Heartside : Development News

Getting a latté and being in a reality show at the same time has never been so easy!

Step inside The Dirty Hippie (133 S. Division) in Grand Rapids and you could be part of the next big scene in Tyler and Vinny Trierweiler’s imaginative web-based show that puts a new twist on life in GR.

The Trierweilers, 23-year-old twin brothers from Portage, came to Grand Rapids this spring to start The Musician’s Cooperative based on an organization Tyler Trierweiler says they started in South Bend, IN. They wanted a larger city to work and play in, so they scoped out Grand Rapids and made the move.

After gathering ideas about what they could do for a living that was different and sustainable, the guys launched The Dirty Hippie reality show premise where staff and customers in a bona fide coffee shop are the stars. The shop opens officially Oct. 1, the same date the show debuts on the web at dirtyhippievenue.com.

“We’ve been filming for the past two-and-a-half weeks,” says Trierweiler, who graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in video production. “First episode is about setting up the business.”

He adds that if a customer walks in during an event at the shop they can “be assured filming will be going on and you may be in the episode. We edit the best stuff just like any TV producers do. This is more than an everyday coffee shop, but you can come in and do your homework here, too.”

Trierweiler says Grand Valley State University interns are handling the filming. Customers can sit down in front of the self-confessional camera and talk about whatever they want to, or grab one of the foot cameras to film themselves or their friends.

The 1,000-square-foot shop will be open seven days, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with special events, music, open mic nights, showings of the reality series and other happenings scheduled throughout the week.

Source: Tyler Trierweiler, The Dirty Hippie
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

Grand Rapids' Avenue for the Arts has a new contributor to the local arts scene -- one whose work is enjoyed by sports fans around the world.

Michael J. Taylor recently moved into studio live/work space in the Martineau Apartments at 126 S. Division, the space formerly occupied by Imagination Creations. Taylor -- known for his fine art collectibles and NBA trading cards of an impressive lineup of famous athletes, including Larry Bird, Darryl Strawberry, Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench -- has created game-day covers for the L.A. Lakers, the Army/Navy Game, Clemson University and others.

Taylor, 60, set up his 1,200-square-foot studio/apartment with a working art studio that fronts along the sidewalk on S. Division Avenue, where passersby can watch him as he creates. He says his journey has taken him from a Ferris State University graphic arts degree to 12 years at the Perry Ballard Advertising Agency in St. Joseph to working with famous athletes and even entertainment superstars like Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono.

"I've made money, lost money, made money," Taylor says. "I don't even have business cards, so you can't really say I'm a businessman. It's really tough, but what's so beautiful about this place is I can pull back the blinds and let people on the street watch me create."

Taylor describes himself as a "complete free spirit," with a passion to give back to the community. He struggles daily with mental health challenges, but says these don't keep him down for long.

Taylor says he's exploring a number of future art projects he finds inspiring, including participating in Mary Mitchell's community art project Korye-United for ArtPrize 2011, illustrating a children's book and creating his own ArtPrize 2011 entry entitled "Here there and everywhere," described as "a whimsical portrayal of what it would be like if the Beatles visited Grand Rapids."

Source: Michael J. Taylor, artist; Anne Marie Bessette, Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

Kent County's low-income residents will soon have a new state-of-the-art healthcare facility where they'll receive medical, dental, vision and mental health care from agencies that were previously scattered across Grand Rapids. The nearly $30M Heart of the City Health Center wraps up construction over the next two weeks and the center will open at full capacity on October 3.

The project, at the corner of Cherry St. SE and Sheldon Avenue S.E., brings Cherry Street Health Services, Touchstone Innovaré and Proaction Behavioral Health Alliance together under one roof, creating what proponents say is a new national model for integrated healthcare.

The two-story building provides 80,000 square feet for patient care, with a two-level underground parking ramp immediately below.

"On the second floor, we'll have a staff that consists of clinical social workers, mental health workers and medical staff all integrated in one area," says Chris Shea, director of Cherry Street Health Services. "On the first floor, we'll have separate areas for adult medical, children's medical, dental, vision, a pharmacy and outpatient mental health."

Shea expects the facility will have 310 employees once it's staffed fully.

Pioneer Construction's Project Manager Justin Bialik says the company expects to achieve LEED Silver certification.

"About 98 percent of our construction waste and debris have been recycled," Bialik says. "The exterior envelope is a well-designed system that integrates spray-on insulation, insulated metal panels, and manufactured stone. The roof insulation has minimal 5" with a reflective white PVC membrane over top. The envelope was designed and constructed to maximize energy savings throughout the life of the building."

The property had traces of arsenic and metal shavings from old buildings that had been demolished and buried on the site, Bialik says. He says that after clearing the debris, Pioneer had the groundwater tested and found it was contaminant free. Because the building sits two feet below the water table, Bialik says Pioneer diverted the ground water to flow underneath the foundation on its way to the Grand River.

Construction manager: Pioneer Construction
Architect: Design Plus

Source: Justin Bialik, Pioneer Construction; Chris Shea, Cherry Street Health Services
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

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A conundrum for many busy people is what to fix for supper that's not only tasty, but quick and easy. For folks who live and work in downtown Grand Rapids, the solution could be right around the corner at Art of the Table's new downtown location inside the Riverfront Café.

Art of the Table's home store at 606 Wealthy St. SE next to Wealthy Street Bakery has cultivated a loyal following of foodies since it opened in 2003. And now, with a presence inside Riverfront Café, located at 235 Fulton St. NW in the street level of the Plaza Towers, Art of the Table owner Amy Ruis hopes to bring convenient meal options to folks who live and work in downtown Grand Rapids.

"We set up inside the café with a big refrigerator with cheeses and sodas, and we have yogurt and granola that people can buy and eat there or take back to the office and not be confined by a lunch time," says Ruis. "For people with a busy life and a need for conveniences, we offer a lot of Thai and Indian curries and rice in a box. They take it home, heat it up for 10 minutes and it makes a great pantry type of meal."

Other offerings include spaghetti and pesto sauces, pastas, olive oils, butter, milk, eggs, spreadable dips and crackers and one of Ruis' favorites, par-baked bread.

"It goes from freezer to oven and in just seven minutes, you have a really great French baguette," she says.

Riverfront Café is still open for breakfast and lunch, says Ruis, offering its full menu of coffee drinks, breakfast sandwiches and small plates, plus free Wi-Fi, comfortable seating and 30 minutes of free parking.

Café and grocery hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Source: Amy Ruis, Art of the Table
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

So far in 2011, sales of the upscale condominiums at The Fitzgerald are up and Gallery Apartments has only three units left, says Nick Koster of CWD Real Estate Investment, developer of both properties. Whether or not these are long-term indicators that the demand for downtown Grand Rapids residential properties is up remains to be seen.

"This year we've sold seven of the 39 units at The Fitzgerald," says Koster, VP of operations at CWD. "Last year we only sold two."

Of the 39 condominiums at The Fitz (27 Library St. NE), 12 units, starting at $199,000, are still available after nearly three years, says Koster.

But he says demand for apartments at the new high-rise Gallery Apartments (10 Commerce Ave. SW) is a different story. The apartments are part of the Gallery on Fulton complex that includes the new 40,000-square-foot Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, a city parking ramp and some 2,600 square feet of white-box retail space. Of the 56 apartments, only one two-bedroom ($1,700/month) and two three-bedroom apartments ($2,250/month) are unoccupied after just 10 months.

"People want to be by the action, near restaurants and entertainment," Koster says. "Most of the people at the Gallery work or go to school downtown. We have a lot of Cooley Law students, people who work in or go to school on the Medical Mile, and people who have relocated from Colorado and Chicago."

Residency at The Fitz is "much more diverse than we would have expected," he says, "with investors, retirees and young people."

"We continue to see the demand for housing downtown," Koster adds. "I think it's exciting that people continue to want to be downtown and live downtown."

For more information on Gallery Apartments, click here.
For more information on The Fitzgerald condominiums, click here.

Source: Nick Koster, CWD Real Estate Investment
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

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Terry Rayment says that working from home in Grand Rapids' Alger Heights was a pretty good fit for a while, but when his Eskimo Motion Studio really started to take off, having his dog repeatedly interrupt client meetings just didn't cut it.

So he packed up the business and moved it to a small space near other creatives on the fifth floor of 25 Ionia Ave. SW.

Eskimo uses photography, illustration, motion graphics, animation, film, music and voice to help companies market products, their corporate culture or, more simply, just tell their stories to consumers and audiences on the web.

"We usually do commercial length pieces -- and that's changing and adapting because of the web -- so we're not limited to 15 seconds or 30 seconds, it can be 90 seconds or more," Rayment says. Rayment launched Eskimo about three years ago, but worked mainly for ad agencies. In January, he struck out on his own.

"We work under the specialist mindset and keep it small by only working with contractors who do just one thing, but do it well," he says. "We contract with photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, designers, directors of photography, electricians -- the range of people working on a project goes anywhere from an electrician to a comic book illustrator."

Rayment grew up in Flint, then lived and worked in Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL before moving to Grand Rapids. He's produced marketing for Hon, Filberts Soda, Guilford of Maine and Wolverine Worldwide.

As for the company's name, "Eskimo," Rayment says it doesn't really have any particular meaning -- it's just a creative moniker that fit the company's vision to put creativity to work.

For more information on Eskimo Motion Studio, click here.

Source: Terry Rayment, Eskimo Motion Studio
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

When Advantage Health Physician Network decided to move ahead with a $17M, 50,000-square-foot addition to its medical building at 245 Cherry St. SE, its Weigh to Wellness program seized the opportunity to relocate from cramped offices at 1471 E. Beltline. This week, the program opened the doors to its 3,500-square-foot offices in Suite 104 of the original 245 Cherry building in Grand Rapids' Heartside neighborhood.

Weigh to Wellness is a medically supervised weight management program that helps patients lose weight and keep it off, says Kimberly Turke, D.O., program administrator. She says that demand for the program and its growth to 14 full- and part-time staff members meant finding a larger, central location in order to serve patients better.

"We had a two- to three-month wait time before we could see a new patient," says Dr. Turke. "It takes people a long time to decide to pick up the phone and call us for help, and then to wait that long was unacceptable. We can now accommodate 12 new patients a week, where before we could only see five new patients a week. And we can plan for future growth."

Turke hopes that the new proximity to Saint Mary's Health Care, other downtown hospitals and to related medical specialties will enable Weigh to Wellness to expand its program offerings.

"We coordinate multi-disciplinary treatments, and though we don't do bariatric surgery, we refer patients to Grand Health Partners' program when appropriate, and they refer patients to us," she says.

Turke says the new Wealthy Street Farmers Market is an opportunity to connect patients with healthy foods, and a teaching kitchen at the Wege Institute for Mind, Body and Spirit could be a prime location for healthy cooking classes that might be a future offering.

Source: Kimberly Turke, D.O., Advantage Health Physician Network Weigh to Wellness
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

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Three years ago, Battle Creek-based EmploymentGroup, a temporary staffing and outsourced services firm, set up its satellite executive offices in two very small spaces above HopCat (25 Ionia SW) in Grand Rapids' Heartside entertainment district. But demand for permanent office space for its growing EG Managed Services division meant relocating to larger digs of some 1,500 square feet at 38 W. Fulton, Suite 410, above San Chez A Tapas Bistro.

EG Managed Services owns and operates non-core departments -- such as mailrooms, custodial services, and shipping and receiving -- for large companies that need to keep the back room running smoothly while growing the business. The company's growth in the Grand Rapids area in recent years warrants a permanent space large enough for three account executives plus one or two other employees who travel within the region.

"We definitely wanted to stay in Heartside," says President and CEO Mark Lancaster. "It fits us culturally, especially with attracting new talent. We wanted to stay a part of that community. It's fun to be down there."

Outfitted using Izzy+ interior design services and furniture, the space is an open loft setting with exposed brick walls and high ceilings. A pull-down garage door creates a private office area, when needed. The suite includes two conference rooms and a kitchen, plus "hotel" workspaces for drop-in work accommodations.

Source: Mark Lancaster, EmploymentGroup; Amanda Passage, Lambert, Edwards & Associates
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

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A new farmers market sponsored by Saint Mary's Health Care, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Advantage Health Physician Network hopes to make farm-fresh foods and other goods available to Heartside residents and employees who work in the area.

The Wealthy Street Farmers Market will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays, May 19 through Oct. 13, in an unused parking lot off Cass St. SE, near the corner of Wealthy St. and Jefferson Avenue. Mary Free Bed owns the property.

"Saint Mary's Health Care is invested in improving the health of our own employees as well as the community," says Sheryl Lozicki. Lozicki is Saint Mary's manager of wellness and the coordinator of the market. "Saint Mary's began a wellness program where we're buying more food for the cafeteria from local farms and are involved in community events like the 5/3 Riverbank Run. The farmers market is one more way to improve the health of employees and the community."

The market will feature 12 to 18 vendors, including Dogwood Farm, Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters, Nantucket Baking Company, Funny Farm Organic Produce and Martin's Sugarbush & Produce.

Seasonal offerings will include the spring launch with annual plants, perennials, coffees and baked goods and will end with pumpkins, apples and fall perennials.

The market will have a different health-related twist each week that will include free recipes with a list of the ingredients available at the market and blood pressure screenings. Nutritionists will be available at different times to teach shoppers about antioxidants and the health advantages of various herbs.

"How can we help people eat more fresh foods?" Lozicki asks. "We need to get it on the table, and that means it needs to be more accessible at an affordable cost."

Source: Sheryl Lozicki, Saint Mary's Health Care and Wealthy Street Farmers Market
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

Irvine, California-based private equity firm Blackford Capital has relocated its headquarters to Grand Rapids' Heartside business district (15 Ionia SW) to be closer to its Midwestern clients. That move has generated seven new jobs for financial and market analysts, researchers and support staff, says owner Martin Stein.

Blackford invests in mature businesses with $20M to $100M in revenue and earnings that range between $2M and $10M. The company works with business owners who want to retire or leave the company. Stein says his current portfolio of companies have about 750 employees and create some $200M in revenue.

"Seventy percent of our investments are in the Midwest and on the East Coast, so it was redundant to have an office in Irvine and one in San Francisco," Stein says. "Ninety-five percent of our investments have been in manufacturing, and while we have investments across the U.S., there's an abundance of manufacturing here in the Midwest."

Blackford Capital has leased some 1,800 square feet of office space at 15 Ionia SW and is conducting "business as usual," even though the dust is still settling.

Stein says that when he graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School in 1990, there were no jobs in West Michigan for the type of private equity investing he wanted to do.

"We're looking to hire analysts, staffing support and fund administrators," he says. "We made offers to all eleven of our employees to come with us, and three considered it but decided to stay in sunny California. We've been recruiting from local colleges, looking for students who wouldn't otherwise have opportunities to start a career in the type of finance we do."

Source: Martin Stein, Blackford Capital; Kristie Burns, Lambert, Edwards & Associates
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

The Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design has announced that it will launch Michigan's first Master of Design Methods program at GRid70 in Grand Rapids. IIT bills the MDM as an executive master's degree designed to drive innovative methods and frameworks for the development of products, communications, services and systems.

GRid70, the nickname for Grand Rapids Innovation and Design at 70 Ionia, is a new $5M design hub that brings together teams of innovators from local corporate giants Amway, Meijer, Pennant Health Alliance, Steelcase & Wolverine World Wide in a collaborative environment. The purpose of GRid70 is to promote idea generation and innovation through collaboration.

Seth Starner, Amway's manager of business innovations, is part of the collaborative. In 2008, while seeking a master's degree program that fit his own aspirations, Starner says he attended IIT's summer MDM program in Chicago. That inspired him to pitch the idea to bring the program to Grand Rapids.

"I want to see Grand Rapids as a regional and national design hub and there's a potential it could be an international design hub," Starner says. "This program really hones that skill for discovering new value, harnessing that value (and) serving your customer in new ways. That's the name of the game in finding and creating new businesses."

The program, which begins Aug. 19, has some stiff prerequisites that include:
• At least five years' professional experience.
• Team leadership or product manager experience.
• Recognition of professional work (awards, publication in professional journals, etc.).
• Specific achievements in design or product development/management.

Students will attend MDM classes at GRid70 two weekends a month, plus two mandatory one-week summer workshops. The course schedule allows students to work full time and complete the degree in 24 months. For more information, click here.

Source: Seth Starner, Amway Corporation/GRid 70; Michael Zalewski, Seyferth PR
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

Grand Rapids graffiti artist SOBA.ONE, pseudonym of B.J. Johnson, hosts his first show this weekend at his Green Lion Gallery -- a temporary-by-design space established specifically as a 2011 ArtPrize venue for the work of Johnson and several other local artists.

Leading up to ArtPrize (Sept. 21 - Oct. 9) the gallery at 150 E. Fulton St. will host at least three shows, says Johnson, and probably a couple more after that. Johnson took out a one-year lease on the space last February specifically so he could show his work and the work of his friends as part of ArtPrize without feeling like they had to tailor the art to specific venues or curators.

"We opened the gallery to have our own control of our ArtPrize venue, where I could have control and not appeal to a venue owner," Johnson says. "I'm a tattoo artist and a graffiti artist, and we'll have graphic artists, metal artists, graphic artists and others."

The space is split into two galleries -- one for the art shows and one for the ArtPrize work "The Kiss: Inspirations from the Cure," featuring work inspired by the band of the same name. Johnson says he's posted a call for artists and expects to have about 20 exhibiting under that theme.

"I've been working on the idea for a couple of years and have done a few pieces," Johnson says. "I really like metaphors and layered meanings in my work so I thought this would be appropriate. We'll close the ArtPrize exhibit on October 15, which is a Saturday night and is inspired by The Cure's song, 10:15 Saturday Night."

In the meantime, Johnson's focus is on the upcoming show that opens April 9, "D-Bags and Dimwits," with works that juxtapose cartoon character bullies with their not-so-bright counterparts. The shows features works inspired by The Road Runner cartoon by Joachim Jensen, who was part of the ArtPrize 2010 entry Steam Pig Experiment, and works by Johnny Clausen, who helped create the painting The Waterprize for ArtPrize 2010.

Source: B.J. "SOBA.ONE" Johnson, Green Lion Gallery
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

The building now known as 56 Grandville used to be two factories until a dozen years ago when they were connected and renovated into office space. Now, the Grand Rapids-based CPA and business consulting firm Beene Garter, which purchased the building last year and will move its 75 employees into it in May, has plans to rechristen the four-story structure with the company's name.

The purchase is the first time Beene Garter has owned its own offices since the company's founding 62 years ago.

"We advise our clients from time to time to own their own buildings," says Tom Rosenbach, managing partner. "Our lease (at 50 Monroe NW) was up the end of May, and we're committed to staying in downtown Grand Rapids, so since there was a good opportunity to buy, it made sense to do so."

According to Kent County property records, Beene Garter purchased the building for $4 million. Rosenbach says they've invested another $1.2 million in the renovation, which includes constructing conference rooms and kitchen/cafeteria space that Beene Garter will share with the building's only other tenant, Advantage Sales and Marketing, a national food broker that already occupies the upper floors. Creating the shared spaces frees up room for projected growth by Advantage, a company that employs 143 in West Michigan, Rosenbach says.

A number of Beene Garter's construction clients are handling the interior buildout.

"One of our biggest niches is construction and real estate, so we have a large client base of contractors and subcontractors," Rosenbach says. "We approached them all to see if we could get them some work, and I think we got about 90 percent of them something to do. Now we have competitors working side by side in this building -- mechanical, electrical, general contractors -- and they're all having fun."

Source: Tom Rosenbach, managing partner, Beene Garter; Craig Clark, Clark Communications
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor

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A decade-long plan to redevelop three forlorn city blocks in south Grand Rapids into affordable housing, retail and an urban grocery store is once again rolling forward with plans to break ground before June 1.

The first construction phase of the Wealthy-Jefferson Neighborhood Initiative will spur some $15 million in mixed-use development that will bring retail, 50 apartments and a small condo project to the city block bounded by Wealthy St. (north), LaGrave Avenue (east), Sheldon Avenue (west) and Logan St. (south).

Property owner, Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF), a nonprofit affordable-housing developer, cleared the block and most of two adjoining blocks of decrepit buildings some years ago. The organization has committed to constructing two new buildings thus far, both of which will be built along Wealthy St. between Sheldon and LaGrave.

The initiative's later phases will add a 28,000-square-foot urban grocery store and more housing to the remaining properties, says Jonathan Bradford, ICCF CEO.

Negotiations with an unnamed local grocer are underway, says Bradford, adding that he's "confident that it will go through."

"About 1999, a then-city commissioner proposed the clear cutting of six whole blocks to convert them into an industrial zone," Bradford says. "Neighborhood associations, churches and ICCF fought that and stopped it. A committee studied how to recapture the diversity this neighborhood once had. In 1912, the area had 4,744 people and only about 900 people in 2000."

Bradford says a key motivator was the "resuscitation" of Wealthy St. between Division and Lafayette in 2008. That project, in essence, laid the groundwork for the rest of what is to come.
Bradford envisions an explosion of private retail investment around the Wealthy St. roundabouts.

The proposed Bus Rapid Transit system route passes the development along its north and south boundaries, providing riders with opportunities to stop off and pick up groceries or items from the retail shops, then board the next coach for home or work.

Bradford says Brownfield Authority Tax Credits are under consideration. The project's funding comes, in part, from $5.2 million awarded through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, which will be taken off the table unless construction begins by June 1.

Site plan and design are by nationally renowned development designer Seth Harry of Woodbine, MD. Integrated Architecture is the architect of record for the first two buildings along Wealthy St. Progressive AE is the civil engineer.

Source: Jonathan Bradford, CEO, Inner City Christian Federation
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor