The Kendall Building: before and after

The Kendall Building, near the prominent downtown "triangle" of Monroe Center, Division Avenue and Fulton Street, has long been a favorite of Rapid Growth. Like a lot of old abandoned buildings in downtowns around the Midwest, this building had been in the hands of a non-existent landowner, one who tended to look at his holdings as a retirement plan rather than an opportunity to breathe life into a prime location.

Enter the team of 616 Development, which has been on a roll lately with one redevelopment project after another downtown. Through the creativity of this one-of-a-kind team, the Kendall Building and its owner didn't stand a chance when faced with 616's charming and convincing ways. The end result? Twelve new loft apartments at a busy corner, a rooftop view of one of the busiest intersections in downtown Grand Rapids, a new office for 616, and a ground floor Italian restaurant on the way.

Speaking of creativity, Derek Coppess, founder of 616 and a Lake Odessa native, decided to purchase and disassemble a barn in his hometown and repurpose the timbers in the new offices. The look is symbiotic with the feel of an old building, but definitely sets it apart from other loft conversion projects.

There's not much we can say about this project that hasn't been said before, so we'll let the before and after pictures do the talking. But they don't do the project justice, so if you find yourself in the downtown area on December 5th between 4 and 7pm, we hear they have an open house going on so you can see it for yourself.

Jeff Hill is the Publisher of Rapid Growth Media

Photos by Jeff Hill

Photo above of "Part of the 616 Team" includes from left to right: Monica Clark, Marjorie Steele, Derek Coppess, Mike Skukalek, and Jenna Morton