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February
24, 2003
MiBiz Network
By Lori Peterson
According to Second Story President Sam Cummings, the
Grand Rapids-Holland-Muskegon Metropoli-tan Statistical
Area (MSA) has the "dubious distinction" of
being the fifth most sprawling region in the U.S.
"We subsidize that sprawl by paying for unsustainable
infrastructure through our taxes, and then we have to
double down and offer government tax incentives and
grants to rejuvenate our urban cores as a result of
that subsidy," he said. "It's a shame that
we have to do those things to keep our urban centers
vital."
Curbing sprawl is only one reason why area developers,
architects and economic development leaders are working
urban redevelopment into their agendas. Susan Shannon,
business advocate with the city of Grand Rapids told
MiBiz that urban redevelopment is crucial to the region's
economy.
"It's very important to reutilize buildings that
have become obsolete or contaminated, and it's also
a top priority of the city commission. Economic vitality
is our goal, and urban redevelopment is part and parcel
with drawing and retaining businesses and jobs,"
she said.
Cathy Brubaker-Clarke, director of community and economic
development with the city of Muskegon, echoed that statement.
"The urban areas need to be the center of the entire
city and the county too," she told MiBiz. "They're
the focus of entertainment, government and retail operations,
and we don't have a lot of vacant property. Growth depends
on redevelopment."
Muskegon Area First President Todd Battle said the case
for revitalization extends beyond the urban center.
He said that while significant resources have been committed
to improving Muskegon's downtown, it's important not
to forget suburban areas that may need attention. Phil
Meyer, planning and development manager with the city
of Holland, said that diversity is a redevelopment goal
for that city.
"We've encouraged a real diversity in our downtown
in terms of land use. I think we are working on bolstering
some sectors that are weaker because of the economy,
but essentially we're looking for a well-balanced downtown,"
Meyer said.
More residential space downtown is a key theme among
economic developers.
"We need to have the downtown viable 24 hours a
day, and the only way you can get that is if you actually
have people living there," said Brubaker-Clarke.
Holland Assistant City Manager Greg Robinson said additional
residential, retail and office space, along with green
spaces, is important for Holland. Grand Rapids is targeting
downtown residential as well.
"We just added the former Steketees store into
our Ren Zone with an agreement that the developers will
convert it to loft housing, a women's health center
and retail space," she said. "Another big
goal is to utilize the activity from the Van Andel Research
Institute to attract biotech industries to the downtown.
Because we don't have a lot of sites available, that's
going to take some urban redevelopment."
Urban redevelopment can even bolster neighborhoods,
said Rick Chapla, redevelopment specialist with The
Right Place in Grand Rapids. "We're examining ways
we can use economic development tools to stimulate new
private sector investment in our neighborhood business
districts, because many of these areas still contain
family-owned, smaller establishments that are competing
with the Home Depots of the world, and that competition
is fierce," he said.
Area economic development personnel are in unanimous
agreement - Renaissance Zones, brownfield incentives
and SmartZones help keep historic structures and properties
alive.
"Our Renaissance Zone program identified 800 properties
that were vacant or underutilized in Grand Rapids, and
since its inception in 1997 we've had almost $200 million
of investment and about 1,127 new jobs created,"
said Shannon. "That investment and new life into
buildings all over town has spun off into other new
investments in adjacent areas."
Holland has a relatively new brownfield program, but
already the benefits are visible, said Meyer. "We
have three projects so far that have qualified for brownfields
and one is a downtown residential project," he
said. "If we can continue to use those tools in
both those projects and others it's going to be a real
boost."
Many construction firms and architectural firms share
a passion for revitalizing the urban cores of West Michigan.
"We're very interested in historic preservation.
A lot of the urban cores have an incredible fabric of
historically significant buildings that for a long time
were just decaying," said Cornerstone Architects
President Tom Nemitz.
Grand Rapids architectural firm Design Plus created
its office out of an abandoned train depot on the south
side of downtown. "We wanted to be able to apply
our architectural talent to a major renovation project,"
said Principal John Weiss. He told MiBiz that one of
the biggest challenges Design One faces is convincing
people that a renovation project can provide as excellent
a result as a new building.
"It takes vision to do renovation because you're
starting with something that's often worse than if you
started with nothing. It's often easier to envision
the lot with the building gone than to try and save
the building, but you lose the character of the community
when you start to do that."
Regulatory processes, infrastructure, zoning and building
codes are sometimes obstacles to redevelopment. Rockford
Construction Co. President John Wheeler cited structural
difficulties and code compliance as top issues for his
firm.
"You never really know what the building has until
you gut it," he said. "It's also tough to
convince local and state authorities that they have
to be more flexible with code issues. We never compromise
fire, life safety or ADA requirements, but we do ask
for leniency in regards to separation codes, floor use
codes and mixed use codes. Those things need to be more
flexible and we need to educate our public officials
that it's better to reuse the buildings than let them
sit empty," he told MiBiz.
"Some officials have become more comfortable with
urban redevelopment, but it's still difficult to take
a century-plus-year-old structure and fit it into the
mold of a code that's designed around new construction,"
said Second Story's Cummings.
The Westwood Group Chairman and CEO Mike Bowen said
the greatest challenge for his firm is "the unknowns."
"You really have to go to great lengths in your
due diligence and your investigation so you can get
a handle on what condition the project is really in
and what you're going to find when you start tearing
off walls," he said. "There's always going
to be some surprises, but you can make sure there won't
be any really big ones."
Despite the obstacles, West Michigan architects, construction
firms and economic development personnel see invaluable
benefits to redeveloping urban properties. "The
urban core is so important to area communities. We need
to use the investments we've already made as opposed
to throwing them away and rebuilding. It's instrumental
in developing city culture," said Cummings.
"Redevelopment is one of our core strategies,"
said Bowen. "The investment yield is very attractive,
and I don't care what anybody says, profitability is
important. But it also ropes into the equation a whole
lot of other factors like improving the community and
taking assets that are very challenged and giving them
new life, which is a lot of fun."
"Reusing buildings that are structurally sound
and have a character that is indicative of our community
and its history has provided a character and an ambiance
that makes us unique compared to other shopping areas,"
said Holland's Robinson. "Our downtown continues
to evolve, and I think the job will never be done. Retail
areas are always fragile, whether they are malls or
downtown shopping areas, and they need constant attention.
We've made substantial progress made over the last 15
years and I think some of the plans in the works now
bode well for the community over the next five years
or so."
Battle offered a similarly optimistic outlook for Muskegon.
"We've made a tremendous amount of progress. I
don't think we're anywhere near done, just because of
the size and scope of what our downtown waterfront has
to offer, but we're making great progress and we're
in the midst of many redevelopment projects," he
said.
Chapla said that while urban redevelopment in Grand
Rapids will never really be finished, its important
to keep working on projects that will sustain the area
for years to come.
"One of the ways that I intend to measure our success
is the day the last surface parking lot disappears and
is replaced with either a multi-use structure or a new
building is the day that you can say our agenda has
been accomplished," he said. "Then, of course,
we'll start all over again."
COPYRIGHT 2003. MIBIZ NETWORK.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This article appeared in the February 24, 2003 issue
of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West
and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free
to qualified individuals who do business in West and
Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz
Network, visit www.mibiz.com
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“On
August 11, 2001, we celebrated 50 years in Western Michigan.
You don’t do that without excellent relationships
with everybody.”
Mike Pepper,
General Manager
Howmet Corporation
an Alcoa Business |
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