Grand Rapids' urban center is receiving a lot of attention recently, especially from real estate developers and investors. Certain areas, like downtown Grand Rapids and the Medical Mile are receiving the brunt of commercial attention, but there are certainly many neighborhoods that are ripe for development and new construction. Orion Real Estate Solutions, a Grand Rapids-based company, is looking to the popular Eastown neighborhood as one such area.
According to an article in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, the development was designed and submitted for consideration to city planners by Orion Real Estate Solutions. While the project has been in the early planning stages for some time, Orion Real Estate Solutions is now within a month of potentially having their plans approved, pending zoning changes and approval.
The newest announced development plan involves a 1.2 acre parcel at the intersection of Fulton Ave and Carlton Ave, with an address of 1 Carlton Ave. SE. The proposed development would be a four-story mixed-use building, which could bring substantial traffic to the area. Included in the concept plans for the property are 3,500 square feet of restaurant space on the first floor of the building, as well as another 3,200 square feet of retail space on the ground floor as well. For businesses, that means plenty of street frontage and a chance to lure in customers who are walking or driving through the neighborhood with signage and window displays. For those driving, there will be a total of seventy-six parking spaces, making finding a place to park a snap for those wanting to patronize the businesses and those living in the building as well.
For potential residents of the building, this means that there will be several convenient shopping and dining options right past their front door, a truly convenient set-up. The three upper stories of the building would house a total of 47 apartments in a variety of sizes. The building at 1 Carlton Ave would include three three bedroom apartment units, twelve two-bedroom apartments, twenty-five one bedroom apartments, and seven studio apartments.
The current plan has evolved and changed substantially since the development was first proposed to area residents and community planners. They took into consideration feedback both from local community organizations and the city zoning department while working over the last year to fine-tune this proposal.
The next step for this proposed multi-use building will be a meeting on August 23rd regarding changing the zoning for the parcel of land. Should that process complete without further complications, Orion Real Estate Solutions will move forward with establishing a construction schedule. That will include announcing the date for a groundbreaking ceremony. Orion Real Estate Solutions is confident that they will soon be working to build their second multi-purpose building to the Eastown neighborhood.
As the face of Grand Rapids and its various neighborhoods change and develop, you can count on the professional team at Pyxis Realty to be knowledgeable about future developments and how they can affect the livability of a neighborhood. If you are considering buying a house, selling your home, or moving to a new neighborhood, be sure to get in touch with our staff today to see how we can make the process as simple and painless as possible!