Michigan's tallest residential building beginning to rise in Grand Rapids

[Virginia1]

Well.......I may be moving to GR shortly, just waiting for HR to give me a salary quote. I have been offered the postion but HR has to speak with the Dept. Head. If anyone has followed my story it's been a long one. Fiance in Flint is hoping HR comes up with a decent number, then I will be only 1 1/2 hours away vs. 12 hours away. If not....well back to the drawing board. But I have been keeping an eye on GR and visiting only 3 times on a superficial level the folks seem to be nice. The city itself has some modern buildings mixed with old ones which I like. Will keep posted and Magellan thanks for the update and pics.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

So its location is right next to a freeway interchange? Uhmmm...

Yeah, like all those condo towers going up on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. No one in the city likes the sound of traffic...

I'll be out on the 19th floor patio of Bridgewater (the existing tower to the right) next week. I'll let you know how noisy it is.

Here it is even bigger. The crane is set to rise another 100' or so this coming week and next, and then it will rise again later this year to a total height of 486'. The total condo tower height is supposed to come in around 406'.



BTW: Good luck Virginia1!! I do remember when you first came on here.

[MIhome]

Originally Posted by Zmehappy

Yea Grand Rapids. Were moving ahead and up!

I've said it before and i'll say it again,unfortunatly.The base of any good economy is C-O-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N.Look at all the places that have booming economies,and what is at the helm,C-O-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N.If anyone up there ever figure's that out,it would be a paradise.

[magellan]

An updated picture of this project, still steaming ahead. It still has about 10 more floors to go.



I know two people moving into this beast. Can't wait to go visit em!

[Silkdashocker]

That's a nice looking residential facility. I have a friend that lives in Cereal City (Battle Creek) I'll ask him if he's seen this yet.

[AngelfaceAZ]

Wow! By the time I get back to Michigan sometime this summer that thing will probably be finished. Can't wait to see it. Looks nice next to the bridgewater place too....and to think that when I was a kid the Amway Grand Plaza was the "flashiest" building in GR lol. It's really cool to go downtown and watch the firworks reflect off that thing. It is good to see GR rising from the stone errr brick age (Anyone else remember "City Center" and how long that lasted?) I like that when I go down town to visit my friends we can actually do something without leaving the city .

On a side note, I thought I read something about the city considering a "light rail" system...anyone know if this is true? It just doesn't seem like GR to go for something like that.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by AngelfaceAZ

Wow! By the time I get back to Michigan sometime this summer that thing will probably be finished. Can't wait to see it. Looks nice next to the bridgewater place too....and to think that when I was a kid the Amway Grand Plaza was the "flashiest" building in GR lol. It's really cool to go downtown and watch the firworks reflect off that thing. It is good to see GR rising from the stone errr brick age (Anyone else remember "City Center" and how long that lasted?) I like that when I go down town to visit my friends we can actually do something without leaving the city .

On a side note, I thought I read something about the city considering a "light rail" system...anyone know if this is true? It just doesn't seem like GR to go for something like that.

When you come back, you'll have to check out the new JW Marriott if you haven't seen it yet. It's very nicely decked out (I think I read that they spent $20 Million just on interior decorating). You don't have to stay there to go in the lobby and lounge area, or go to the restaurant six.one.six. It has a very cool W Hotel feel to it.

A tour of Grand Rapids' new downtown hotel

And you heard right. Grand Rapids is just starting to do engineering studies regarding adding a light rail/streetcar system through downtown connecting the new ITP station with the Monroe North area. That's at least 3 - 5 years away. They are also working on building a Bus Rapid Transit system from downtown to the Southern suburban areas near Cutlerville/68th Street. That is being spearheaded by a consortium of 6 cities in the GR area. I think they're hoping to start construction next year.

MLUI - Very Small Start, very big deal
Streetcar Study: The Rapid (broken link)