$1.25M Eastown project brings 1950s office building into 21st century with LEED

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

The ordinary looking Boland Building on the northwest corner of Lake Drive and Carlton has provided Eastown with office space since the 1950s. After purchasing and renovating the property, CWD Real Estate Investment has created 14,600 square feet of contemporary office space in a hip business district.

The first new tenant, Square One Design, signed up for 2,500 square feet on the upper floor of the two-story building and will relocate in May. Three additional bays ranging from 2,500 to 3,500 square feet are at white box stage and ready for lease by one large tenant or four or five smaller ones.

"When we bought it in December 2007, it was split into separate offices with a center hall on each floor," says Nick Koster, vice president of development. "It was home to several nonprofit organizations. All but one were planning to move out, and that one wasn’t paying the rent, so we decided that it was a good time to renovate."

Via Design designed the interior shared spaces in earthy greens and browns, including a first floor entryway featuring wood panels on the walls and ceiling. A wood and steel railing system defines the stairway between levels.

CWD expects to receive LEED Silver for Core and Shell certification. Lease rates range from $8 per square foot triple net to $11 per square foot triple net.

"There’s really nothing else like this building in Grand Rapids," Koster says. "It's a small sustainable office building for multiple tenants – most have been built for a specific user. This project was an attempt to do a LEED project that was sound business, and determine if we can do this on an ongoing basis."

Concept Design Group is the architect. Triangle Construction acted as general contractor.

Source: Nick Koster, CWD Real Estate Investment