EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After 20 years collecting dust, The East Grand Rapids City Commission may revive a plan to develop more housing and commercial spaces in the iconic Gaslight Village area—with a few updates.
Originally approved in 2004, the Planned Unit Development (PUD) got through its first phase a year later (putting up 2 buildings), then was amended in 2008 before fading into obscurity for 12 years.
For those of you doing the math –yes, the next attempt to revisit this plan came in 2020.
And we all know what that meant for the project.
Fast forward to June of this year; the 20-year-old project might be coming back to life as a starting point and the changes are said to bring the concept into the modern era.
The East Grand Rapids City Planning Commission continued a public hearing on the issue on November 12 going over the adjustments the new plan entails.
Check out the two ideas, side by side:
| Approved 2004 PUD | Proposed 2024 PUD Amendment |
| 7 total buildings with retention of existing parking garage -2 Commercial buildings -1 Parking garage (existing) -1 Mixed-use building (commercial & residential) -3 Residential buildings | 9 total buildings (2 already constructed) including new parking garage -3 Commercial buildings -1 Parking garage (new) -3 Mixed-use buildings (commercial, parking, and residential) -1 Residential building -1 row of Townhouses |
| Tallest building: 7-stories, 79’ height, solely for residential use | Tallest building: 7-stories, 94’ height, mixed-use (commercial, parking, and residential) |
| 107 residential units (condominiums) | 180 residential units, including condos, apartments, and townhomes. Project is committed to reserving approximately 10% of the residential units as attainable rental units that range between 100% and 120% of the area medium income (AMI). |
| 687 total parking spaces (only 414 present) | 583 total parking spaces |
According to the planning commission, the updates (at least at the concept stage) comply with the city’s zoning ordinances.
One concern is the height of the new buildings. Some of them are to be 94’ tall— 15’ taller than the original plan for the same number of stories.
The city’s planning commission agenda minutes noted the new buildings would be comparable in height to portions of Blodgett Hospital and East Grand Rapids High School, however.
There’s also concerns over traffic and parking. This new plan is shy of what’s provided in the old one by over 100 spaces, they need to figure out where the main access road would be—ideally a north-south connection between Wealthy and Lakeside Sts— and they want to design the area to keep the pedestrian-friendly feel the area is known for.
To handle those issues, the city says a traffic study may be in order, considering things like new signals and roundabouts—though those were ‘not favored’ according to the minutes from the meeting.
You can see every detail of the plan and hearing notes here.
It’s now in the hands of the East Grand Rapids City Commission to decide whether to move forward, make changes, send it back to the drawing board, or put the whole thing back on moth balls.
The next City Commission meeting is Monday, November 18 and 6 p.m.
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