At the turn of the 20th century, at end of a streetcar line that stretched from downtown Grand Rapids to Reeds Lake, the city of East Grand Rapids was born. This community earns national recognition for its quality education, walkable neighborhoods, stately homes, and ever evolving and vibrant Gaslight Village shopping district.
What’s black and white and chic all over? Dear Prudence, a fun new jewelry haven in East Grand Rapids. Dear Prudence, owned by Prudence Kauffman, is a diminutive 400-square-foot boutique […]
Grand Rapids has spent much of the past century as a manufacturing power house. With the changing global economy, what does the future hold for our community?
Bikes and cars in Grand Rapids, sharing the roads in harmony? Some people have that dream. Come find out what it's all about June 29.
The Steelcase-outfitted co-working space, 654 Croswell (East Grand Rapids), was featured in Rapid Growth Media last January. Its managers say one of the biggest lessons learned during its first year of operations is that if you want to create a space where people are interested in working, it has to be dynamically managed. Although "co-working is exploding over the country," Grand Rapids is still adapting to the concept, according to Jeffrey Schutte, a member of the leadership team at Turnstone and at 654 Croswell, citing an increased number of inquiries about the space. Lisa Mead, service delivery leader, identified two insights from their year one experience. "First is to be more flexible in our offering," she says. Mead cites the opportunities to adjust hours and rates on a seasonal and 'pop-up' basis, such as during spring break, when parents' home office routines become disrupted. The second insight is a bit more complicated. "We don't want to look like corporate America, but we want to still provide the useful gems that make office work effective," Mead states. As an example, she points to the many service and volunteer opportunities that are traditionally organized at work that can be missed at co-working spaces and home offices. Both Schutte and Mead remain very optimistic about the future of co-working in West Michigan, and rightfully so. In a recent report published by Intuit, 20 demographic, economic and technological trends that will be shaping consumer and business behavior in the next decade were identified. One that was highlighted was the continued growth of "third places," such as co-workiing spaces and rent-by-the hour offices, both part of the bigger picture of the reinvention of the workplace. Schutte concludes, "I haven't been in a city anywhere in the country where co-working is not a hot topic." To learn more about 654 Croswell, you can visit their website here. Source: Lisa Mead and Jeffrey Schutte; Turnstone and the 654 Croswell team Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs editor.
Deborah Johnson WoodThe $98 million expansion of Grand Rapids' Blodgett Hospital converts the entire facility to private rooms – many of which will have a lake view. "It's an enormous pleasure to look out the windows, because some of the rooms face Fisk Lake," says Derrick Brown, project manager for Spectrum Health Hospital Group. "It's just breathtaking to see the lake and the gorgeous homes. This is the only healthcare facility that I've ever worked on that's had a significant view like that." Brown says the 162,000-square-foot addition converts the entire hospital to private patient rooms and adds eight operating rooms, bringing the total operating rooms to 14 with space to add four more, if needed. The four-story LEED project is on budget and on schedule for public tours the week of September 20 and seeing patients the week of October 10, 2010.The drywall installation is complete on all floors, with final painting and wall coverings underway. The first floor construction is completed and awaiting the arrival of cabinets and nurses' stations, says Brown. The original plans did not include a basement, but Brown says that was added after construction began. But even though everything is on schedule, the project has presented its own set of challenges. "The site has very limited space and we haven't had "lay down" space for building materials," Brown says. "Some portions have been built offsite and brought over; other things, like the steel, came precut and prepped so we were able to move a lot faster."Throughout the length of the project Brown says Spectrum Health has kept neighbors apprised of what to expect. "The Blodgett campus is a community hospital, and any time the work will be noisy, create vibrations or we've had to shut down a street, we've communicated that by going door-to-door," Brown says. "I've done this type of work at other hospitals for a number of years and nowhere have we had the interaction with the community that we've had here."Source: Derrick Brown, Spectrum Health Hospital GroupRelated ArticlesBlodgett Hospital unveils $98M expansion plan $98M Blodgett Hospital overhaul proceeding on schedule in East Grand Rapids Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com. Development News tips can be sent to info@rapidgrowthmedia.com.
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