Renovation makes Grand Rapids' Calder Plaza Building ready for 21st Century businesses

After Smith, Haughey, Rice, and Roegge's law offices decided to relocate to the historic Flat Iron Building in downtown Grand Rapids, the Calder Plaza Building (250 Monroe Ave. NW) faced its first major vacancy in 20 years.

As a result, some 38,000 square feet of leasable space on floors two and three have been gutted to white-box stage, says Bruce Parsons of Executive Property Management (EPM), one of the owners of the building. The result, says Parsons, is "a lot of window space and a lot of interior space that gives all kinds of flexibility to an interested and involved party moving in."

Parsons says both floors feature 120-feet by 150-feet of floor space surrounded by exterior windows. The nine-story building sits amid the city's financial district, adjacent to the City/County buildings, just steps from the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building, and across the street from DeVos Place convention center.

EPM selected Concept Design Group to create some preliminary drawings to illustrate possible renovation options for tenants, and will include a tenant renovation allowance in the lease price, which could range from $15 to $50 per square foot.

A total renovation of the building's two-level lobby recently brought the public spaces into the 21st Century with Italian stone tile, new lighting, and a fresh face on the grand staircase connecting the two levels. The renovation features oil paintings of Le Grande Vitesse, the bright orange Alexander Calder sculpture in the Ottawa Avenue-plaza that gives the building its name.

"We've planned to do this for some time and right now, it's propitious to do it," Parsons says.

Source: Bruce Parsons, Executive Property Management; Brittany Tuori, Colliers International
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor