Once the breadbasket of Grand Rapids, the Creston-Cheshire district today is the city's playground. With bike trails extending across the state, the Grand River, and eight parks, two of them among the city's largest, Creston-Cheshire offers plenty of opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors in an urban setting.It also showcases strong and stable neighborhoods, highly successful inner-city school programs, a thriving business district, and an energetic nightlife. Where else in Grand Rapids can you find authentic Irish music and poetry slams on the same street on the same night?Settled by determined Dutch, Irish, German, and Polish immigrants, Creston-Cheshire has undergone a great deal of change since its development 150 years ago. But the district today remains true to its founding values: diversity, neighborliness, and hard work.
City Commissioners granted developer Greg Gilmore an extension on his plans to rehab the former Creston Library. Gilmore now has until March 2007 to finish transforming the historic building into a new restaurant.
Throughout its history, the City of Grand Rapids has stood at the forefront of transportation design and innovation. So what's next for Michigan's second largest metro area?
Tired of wood plank roads and muddy walks around town, Grand Rapids embraced horse-drawn street cars near the end of the 19th century. The move set the stage for a monumental transformation from primitive frontier town to modern American city.
Whether it's a $5,000 grant to lift up a neighborhood association or three-quarters of a million dollars to renovate an old building, a determined culture of giving has helped set the stage for Grand Rapids' renaissance.
From a million-dollar high-rise condo unit to luxury lofts, upscale options are adding diversity to the central city's housing market and making the area a stronger and more attractive place to live.
City commissioners gave restaurateur Greg Gilmore two more weeks to start renovations on the former Creston Library Branch without upsetting a performance bond guaranteeing his plans to open an eatery. Gilmore may sell the space but maintains the property will be transformed into a neighborhood gem.
Greg Gilmore, the restaurateur behind The B.O.B. and other local establishments, has paused on plans to put a coffee shop and bakery into the former library and banking site at 1431 Plainfield Ave. Yet, with $250,000 already invested, Gilmore remains “passionate” about the project.
From water-free toilets to rooftop gardens, green design has quickly emerged as the new regional standard for developing sustainable buildings. Columnist Tom Leonard explains why, more and more, developers choose to go green.
'Sustainability' is the word for the new millenium. The term is popping up everywhere. At community meetings. On corporate advertising. In political speeches. But what does it mean? Tom Leonard explains in the first of a series of regular columns exploring what the philosophy of sustainability means for the future of West Michigan.
The county’s school choice plan is making Grand Rapids Public Schools a destination for some suburban students. Though suburb districts still outpaced the city in attracting students under the school choice rules, the city did attract 84 new suburban students. School officials credit new programs and school investment.
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