When River House Condominiums – the second of two towers now rising on the site of Robert Grooters' Bridgewater Place project – opens sometime during the summer of 2008, it will become the tallest building standing in the Grand Rapids' skyline. The glass high-rise also will feature some of the most luxurious and pricey housing in the city's history.
The most expensive unit in the place is currently pegged at $1.3 million and change. That buys unique features such as some 4,600 square feet of living space, hardwood flooring and granite countertops, and 3 full sides of exterior glass walls and private terraces that offer spectacular views from the 31st floor, more than 330 feet above the Grand River below. Then there are the amenities: 24-hour security service. 24-hour fitness center complete with sauna, steam room, and lap pool. And, of course, two covered and secure parking spaces for each condo.
Rachel Leiter, a River House sales consultant, said such posh housing comes in response to growing demand. As city life picks up downtown, she said, and the regional economy continues to transition away from blue-collar manufacturing work toward white-collar knowledge jobs, more and more high-income people are coming downtown in search of high-quality – meaning more expensive – places to live.
Ironically, the move to add more extravagant residences in the central city comes as the idea of 'affordable housing' has become a genuine commitment – and something of a buzzword – in Grand Rapids. Local nonprofit development firms such as Dwelling Place, Lighthouse Communities, ICCF, and New Development Corp. have had tremendous success in recent years rehabbing empty buildings and old homes, providing respectable residential opportunities for low-income residents, and stimulating neighborhood revitalization.
The renaissance of a gritty South Division Avenue, for instance, and the Heartside neighborhood is due in large measure to the development and availability of quality housing opportunities for students, artists, and other low-income people. These and other areas have become so attractive, in fact, that a growing number of more affluent residents now want to live there. And that renewed interest is adding an important new dimension not only to the downtown housing market but the city's revival as well.
Boomers and Millenials
Julie Reitberg, executive vice president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors, is convinced the arrival of higher priced condominiums, executive suites, penthouses, and other downtown developments will help accelerate urban revitalization.
“It’s going to bring additional dollars into downtown GR, which will spur on growth and businesses,” Reitberg said. “It also brings diversity in terms of income levels."
Two demographic markets – the Baby Boomers and the Millenials – are fueling the downtown housing boom, according to recent research by Zimmerman/Volk Associates, a New Jersey-based consulting firm that recently led an extensive investigation of the housing market in metropolitan Grand Rapids.
Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers are rediscovering the convenience of downtown living as their kids leave home. Meanwhile, Millenials, the group born between 1977 and 1996, are the first generation raised principally in the suburbs. But they now are leaving home and heading for the city to go to school, find a job, or lead a more fulfilling social life. In other words, the two demographics are meeting up downtown at different stages in their lives. And that's helping to drive demand for a variety of housing types.
"The convergence of two generations of this size – each reaching a point when urban housing matches their life stage – is unprecedented," Laurie Volk and Todd Zimmerman wrote in a recent article titled America's Two Largest Generations are Headed Downtown. "The synchronization of these two demographic waves will mean that there will be eight million potential urban housing consumers [across the U.S.] in these age groups eight years from now."
An Important Piece of the Revitalization Puzzle
Urban developers in downtown Grand Rapids have wasted little time preparing to accommodate the burgeoning market. The city now is home to a host of luxury condominium projects. City View condos, located in the Select Bank building at 60 Monroe Center, range in price from $224,900 to $379,900. Front Row Condominiums, also on Monroe Center, range from $285,000 to $405,000. Condos at Icon on Bond, now under construction at 538 Bond Avenue in the Monroe North district, cost between $186,000 and $500,000.
The Fitzgerald, located on Library Street, also is targeting upscale residents. The former YMCA building is being converted into luxury condos that range in price from $209,000 to $650,000. The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2007 and 40 percent of the units are already sold.
“The Fitz is wonderfully positioned because all of the offerings – a theatre, library, restaurants – are in walking distance, but still in a quiet neighborhood overlooking Veterans Park,” said Sam Cummings, president of Second Stories Properties, the local development firm overseeing the renovation project.
Cummings said mixing people with a variety of income levels is important for the overall health of the economy and culture in the central city. Actively pursuing in a core group of residents with higher earning power and more disposable income encourages a broader range of services and business that might not otherwise locate downtown. That benefits all downtown residents, especially in Grand Rapids where low-income and subsidized housing has dominated the housing market for decades.
"Historically, that’s all GR has seen in the last 30 years,” Cummings said. “In that context, there was a real lack of economic and racial diversity. So the city has some catching up to do [in terms of providing housing choices for people with a broad range of income levels]."
Some still question whether Grand Rapids is capable of attracting and sustaining the affluent class of residents necessary to support the high-end housing market. But mounting evidence confirms that the million dollar mansions are no longer restricted to the green pastures of suburbia.
Consider, again, River House Condominiums. Sales agents have seen unusual interest in the project, according to Rachel Leiter. Fifty percent of the approximately 220 condos have already sold and developers predict the place will sell out before construction is complete.
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved
River House view from the park - rendering courtesy of River House
River House view from across the Grand River - rendering courtesy of River House
Rendering of The Fitzgerald - courtesy of Second Story Properties
Sam Cummings of Second Story Properties in front of The Fitzgerald
Interior view of a model unit at The Fitzgerald