Demolition of vacant Grand Rapids grocery store scheduled
Posted By: mlive on December 11, 2024. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
Demolition of the long-vacant Duthler’s Family Foods grocery store on Bridge Street NW is expected to start Wednesday, clearing the way for the construction of a five-story, 148-unit apartment building.
“The building will come down in a day or maybe two,” said Ryan Talbot, the metro-Detroit developer who purchased the property, 648 Bridge St. NW, and is leading the development of the $31.7 million project.
Demolition comes one day after the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $5.9 million low-interest loan for the project and a $3.6 million Brownfield plan. The project also received a 15-year, Neighborhood Enterprise Zone tax cut from the city of Grand Rapids valued at $3 million.
A Brownfield plan is designed to offset the cost of developing contaminated, functionally obsolete properties. It uses property tax revenue generated by a development to reimburse a developer for expenses such as demolition, lead and asbestos abatement, site preparation and more.
“I’m trying to build housing at what I call an attainable price point, given the cost of new construction,” Talbot said. “It’s in a walkable location, a fantastic corridor, the city is really excited about it.”
The building will include 45 studio apartments and 48 one-bedroom units, he said. It also includes 47 “urban one-bedroom” units, which Talbot says are “half-step” between a one-bedroom and a studio.
“It’s like a deeper studio unit, but you have a much more defined sense of separation between …. your living area and your sleeping area,” Talbot said.
The apartment building, which is also set to include first-floor retail, is expected to open by summer 2026. Rental rates haven’t been finalized, but Talbot says the units are expected to be priced at the market rate.
Located amid a bustling stretch of Bridge Street, where a host of apartments, bars, restaurants and more have opened over the past decade, Talbot said the project will help meet demand for new housing in Grand Rapids.
A study released in 2023 by Bowen National Research estimates the city of Grand Rapids needs to add an estimated 14,106 housing units by 2027 to keep up with demand. Over half the units needed — 7,951 — should be rentals, and the remaining 6,155 units would be owner occupied, the study says.
“Grand Rapids is a growing city,” Talbot said. “Lots of cool stuff is going on, and I’m really excited to be a part of this Bridge Street, West Side corridor expansion.”
The Bridge Street project is Talbot’s second in Grand Rapids.
The Current, a four-story, 72-unit mixed use development on the corner of Plainfield Avenue and Quimby Street NE in the Creston Neighborhood, is now open. Thus far, one-third of the building’s apartments have been leased, he said.
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