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38 Commerce Development

mgreven

By mgreven
in Grand Rapids

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CK1 Whistle-Stop

CK1

Posted
Posted

I can say for the Plante & Moran building, having "free" parking on-site (vs. paying through the nose to park at the Bridgewater building) had a big part in making the numbers work for the new location.

As long as parking is not cost-prohibitive and in ample supply downtown (as it currently is), virtually all companies with any desire to be downtown will require at least semi-convenient parking. It's just the way it is. Eventually (talking years and years, not sometime this decade) mass transit could become a critical part of people getting downtown, but it's not going to happen at the flip of a switch, and I think developers downtown need to embrace this fact. Embrace the future in plans, but develop with an eye on what the status quo still is.

I'd compare it to Chicago. People take mass transit to their jobs not because they wake up every morning with a huge desire to squeeze into an overcrowded el train or bus for the 20 minute ride, but because it costs $2 to get to work that way vs. an hour driving the same distance and then having to pay $40 to park for the day. Money speaks for itself, and until people are "forced" to chose with their wallet, parking downtown will continue to be very necessary.

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Veloise City

Veloise

Posted
Posted
There are quite a few companies (albeit small companies) that have either recently moved downtown or are thinking about it: Nederveld, Pro-Care, Alexander Marketing, True North, Foxbright, Key Impact, Brann's, Catholic Diocese, Women's Health Center, and probably a few I've forgotten.
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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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A younger (and by that I don't necessarily mean millennials) generation of entrepreneurs who embrace the urban core and will give up a few conveniences (like parking 10 feet from the office door). I think these companies already exist out in the suburbs where rent is cheap, but just need to mature enough to handle the extra overhead it requires to be downtown.

Personally, I'd gladly pay $150/mth to hike my arse 3-5 blocks to work everyday, but I might be in the minority here.

Joe

Agreed, that is why I am curious what the poster is referring to not the norm. While smaller companies tend to be making the move, I am curious as to what many UP'ers think it would take to get a large company to make the move downtown. . .
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  • 2 weeks later...
PBJ Burg

PBJ

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What's going on with the Residential here? I saw the stuff on their website about commercial, but nothing about the condo availability, pricing, sizing etc... I quickly went through the thread and didn't see anything obvious..

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