By: Deborah Johnson Wood
For 25 years, the small stucco-covered office of Shrine Tours has been a landmark on the corner of Fuller Street and East Fulton Avenue in Midtown. The building is still there, but under the new ownership of Diane Griffin, owner of Griffin Properties, a real estate agency of Keller Williams Realty, and the stucco is now jalapeno green.
“We thought the color was appropriate being two doors down from the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market,” Griffin says with a chuckle. She decided to buy the building after Keller Williams closed its downtown Grand Rapids office.
The concrete block building has two 400-square-foot levels: the upper level is accessible from the front sidewalk along Fulton, the lower level accessible from the parking area off Fuller.
Griffin created a conference room and kitchen on the lower level. The upper level has open office space for the company’s six realtors.
“We removed carpeting, paneling, acoustic ceilings and took out walls,” Griffin adds. “We put on a new roof, replaced the restroom and replaced the windows. It’s very hip and fresh looking.”
Griffin Properties achieved Keller Williams’ first mega agent status in its Michigan/Northern Ohio region, a status determined by sales volume, allowing Griffin’s team to be the first to move into independent office space. Although Griffin has been a realtor for just over three years, her team achieved $13 million in sales last year and is on target for $20 to $25 million this year.
“We specialize,” Griffin notes. “My whole focus is on urban living, so I help clients buy and sell in walkable areas. I wanted to walk the talk with my office and this was the perfect location.”
Source: Diane Griffin, Griffin Properties, Keller Williams
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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