.

And on the corner of Burton and Breton, a new building is going up. Looks to be a Rite Aide, because goodness knows GR is short on pharmacys.  Maybe they will shock us and have an entrance facing the street?

The  Rite-Aid is part of the de-malling of Breton Village. It's not a new pharmacy, but the shifting of the existing one that once was inside the mall. Probably should try for a photo of the actual de-malling: they've ripped out a lot.

[GRDadof3]

10 hours ago, wmrharris said:

The  Rite-Aid is part of the de-malling of Breton Village. It's not a new pharmacy, but the shifting of the existing one that once was inside the mall. Probably should try for a photo of the actual de-malling: they've ripped out a lot.

I would agree, the de-malling is quite something.  Has a very intimate feel to it (so far), kudos CWD. 

[GR_Urbanist]

Photos of the project on the corner of Ann and Turner today. I'm pleasantly surprised that it fronts the corner with no setbacks!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by GR_Urbanist

[RegalTDP]

I never noticed this before, but Google Maps has a marker in the middle of the river:

So I course I had to look up wherever the heck that came from.  This is the only tidbit I could find:

Quote

In the late 1800s a man named Mr. Garritt VanderMeer, who was working for Consumer's Power Company, bravely agreed to be the one to bring the electrical powerline from the downtown power plant on the eastern riverbank to the western riverbank, so that everyone there could enjoy the benefits of electricity. He walked into the river with the long cable looped over his shoulder, step by treacherous step, he made his way to the half-way point and rested at the concrete-looking "rock" in the river. (This is located across from the Grand Rapids Public Museum) Others had whispered that; "Only someone who had run away from home, joined the circus to work as an acrobat on the flying trapeze, and oh, that terrible accident, where during one performance, he had fallen, and landed on his head, would be crazy enough to risk Those waters". When he regained his breath, he continued on, one foot in front of the other, and when my great-grandpa reached the shore, the cheer went up. Soon the cable was connected to the wire systems on the West side, the power surged, and from that day forth, that "rock" has always been known as "Garritt's Piling".

No idea how true any of this is.  Just thought I would share.

Edited March 2, 2018 by RegalTDP

[Prankster]

Ironically enough, Fort Wayne has a blue lit truss bridge - Wells Street Bridge. 

[RegalTDP]

32 minutes ago, Prankster said:

Ironically enough, Fort Wayne has a blue lit truss bridge - Wells Street Bridge. 

 

Love it!  But I probably wouldn't get married there.

[joeDowntown]

I’m pretty sure I drove on it a few weeks back. I still like our bridge better. Ft. Wayne actually has some nice older buildings and they had a winter festival that was pretty hopping when I was down there. It’s a nicer city than most give it credit. 

Joe

[Allison Slater]

On 3/2/2018 at 4:15 PM, RegalTDP said:

I never noticed this before, but Google Maps has a marker in the middle of the river:

So I course I had to look up wherever the heck that came from.  This is the only tidbit I could find:

No idea how true any of this is.  Just thought I would share.

I'm not sure that's very factual.  It sounds like it's treating that rock as though it were always a rock, but that's not true.  The rock is just the remains of a concrete piling used to suspend a power line over the river for Consumer's Energy.  (That much was true, at least.)

[GR_Urbanist]

So, what's going on with the old MoDiv?

 

I'm assuming MoDiv is no longer a thing, and that something new is going in.

The new frontage on Division is looking really nice for whatever is going there.

[ctpgr34]

On 7/24/2018 at 8:10 PM, GR_Urbanist said:

So, what's going on with the old MoDiv?

 

I'm assuming MoDiv is no longer a thing, and that something new is going in.

The new frontage on Division is looking really nice for whatever is going there.

It sounds like it is being converted into 2 spaces,  RODOLFO GONZALES INTERIOR DESIGN & another business

[joeDowntown]

Does anyone know what's going on with the Mercantile headquarters (Leonard / Front)? The whole south side of the building is under construction. I drove by and they have a large section of the parking lot fenced off. Are they building an addition? If I remember correctly, Mercantile wanted to have two identical buildings on that spot (then the recession hit). 

Joe

[GRDadof3]

2 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Does anyone know what's going on with the Mercantile headquarters (Leonard / Front)? The whole south side of the building is under construction. I drove by and they have a large section of the parking lot fenced off. Are they building an addition? If I remember correctly, Mercantile wanted to have two identical buildings on that spot (then the recession hit). 

Joe

They actually had plans to build on the riverfront on one of those industrial parcels but it was tabled in 2016. Maybe they're just adding onto their building..

Oh here ya go Joe:

4-story, 27,000 square foot building expansion and parking lot improvements to an existing 4-story, 61,000 square foot bank and office building. Relocation of the bank drive through.

[mgreven]

I was at the corner of Leonard and Alpine and next to the new apartment building that’s going up it looks like someone is renovating another building and pulling the siding off to reveal an ad for a horseshoe store. Anyone know the scoop? Is this just the first time I noticed this? Is it really old enough to be from the era of horseshoes?

 

 

[walker]

1 hour ago, mgreven said:

I was at the corner of Leonard and Alpine and next to the new apartment building that’s going up it looks like someone is renovating another building and pulling the siding off to reveal an ad for a horseshoe store. Anyone know the scoop? Is this just the first time I noticed this? Is it really old enough to be from the era of horseshoes?

 

 

Googled Baker Wagons and Sleighs and came up with this story that channel 17 did last week:

grand-rapids-family-history-revealed-on-west-side-renovated-building

Edited August 13, 2018 by walker