When Julie Grevengoed first opened
JGR Real Estate back in 2009, the
second-floor East Hills agency was born into a tricky time for the housing market.
In the past six years, however, Grevengoed’s real estate and brokerage agency has managed to find its place in Grand Rapids’ residential market and as a result has recently opened its doors in a newly renovated Stockbridge storefront located at 600 Bridge St. NW.
“I was in East Hills before and I loved it there — it has a great business community and was a great space — but I was outgrowing it,” says Grevengoed, who worked with
Wolverine Building Group over the past few months to bring a run-down former pawnshop into the modern age with a massive rehab effort that brightens up its 2,500-square-foot ground floor with an open floor plan, clean lines and big windows.
With the lease on her former Cherry Street offices up, Grevengoed says she noticed the space within the first 24 hours it was posted. At first glance, it wasn’t much to look at, but she says the building’s original tin ceilings won her over
“I walked in and it's got these really cool tin ceilings and even though everything wasn't as great, that was something that I thought, 'Man, this could be really cool,” she says. “…It was just one big room when I got it and even though I'm using it as offices, I still wanted to maintain kind of an open feel, so we have a lot of windows.”
She says the residential housing market is in significantly better shape than it was when JGR Real Estate first opened its doors in 2009, and because her agency also includes a brokerage arm, she’s had more agents coming in to work under her license in the past few years.
The new space, she says, opens her agency up to a new residential market on Grand Rapids’ west side and allows for JGR Real Estate to continue to grow more comfortably.
“I'm excited about this place because I have so much more room,” Grevengoed says. “I was really reserved in trying to ask people to come on board with me because I just didn't have a place to put them, but now I do so that's great.”
To see before and after photos of the dramatic transformation of its new Bridge Street office space, click here to find
JGR Real Estate on Facebook.
Written by Anya Zentmeyer, Development News Editor
Images courtesy of JGR Real Estate
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