GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A pair of apartment buildings planned for the west side of Grand Rapids will help address the city's need for housing.
On West Fulton Street, the Abode and Annex developments will bring with them 129 apartments, with the former being built where an Adobe In & Out is currently located.
"West side is best side," said Brent Gibson, founder of Simplified Construction, a Grand Rapids-based firm that's also located on Fulton, a few steps away from both of its future construction sites.
"There's a lot of history and a lot of heritage here," Gibson said. "How do we draw people's attention to West Fulton as a place you'd want to bring your business, your family, your life?"
Abode
A four-story, 106-unit apartment building, the Abode development — a word play on the restaurant it will replace — will feature 89 studio and 17 one-bedroom apartments with additional space for ground-floor retail and parking.
Private decks will be built on "all ends of the building" and a fourth-floor club room with a deck will overlook the city, hopefully within earshot of the new amphitheater so residents will be able hear its concerts on summer nights.
"For us, the character is how it fits in. How does it fit in and not simply become another new building in a corridor that has history?" Gibson said.
In February, the Grand Rapids City Commission approved the $25 million project for a $3 million reimbursement through the city's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and also a $1.5 million tax cut by way of its Neighborhood Enterprise Zone program.
Annex
On 657 West Fulton Street, the Annex development will consist of two three-story buildings with 23 apartments — 21 studio and 2 one-bedroom — and 400 square feet of retail space.
Similarly, the city of Grand Rapids signed off on a $959,000 reimbursement through the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and a $616,545 tax cut from the Neighborhood Enterprise Program for the project that's expected to cost $6.1 million.
"My hope is that someday, when I'm long gone from West Fulton, someone will walk down it and say, 'This feels like a really good, natural neighborhood,'" Gibson said.
Adobe
Since 2000, the Adobe In & Out on Fulton Street has served food to Grand Rapids' west side. While the local chain's original restaurant opened up right across the street in 1969, it's time for a change, ownership says.
"We always knew the highest and best use for this spot was not for a restaurant," said owner Spencer Boorsma, referencing the property's large underused parking lot. "I always had in the back of my mind that this location would not stay as an Adobe."
After the Fulton Street building is demolished, a new Adobe In & Out location will open on Bridge Street, allowing current staff at the restaurant to remain employed.
"A lot of people have grown up with Adobe," Boorsma said. "I think we can capture a lot more of Grand Rapids and be better equipped to serve everybody [at the Bridge Street location]."
Grand Rapids
Big changes coming for Mexican restaurant Adobe In & Out
Construction on the Abode and Annex developments will likely begin in late spring or early summer, lasting and estimated 12–14 and eight months, respectively.
