GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As remote work became the norm during the pandemic, office vacancy rates in downtown Grand Rapids increased from 9% to 15%. In response to this shift, a West Michigan developer is reimagining the work environment by blending office space with recreational amenities.
The Boardwalk Condominiums, located in a historic brick building at 940 Monroe Ave. NW. is being transformed to meet the evolving needs of today’s workforce. Jon Rooks of Parkland Properties emphasized the importance of creating an inviting experience for employees.
"This was the largest furniture factory in the world 100 years ago. It was the Berkey and Gay furniture factory. We still have some of the historic furniture in the building,” Rooks said. "There's a couple reasons this building lends itself well to this type of use of mixed-use facility. It's because it has two huge courtyards, and one we used it as a pool courtyard, and the other is right behind us, and we used it as a forest courtyard."
Rooks said there are 256 residential condominiums that comprise about two-thirds of the building.
"The other 1/3 of the building is over 35 commercial spaces, and those commercial spaces hold both office tenants and also retail tenants," said Rooks.
To combat the rising vacancy rates, Parkland Properties plans to invest between $1 million and $2.5 million to renovate nearly 66,000 square feet of commercial space. Corewell Health had previously used some of the space as a training facility before vacating it for an office park in the neighborhood.
“It needs a lobby refresh. The bathrooms need to be remodeled, and there’s a lobby downstairs that’s getting remodeled,” Rooks added.
"We have to take the space that was designed specifically for training doctors downstairs, which had a lot of small spaces, and opening it up, making it more more appealing by having more natural light brought in that space on the on the courtyard level."
The goal is not just to provide office space but to create a vibrant work-play environment.
"When we think about office space, we always used to talk about property management and taking good care of your clients. Now we talk a lot about experience management. What's the experience that people have when they come to work?" said Jeff Karger of JLL Commercial Real Estate and Property Investment.
"The fact that they can go outside the front doors and walk to the river and having a kind of all encompassing, you know, they can even live on site if they want, right? You know, it's, it's the perfect live, work, play, scenario."
The Boardwalk offers 10 unique amenities.
"We have the clubhouse that we all share. We have the game room, we have the fitness center. We've got the pool and the jacuzzi that's open year round, the rooftop deck, the hair salon, the massage therapy," said Rooks.
"But most of all, we will have a brand new lobby that's designed by Tyler Deveraux. He's a renowned West Michigan designer right here at home, but he's been nationally recognized on TV, and he's just done a great job coming up with a design that we believe will be timeless, and, you know, will take us another 20 years."
Within two blocks of the building, there are over eight restaurants, further enhancing its appeal to professionals returning to the office.
"We have all of these amenities, but most of all, we're going to be able to offer a rate of $7.50 triple net, to the people that take some of the larger spaces that we have available. There's about 35,000 square feet available right now, and it's unprecedented," said Rooks.
Karger said that the revitalization of the neighborhood is part of a broader investment strategy that includes contributions from multiple stakeholders.
“This is a revitalized neighborhood, and there’s a lot of investment—not just from Jon, but from others as well,” Karger said.
As efforts continue to draw remote workers back to traditional office settings, Rooks remains proud to incorporate elements of the building's rich history into the modern renovation. “We’re just proud that we can keep these pieces of history as a legacy that will outlive myself and many generations,” he said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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