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Developer Plans 250-Unit Project For Grand Rapids’ Celebration Village

Victory Development Group is planning a 250-unit mixed use project in Grand Rapids’ Celebration Village. The developer is seeking a planned redevelopment district amendment for Celebration Apartments, a mixed-use apartment project it is proposing. The Grand Rapids City Planning Commission will hear the request on January 12. Victory Development group will ask for a change in use or character of the development, an increase in residential density, and an increase to five stories from the maximum allowable building height of four stories. The project would be located on the only remaining vacant parcel in the Celebration Village commercial development. Victory Development Group is the firm behind the 280 Ann and Victory on Leonard apartment projects on Grand Rapids’ northwest side.

 

Proposed Mixed-Use Development in Roseville Brings Hope and Criticism

Hawasli Homes is planning a multi-story, mixed-use development on a 1.2-acre vacant site on Utica Road. The site once held the Tip-Top Bar. While unanimously approved by the Roseville City  Council on Tuesday, the plan is not without controversy. Neighborhood residents say the 81,000-square-foot building will be too out-of-place in the residential area. They want its height to be capped at two stories. The four-story building will be one of the tallest buildings in Roseville. The first floor of the building will be utilized for commercial purposes like a deli, a UPS store, a studio, etc.  The site will include 166 parking sites and studio-sized, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Critics of the plan worry that the number of parking sites exceeds the city’s requirements and that the project will increase traffic on the two-lane Utica Road. City officials hope the proposed development will transform downtown Roseville into a transit- and pedestrian-friendly location.

Emagine Is Moving To Walsh College Troy Site

.Emagine Entertainment Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Walsh College campus in Troy. The company has leased the second floor of the college’s facility for three years. The building includes an on-site gym, showers, and conference space. Emagine’s Chariman Paul Glantz hopes the amenities will entice workers to come back tot he office. Emagine has hired several Walsh interns and graduates and hopes the new environment will lead to finding and hiring more talent. The company will make the move in January.

 

Grand Rapids and Grand Haven Receive State Funding For Contamination Cleanup

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has awarded a $1.73 million brownfield cleanup grant to Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. The monies will be used for three residential and mixed-use projects on properties contaminated by gas and oil. Grand Rapids’ Boston Square Together is one of the projects that will benefit from the grant, enabling the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to address the environmental contamination on the site. The monies will also be used for future commercial condominiums in Grand Haven and a planned residential development in northeast Grand Rapids.

 

New District Detroit Development Includes Hotels, Housing, Retail and Offices

Olympia Development and Related Companies have released details about a $1.5 billion development that create housing, retail and hotel properties in the District Detroit.  The plans include 695 mixed-income residential unites, 1.2 million square feet of commercial office space, 100,000 square feet of retail and 467 hotel rooms across 10 downtown Detroit properties. The project will involve constructing six buildings and renovating four buildings. Upon completion, the project is expected to create more than 6,000 jobs and generate more than $500 million in wages annually.

 

Gun Lake Tribe Plans Development on U.S. 131

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (the Gun Lake Tribe) has begun a six-month planning process for a development on 1,200 acres along U.S. 131 in Allegan County. The tribe has been buying land for years, with most of the acreage between 133rd and 128th avenues on the east side of U.S. 131.  The development could bring retail, housing, health care, manufacturing, entertainment and dining establishments. The tribe and Gun Lake Investements (the tribe’s non-gaming economic development arm) hired St. Charles WBK Engineering to oversee the planning. The planning process will help the tribe evaluate non-gaming opportunities for the site.

 

Grand Rapids Planning Commission Approves Plans For Multi-Use Development

The Grand Rapids City Planning Commission approved plans for The McConnell, a 432-unit apartment, restaurant and retail building south of downtown Grand Rapids. The project plans will reuse an existing industrial building in addition to new construction. The commission unanimously approved special land use and optional  plan review requests for the project. The special land use request was for a reduction in required parking, alcohol sales and consumption, live entertainment, banquet functions and outdoor seating. The developers of the project include Chicago-based Krika Development, Boston-based Spire Investment Properties and Suitepeople, based in McLean, Virginia.

 

 

Trinity Health Systems Plans Mixed-Use Development in Grand Rapids

Livonia-based Trinity Health System has its sights set on 10 parking lots in downtown Grand Rapids, but it’s not for a new hospital site. They are seeking $19 million in federal funding to convert the lots into a mixed-used development to ease the city’s affordable housing shortage.  Trinity was one of 319 applicants to submit requests to Kent County for a share of the $127 million awarded to the county in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)  funding. The Kent County Board of Commissioners will most likely finalize its remaining ARPA allocations at a November 14 meeting. Trinity Health is exploring additional funding sources for the project, including Brownfield Redevelopment Authority tax credits, Michigan Community Revitalization Program and Michigan Missing Middle Housing Program funds and a philanthropy and capital allocation from Trinity itself.

 

 

Detroit Developer Revamps Plans For Grand Rapids’ Furniture Company Property

Detroit developer, Sturgeon Bay Partners is revamping its plan for a huge apartment complex southwest of downtown Grand Rapids. The previously announced plan was to convert the historic Sligh Furniture property into a mixed-use development with residential, retail and commercial spaces. The project’s current price tag is at $100 million due to rising construction costs and interest rates. The developer is revising its plans for the concept design and mix of incentives. The original plan was to create a mixed-use devlopment with 753 apartmes, a five-story parking garage and ground-floor retail space.

 

Nonprofit Tackles Grand Rapids’ Homelessness Issue

Mel Trotter Ministries is targeting Grand Rapids’ homelessness issue. The city planning commission recently granted approval to the nonprofit’s plans to rezone three industrial lots on Garden St. SE into a planned redevelopment district. Mel Trotter Ministries plans to build a mixed-use tiny home development called Hope Village. It will include 16 detached tiny homes and the redevelopment of a vacant two-story industrial building to add 10 workforce apartments upstairs. The ground level will be used for amenities, social services and offices and space for light industrial tenants. They tiny home will be 240 to 480 square feet. They will be available to tenants who make 20 to 40 percent of the area median income. They will also come with a path to ownership.