Grand Rapids’ Clearwater Place a catalyst for neighborhood redevelopment

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

In 2005, DeVries Development began the daunting task of renovating an abandoned 40,000-square-foot water filtration plant that had 500 windows in 20 different styles and 50 roof elevations. That effort eventually served as a catalyst for neighborhood redevelopment of the properties surrounding the renovated building, Clear Water Place, 1430 Monroe Ave. NW.

Mike DeVries, vice president of development for DeVries Development, presented details on the renovation at a break-out session during the University of Michigan Urban Land Use Institute Real Estate Forum on October 15.

“In the early part of the last century, safe drinking water was the biggest issue facing cities,” DeVries said in an interview prior to the forum. “Wells were contaminated or not suitable for drinking. The building is really two drinking water filtration plants — one half built in 1912, one half built in 1923. In the 1950s there were a couple of additions.”

Inside now are offices, five two-level apartments, two round towers, each with space for a live/work apartment or offices, and another two-level 2,000-square-foot apartment space on the third floor of the building that has yet to be developed.

“You can see forever from up there,” DeVries says.

Perhaps the biggest development of the project is how it inspired the revitalization of nearby properties.

“We feel this really connects North Monroe to the Creston neighborhood and business district,” DeVries notes. “This took a cornerstone property and transformed it so the properties immediately around it could have some momentum.

“The nearby buildings have been fixed up nicely by the business owners. There’s been a lot of improvement nearby on Taylor Street with buildings being purchased and fixed up. And Monroe Avenue between Leonard and Ann is being redone.”

Source: Mike DeVries, DeVries Development

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].