Division / Wealthy and ICCF

[Prankster]

“The grocery store concept is not dead. But we're also open to other opportunities on that block," said ICCF Executive Director Ryan VerWys. The new senior living apartments would bolster the case for building a grocery store on the site, he said.

 

when are people around here going to realize that “low income”, “restricted income”, “fixed income”, “no income” is not going to attract the amenities (shops, grocery stores, etc.) that they want. 

I have absolutely no problem with this project, or most of the other low end projects. What I do have a problem with is this expectation that it is building a critical mass to attract businesses. This is not the demographic they are looking for. 

[GR_Urbanist]

Yeah, sadly seniors in yet another low-income project isn't going to bring it when it comes to retail, and this is coming from someone whose senior parents are on a REALLY fixed income that I hope move into a place like this someday.

With the homeless shelters as entrenched as ever, and too few people of means living close by, a grocery is indeed looking like a pipe dream.

[MiGuyz]

Anyone know the story of this:

https://www.grar.com/property/mls/18019482

[EastownLeo]

19 hours ago, MiGuyz said:

Anyone know the story of this:

https://www.grar.com/property/mls/18019482

not found.

[MiGuyz]

Hmmm.  It was an approximately 1/2 acre undisclosed lot near Wealthy and Division for sale.  It was listed with Berkshire Hathaway at over $2 million.   The listing stated that the owner didn't want it publicly marketed.  Just wondering if anyone had more info.

Here is the cached listing.

[destijl]

Looks like La Grave Avenue.

 

[GRDadof3]

14 minutes ago, destijl said:

Looks like La Grave Avenue.

 

333 La Grave actually, Wealthy Body Shop. I assume they were forced to pull the listing because it didn't contain a parcel # or a lot of other details. And you had to sign a confidentiality agreement to find out more info about the property. 

$2.175 Million for .4475 acres.

[GR_Urbanist]

Is it safe to assume that we are looking at the future home of St. Mary's newest parking lot or place to store their old office furniture and other assorted junk?

[walker]

On 2/20/2018 at 10:24 AM, GR_Urbanist said:

This one kind of flew under the radar.

 

"104-unit senior living development eyed for Tapestry Square"

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2018/02/104-unit_senior_living_project.html

 

ICCF asks planning commission for approval to build seven story senior housing building:

senior housing

[GR_Urbanist]

From another Mlive story on the project.

 

So far, It at least occupies the site well enough. No massive surface lot either facing Division or helping to relegate Sheldon to a back service alley status. The street wall on Wealthy and Division gets the most love, which is good. And 7 stories is a nice height for the area. Senior housing may land a CVS or Walgreens there. At least a Rite Aid, hopefully.

[GRDadof3]

On 6/3/2018 at 4:28 PM, GR_Urbanist said:

From another Mlive story on the project.

 

So far, It at least occupies the site well enough. No massive surface lot either facing Division or helping to relegate Sheldon to a back service alley status. The street wall on Wealthy and Division gets the most love, which is good. And 7 stories is a nice height for the area. Senior housing may land a CVS or Walgreens there. At least a Rite Aid, hopefully.

7 stories would look huge in that area. I don't think it would look out of place though.

[GVSUChris]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

7 stories would look huge in that area. I don't think it would look out of place though.

I don't actually think anything is going to be 7 stories. The media picked this up and started saying that but in all of the ICCF's plans the highest building might POTENTIALLY be six floors at that would be at the corner. The zoning change allows for buildings UP TO 7 stories and the media ran with "they're building a 7-story building!" Having spoken personally with one of the people involved in this project, this isn't about making the site more flexible with height/size as it is making it TOD which allows them to reduce parking considerably. As it stands, this project will likely be 5 stories, which is still a nice bump in density at that area.  I probably could have been more concise saying that but the short of the long is that ICCF never said anything about a 7-story building nor have they planned one - the media just got carried away when they learned that TOD would allow up to 7-stories. 

[GVSUChris]

So this is a little obscure but I saw this pic on a friend’s Instagram post and figured this is about as close as we are going to get for now for a rendering of the seven story  senior living center on Division. I’m sure it’ll change but I think it is pretty nice for the spot as is. Sorry for the odd pic - it’s about as good as we are going to get for now. 

[x99]

1 hour ago, GVSUChris said:

So this is a little obscure but I saw this pic on a friend’s Instagram post and figured this is about as close as we are going to get for now for a rendering of the seven story  senior living center on Division. I’m sure it’ll change but I think it is pretty nice for the spot as is. Sorry for the odd pic - it’s about as good as we are going to get for now. 

I'm sure it will be fairly good quality.  ICCF so far has shown a fairly good commitment to quality traditionalist urban architecture.  It's not always the latest trend, but it's also not dated and trashy looking in 10 years.  They're building for the long haul, which is a pretty good philosophy.

[GVSUChris]

On 12/10/2018 at 12:35 PM, GVSUChris said:

So this is a little obscure but I saw this pic on a friend’s Instagram post and figured this is about as close as we are going to get for now for a rendering of the seven story  senior living center on Division. I’m sure it’ll change but I think it is pretty nice for the spot as is. Sorry for the odd pic - it’s about as good as we are going to get for now. 

Better version than a picture of some binders:

 

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, GVSUChris said:

Better version than a picture of some binders:

 

Wow, that project is huge. And this would be the side facing Division? Or facing Wealthy? 

[GVSUChris]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

Wow, that project is huge. And this would be the side facing Division? Or facing Wealthy? 

Division. The corner will still be empty for future project(s). 

[GVSUChris]

I saw that the Grand Rapids Food Co-op announced this weekend that their grocery store will be in the ground floor of a new ICCF mixed-use building at Wealthy and Division. 

Curious that ICCF hasn't made any announcements reflecting this. 

[GVSUChris]

On 2/4/2019 at 4:33 PM, GVSUChris said:

I saw that the Grand Rapids Food Co-op announced this weekend that their grocery store will be in the ground floor of a new ICCF mixed-use building at Wealthy and Division. 

Curious that ICCF hasn't made any announcements reflecting this. 

Quoting myself to also include this picture they posted today. Obviously this is a VERY early plan/concept. 

[EastownLeo]

On 2/4/2019 at 4:33 PM, GVSUChris said:

I saw that the Grand Rapids Food Co-op announced this weekend that their grocery store will be in the ground floor of a new ICCF mixed-use building at Wealthy and Division. 

Curious that ICCF hasn't made any announcements reflecting this. 

I watched the video on their Facebook page about the announcement.   They seemed to say that they "hoped" and that it was not confirmed.  They also stated that the building they are "hoping" to get into would not be built for a few years.   I guess it seems a bit early to announce when you have no contract or agreement, you have years to wait until the space is completed.

[GRDadof3]

22 hours ago, GVSUChris said:

Quoting myself to also include this picture they posted today. Obviously this is a VERY early plan/concept. 

That's a huge project. The orange boxes are still just imagined, correct? 

[joeDowntown]

3 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

That's a huge project. The orange boxes are still just imagined, correct? 

That's actually the final design. Haha 

[Guest]

That';s a pretty significant amount of parking

[GRDadof3]

8 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

That's actually the final design. Haha 

Grand Rapids has stepped to a new design standard: jello mold form. 

[elcelc]

Regarding the food co-op timeline, two years off is actually a good thing.  They now have time to build their membership base which will help in funding.  With a location announced, they should see an immediate bump in membership and it's now on the radar for those who were unaware of the co-op before.  It's a bit slower process than a big corporation just spitting out a six-figure check to secure the location.