By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Opportunities await in downtown Grand Rapids’ historic Aldrich Place, and that’s what attracted a group of Lansing and Grand Rapids investors to purchase the building. Sixty North Ventures, LLC, consisting of Matt Steigenga and Mike Peplowski in Lansing and Jeff Baker in Grand Rapids, plans to upgrade the shared interior spaces and offer custom build-outs to new tenants.
Café Kabob, a Mediterranean restaurant based in Southfield, has signed on for 3,000 square feet of main level retail space in the 45,000-square-foot building at 80 Ottawa NW. Another 14,000 square feet of rentable space is available on the upper floors, including 4,000 square feet on the top (fourth) floor with great views of the city.
“We focus on historic properties and currently have holdings in East Lansing and Cleveland,” Steigenga says. “I’m originally from Grand Rapids as is Jeff Baker. We see downtown Grand Rapids as a very solid market. We’re actively looking around the Midwest, so as we compared other markets, Grand Rapids made a lot of sense to us.”
Plans for the circa 1895 building include maintaining the historic facade and upgrading the interior lobby to create a building with 21st Century functionality.
“The historic part of the building has an open stairway and a skylight,” says David Wiener of CB Richard Ellis. Wiener brokered the transaction for Sixty North Ventures. “There are a couple of individual office spaces in that section of the building that would be perfect for businesses needing space for one or two people.”
“We think in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids is ideal,” Steigenga says. “Hopefully we can generate some excitement in a down economic time.”
Source: Matt Steigenga, Sixty North Ventures LLC; David Wiener, CB Richard Ellis
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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