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Old 10-21-2007, 10:08 AM
 
133 posts, read 357,472 times
Reputation: 25

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yes,and that is all good,pull it up by the boot straps folks
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Old 10-21-2007, 04:33 PM
 
79 posts, read 370,057 times
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To be quite honest, I think these giant developers know ahead of time what areas are to be on the upswing.. no one that big invests millions of dollars unless they're pretty damn sure they're going to be successful.. These are developers who have been around for years and have unlimited resources to study feasibility and which areas are going to produce growth etc.. One can optimistically hope that GR is following in the footsteps of Madison-like economic prosperity.

I also agree wholeheartedly on the importance of construction... Even just seeing cranes, construction equipment, even signs listed about future building plans, are enough to stir encouragement in the surrounding residents' minds and hearts.. After all, it feels good to live in a city that's got action, got plans, got important things happening. Very good for citizens' morale. Better than only seeing "fore sale / bank-owned" signs everywhere.

Sadly I can't say any of this about much of metro Detroit.
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Old 10-22-2007, 06:40 AM
 
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
8,882 posts, read 19,848,211 times
Reputation: 3920
Quote:
Originally Posted by virgokid1 View Post
To be quite honest, I think these giant developers know ahead of time what areas are to be on the upswing.. no one that big invests millions of dollars unless they're pretty damn sure they're going to be successful.. These are developers who have been around for years and have unlimited resources to study feasibility and which areas are going to produce growth etc.. One can optimistically hope that GR is following in the footsteps of Madison-like economic prosperity.

I also agree wholeheartedly on the importance of construction... Even just seeing cranes, construction equipment, even signs listed about future building plans, are enough to stir encouragement in the surrounding residents' minds and hearts.. After all, it feels good to live in a city that's got action, got plans, got important things happening. Very good for citizens' morale. Better than only seeing "fore sale / bank-owned" signs everywhere.

Sadly I can't say any of this about much of metro Detroit.
In addition, developments this size usually take years to complete, as the Village of Orchard Hills is supposed to break ground later this year and be complete in Spring 2009, and the "village" portion of the one in Walker is planned to open around 2011 or 2012 (second phase), with Cabela's and several other retailers scheduled to be open earlier (first phase). I think even the developers are hedging their bets that the housing market will be better here in a few years.

If you want to see the market study (household incomes, retail spending, education levels) that they did on the GR area for the Village of Orchard Hills, you can find the link here:

http://www.rbaikens.com/RBA/Portals/...arketstudy.pdf
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Old 10-22-2007, 08:04 AM
 
79 posts, read 370,057 times
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Thanks for the link Magellan.

Quote:
I think even the developers are hedging their bets that the housing market will be better here in a few years.
Seems like there are a large number of homes currently on the market in GR. Is it because of plants that shut down recently, or something else? Or is this normal for a city of this size?
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Old 10-22-2007, 08:13 AM
 
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
8,882 posts, read 19,848,211 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virgokid1 View Post
Thanks for the link Magellan.

Seems like there are a large number of homes currently on the market in GR. Is it because of plants that shut down recently, or something else? Or is this normal for a city of this size?
Grand Rapids is not "immune" to global economics and the state's malaise, and we have had a lot of manufacturing job losses. Plus, like much of the rest of the country, the housing market is slow with a lot of inventory and a lot of bad lending practices over the past 3 - 5 years, that is now taking its toll on the market. But, according to Moody's, Grand Rapids metro area is bottoming out this quarter, and should begin to see an upswing again, though I don't think things are going to come roaring back. I think I posted the Moody's report somewhere here.

Here is it again. GR is #67:

Double digit home price drops coming - Sep. 19, 2007

Their estimate that our downslide started in 4th Qtr 05 seems to be about right.

I think everyone in GR could agree though that we still need more JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Doing "OK" vs the rest of the state is not good enough.
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Old 10-22-2007, 12:03 PM
 
Location: East Grand Rapids, MI
845 posts, read 3,270,925 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by virgokid1 View Post
Thanks for the link Magellan.

Seems like there are a large number of homes currently on the market in GR. Is it because of plants that shut down recently, or something else? Or is this normal for a city of this size?
Prices are down, sales are actually up compared to 2006.

There's a national real estate problem and GR is not even close to immune.

There is a huge supply right now compared to the demand. It's a buyer's market here...that's for sure.
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Old 10-22-2007, 12:45 PM
 
22 posts, read 116,351 times
Reputation: 20
not a fan of sprawl, but sure do miss nordstrom! we have dillard's here in AZ and it's not very good. i grew up in rochester... what happened to meadowbrook mall?! it's become that huge outdoor shopping center... now you can't find a place to park. i am not sure if it bought more land for the development, but it is nice that it didn't really add to the sprawl that already is rochester hills. i'm all for making cruddy old places nicer and for nordstrom why can't they put a cool shopping center in downtown GR? there must be rundown places that could use a facelift and the commerce. a great way to force suburbanites downtown!
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Old 10-22-2007, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Grand Rapids Metro
8,882 posts, read 19,848,211 times
Reputation: 3920
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2to4seasons View Post
not a fan of sprawl, but sure do miss nordstrom! we have dillard's here in AZ and it's not very good. i grew up in rochester... what happened to meadowbrook mall?! it's become that huge outdoor shopping center... now you can't find a place to park. i am not sure if it bought more land for the development, but it is nice that it didn't really add to the sprawl that already is rochester hills. i'm all for making cruddy old places nicer and for nordstrom why can't they put a cool shopping center in downtown GR? there must be rundown places that could use a facelift and the commerce. a great way to force suburbanites downtown!
Hear, hear! I totally agree. I think the fact that there aren't any upscale department stores in the burbs provides the perfect opportunity to do something downtown. Actually, most of the large "rundown" places downtown have all been redeveloped. There are a few left, but I don't think they would make a good place for an upscale multi-story mall. Downtown GR is very clean and is getting to be more of a destination, so it would be a perfect compliment. Plus, downtown is only 15 - 20 minutes tops from pretty much anywhere in the metro area, and over 1 Million people.

There was a two-block development proposed by a Detroit-area developer behind the arena that included retail and condos, and was anchored by a big movie theater. We are way oversaturated with movie theaters though, and the deal fell off the table. It might come back though, or something else might be proposed, who knows.
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Old 11-18-2007, 04:23 PM
sbb
 
1 posts, read 2,846 times
Reputation: 10
Default Long Live Grand Rapids

Thank god we are thinking about getting a Nordstrom in GRR. Macy's is horrible, so cheap. Dillards is the SAME boring stuff, why are we wanting one of those? Anthropologie is fantastic, another great pick - although given the sterile GRR feel, I hope they survive - I will do what I can. Although I am disappointed to hear that these is going up on the NE side, what about the Ada folks??

I am looking forward to these centers, I'd like to get involved, if anyone knows how, please let me know. I grew up in Ada, spent 10 years in Seattle, Austin (been around the world) and have some strong opinions on the economic windfall related to better shopping centers. Long live good shopping - and please keep it open on Sunday - I know that is really hard for GRR peeps.
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Old 11-18-2007, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Cumming, Georgia
810 posts, read 3,305,697 times
Reputation: 369
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbb View Post
Thank god we are thinking about getting a Nordstrom in GRR. Macy's is horrible, so cheap. Dillards is the SAME boring stuff, why are we wanting one of those? Anthropologie is fantastic, another great pick - although given the sterile GRR feel, I hope they survive - I will do what I can. Although I am disappointed to hear that these is going up on the NE side, what about the Ada folks??

I am looking forward to these centers, I'd like to get involved, if anyone knows how, please let me know. I grew up in Ada, spent 10 years in Seattle, Austin (been around the world) and have some strong opinions on the economic windfall related to better shopping centers. Long live good shopping - and please keep it open on Sunday - I know that is really hard for GRR peeps.
When was the last time you been back in the GRR area? Just about every store is open on Sunday. I live in Ada...I don't mind development away from my 'hood.
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