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Public hearing set for proposed tower in downtown G.R.

Posted at 8:02 PM, Oct 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-11 20:12:56-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  — A proposed 13-story brick-and-glass tower in downtown Grand Rapids could move a step closer to becoming a reality, after a public hearing later this month.

The Grand Rapids City Commission has scheduled the hearing for 7 p.m. in the 9th-floor Commission Chambers at City Hall, 300 Monroe Avenue NW. It’ll consider a brownfield-redevelopment application. The city says the project is eligible for Brownfield reimbursements totaling about $2.2 million

The 13-story, 135,555-square-foot tower concept originally was proposed in 2016 as a 42-story hotel and apartment complex, which would’ve made it the tallest structure in West Michigan. The location is at the site of a parking lot at 10 Ionia Avenue, where Fulton and Ionia avenues intersect with Louis Street. But the Hinman Company re-imagined the triangle-shaped, flat-iron building earlier this year and presented amended plans for the scaled-back structure in June.

The city says in a news release the $36 million, mixed-use project would include 5,555 square feet of ground-floor retail space, as well as 146 hotel rooms. It also says the hotel/retail structure would generate 70 jobs with wages probably ranging between $10 to $31.25 per hour.

“The development will enhance the Grand Rapids skyline, the Heartside neighborhood and the arena district,” says Kara Wood, the city’s Managing Director of Economic Development Services.

The project received approval from the Historic Preservation Commission in June. It received Special Land Use approval from the Planning Commission in July for the construction of an overhead walkway between 10 Ionia Ave. NW and 30 Ionia Ave. NW.

Future tax-increment revnues would be used to cover the cost of environmental site-assessement activities, demolition, site preparation and private-infrastructure improvements. The city says the developer also secured Downtown Development Authority (DDA) support for about $1.4 million.