Crain's Grand Rapids Business, Feb 19, 2024 by crainsgrandrapids.com

CRAINSGRANDRAPIDS.COM I FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Management deal sends hospitality firm to Muskegon AHC will oversee Parkland Properties’ hotels, restaurants and convention center By Kate Carlson Supermercado Mexico currently employs around 110 people at its three stores in the greater Grand Rapids area. | COURTESY PHOTO

Family-owned Hispanic grocery plots expansion Supermercado Mexico adds CEO to oversee growth

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As Supermercado Mexico moves forward with a $4.1 million project to add a fourth store by repurposing a vacant building on Grand Rapids’ southwest side, the Hispanic-owned retailer is readying for even more growth in the years ahead. The local grocery chain owned by the Olvera family is adding a new CEO role to oversee those expansion plans. Under the transition plan, the company will tap current general manager

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By Abby Poirier

Javier Olvera, Olvera Enterprises.

Benjamin Cochran, Supermercado Mexico.

Benjamin Cochran to serve as the new top executive in the coming months. With the new CEO in place,

co-owner Javier Olvera hopes to position Supermercado Mexico to add more stores throughout West Michigan, noting the company currently is eyeing locations in the Lansing and Holland areas. “We’re going to be expanding a lot faster,” Olvera told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. Supermercado Mexico employs around 110 people, 90 of whom are part-time and full-time retail workers at the chain’s three Wyoming locations. The store See GROCERY on Page 29

Grand Rapids-based AHC Hospitality is expanding its reach into Muskegon under a new deal to manage multiple downtown hotels, restaurants and a convention space. Effective this month, the DeVos- and Van Andel-owned AHC Hospitality will manage Parkland Properties of Michigan’s developments in Muskegon that include the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center, Delta Hotels by Marriott, Shoreline Inn & Conference Center, Terrace Point Marina, Lake House Waterfront Grille, Walker’s restaurant, and the Lake Effect Bistro. Parkland Properties executives say the deal will allow the Muskegon-based developer to focus on two major projects in its pipeline that involve repurposing the 122-acre former Sappi paper mill site and redeveloping the former Shaw Walker Furniture Co. building. Both mixeduse projects would add hundreds of housing units along or near Muskegon Lake.

The VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center in downtown Muskegon. | COURTESY OF PARKLAND PROPERTIES OF MICHIGAN

“Our two projects are moving full-swing and we’re trying to reallocate our resources and our time so our team can focus on these projects,” said Rory Charron, Parkland Properties’ director of operations and real estate. “This is purely to enable us to continue to grow and bring in someone that’s a proven hospitality leader in West Michigan and continue to grow our operations.” AHC Hospitality operates several downtown Grand Rapids hotels and restaurants, including the Amway Grand Plaza, JW Marriott Grand Rapids, Courtyard by Marriott, AC Hotel by Marriott, Hyatt Place, The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck, Rendezvous, MDRD and IDC. See AHC on Page 28

21 key corridors ripe for potential redevelopment Study looks at best places for housing projects based on available utilities By Rachel Watson

Urbanists and economic development experts say a study underway in Kent County could help stakeholders get on the same page about the best places to put new housing development.

Housing Next, a group formed in 2018 to address the housing shortage in Kent and Ottawa counties, is working on a study of 21 key commercial corridors in Kent County that would be ripe for housing development based on public utilities like water and

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sewer, as well as the presence of public transit and underutilized buildings. The group led by Executive Director Brooke Oosterman hired its former executive director Ryan Kilpatrick, owner and principal of Grand Rapids-based Flywheel Community Development, to help conduct the study. Housing Next is looking at 21 See CORRIDORS on Page 28

A drone shot shows the Alpine Avenue corridor in Walker from near the I-96 interchange looking north. | CITY OF WALKER

REAL ESTATE Commercial, residential markets in Muskegon on the upswing

FORUM As newspapers shrink, new models for journalism emerge. Will it be enough?

NOTABLES Meet West Michigan’s Notable Women in Law

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Gotion prepares for environmental reviews Executives hope to break ground on $2.4 billion project this year By Kayleigh Van Wyk

Gotion Inc. is preparing to submit “very comprehensive” requests for local, state and federal environmental permits to advance its $2.4 billion battery manufacturing project planned near Big Rapids. Gotion executives hope to break ground on the project later this year, or once necessary regulatory reviews are completed. The project promises 2,350 new jobs but has sparked controversy since it

was first announced in 2022, including over its potential effects on the environment. Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s vice president for North American operations, said in a recent interview that the company is assembling a “very comprehensive permit application” that should be completed around the end of March before undergoing a review process. According to Thelen, local permits are still needed from Mecosta County and the county drain commissioner related to construction

on two planned buildings. Additionally, air and water quality permits will be needed from both state and federal regulators, including the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also has a say in the process,” Thelen said. “So, based on the result of the permit process, as soon as that is See GOTION on Page 27

Conceptual plans for Gotion’s $2.4 billion battery manufacturing plant near Big Rapids. | GOTION INC.

Gentex acquires 6-acre GR property Supplier plans ‘modern’ manufacturing facility with room to grow By Kayleigh Van Wyk

just one challenge after another with changing environmental regulations,” Wheeler said. “Then what really has been the biggest obstacle as of late that we’re still working to overcome (is) the cost of construction and interest rates.” He said the project cost has ballooned to an estimated $12 million to $14 million, up from the last projection of $10 million about 16 months ago. To make the budget work out, Wheeler Development is seeking state brownfield tax increment

Zeeland-based Tier 1 automotive and aerospace supplier Gentex Corp. continues to expand in the city of Grand Rapids, where it has acquired another property on the city’s south side for a potential manufacturing facility, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business has learned. A Gentex (Nasdaq: GNTX) spokesperson confirmed that the company has purchased the vacant 6.4-acre property at 1639 Madison Ave. SE. A rezoning request pending with the city indicates plans for a “modern manufacturing facility.” “This new acquisition demonstrates our continued investment in the Grand Rapids area, our desire to expand our manufacturing capacity to support future growth, and our continued commitment to bring jobs and renewal to the Madison Square neighborhood,” Craig Piersma, vice president of marketing at Gentex, said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to the opportunities this new chapter presents for Gentex, the City of Grand Rapids, and the local community.” The property is located a few blocks south of a satellite production facility at 355 Cottage Grove St. SE that the company opened in spring 2023 in the Madison Square neighborhood. Later in 2023, Gentex announced the opening of a technology hub in downtown Grand Rapids, part of the Tier 1 automotive and aerospace supplier’s ongoing plan to invest in

See HOTEL ROSE on Page 29

See GENTEX on Page 29

Wheeler Development Group is targeting a summer 2025 opening date for the proposed Hotel Rose in Rockford. | GHAFARI

Developer targets 2025 opening for Rockford hotel project State incentives still needed for long-delayed Hotel Rose proposal | By Rachel Watson The developer behind a longplanned boutique hotel in Rockford expects to break ground on the facility later this year, although the project remains “dependent” on securing state incentives. Ryan Wheeler, president of Grand Rapids-based Wheeler Development Group, said the firm aims to break ground in late spring or early summer on the 54-room Hotel Rose, which has been in the works at 10 and 12 S. Main St. in Rockford since 2019. If all progresses as planned, construction is expected to take about 15 months, with a target

opening date of summer 2025. Wheeler also shared with Crain’s the latest approved concept rendering from project ar-

is proposed on two parcels in downtown Rockford, with ground-floor retail, a restaurant and bar, and two floors of hotel

“It’s been five years we’ve been working on this, with COVID and everything in between, and then just one challenge after another with changing environmental regulations.” — Ryan Wheeler, president of Grand Rapids-based Wheeler Development Group chitect Ghafari Associates LLC. The rendering shows the exterior of the approximately 38,000-square-foot building that

rooms above. “It’s been five years we’ve been working on this, with COVID and everything in between, and then

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Report finds Muskegon is short 9,200 housing units By Rachel Watson

Leaders in Muskegon County have new data to use as they plot a strategy for closing the countywide housing gap over the next few years. The Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Greater Muskegon Economic Development and Muskegon County last spring hired Bowen National Research to complete a Muskegon County Housing Needs Assessment. The study, which was funded by the aforementioned partners and United Way of the Lakeshore, Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, the city of Muskegon, Goodwill Industries and the city of Norton Shores, was completed last August. The partners kicked off the process of presenting it to community stakeholders in January. Bowen completed similar housing needs assessments for the city of Muskegon, as well as for Kent and Ottawa counties through Housing Next. The Muskegon County study found that between 2022 and 2027, the county’s housing gap will grow to 9,184 residential units, including 3,043 rental units and 6,141 for-sale units. Todd Jacobs, president and CEO of the community foundation, said the group hopes to build an action plan and implement it by the end of the third quarter of 2024. The

Harbor 31 mixed-use project at the former Teledyne Continental Motors site. | COURTESY OF HENRICKSON ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING

partners hired Ryan Kilpatrick, lead consultant with Housing Next and owner of Grand Rapids-based Flywheel Community Development, to focus on two main objectives: community engagement and municipal capacity building, and determining a model for taking action, including identifying an entity to lead the charge. “We’re just trying to be methodical and strategic in terms of how we help catalyze what’s needed around housing,” Jacobs said. Marla Schneider, president and CEO of GMED, said her agency wants to close the housing gap because it is affecting Muskegon County workers, some of whom commute 50 miles a day. According to data from GMED, 38.5% of the local workforce commutes in from other counties, with half of them indicating they would consider mov-

ing to Muskegon County if it had affordable homes available. “There is a need for us, and there is a market for us to develop housing,” said Schneider, noting the shortage of units also hampers business attraction efforts since employers have difficulty recruiting workers if there is no housing supply. The action plan likely will target zoning reforms and identify existing infrastructure that could help Muskegon County “make better use of our available land,” Schneider said, just as Housing Next has done in Kent County. Already, the county has determined it has 42 potential sites spanning 350 acres of land that could be used for housing development. Coupled with projects underway or proposed in the city of Muskegon, Norton Shores, North

Muskegon and surrounding townships, Schneider said she is hopeful the county can close the gap within five years. Jacobs echoed that belief. “I’m certainly optimistic that we can significantly reduce that gap,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work that we need to do to continue to foster additional growth in housing … (but) we’re in a favorable position. Housing costs are up everywhere, and while they’re up in Muskegon County, they haven’t necessarily risen to the level of some of our neighboring counties, and so I think that can be helpful to Muskegon County as we’re trying to spur additional growth. But we also want to do this in a very responsible and regionally collaborative way.” Norton Shores City Administrator Anthony Chandler said his city with a population of about 25,000 has more than 400 housing units in its pipeline, most of it market rate or for middle-income buyers, that he expects will come online within the next three years or so. Just over a third of the units are for-sale single-family housing, and the rest will be multifamily rental units. “We’ve always traditionally been fairly strong in the single-family housing market, but it’s nice to see those larger apartment complexes come online, as well, because that provides the diversity of housing that we need here in the communi-

ty and in the county as a whole,” Chandler said. In Muskegon, housing projects underway include the redevelopment of the former Sappi paper mill into Windward Pointe, conversion of the former Shaw Walker Furniture Co. building into housing, construction of the 31-acre Harbor 31 mixed-use project at the former Teledyne Continental Motors site, the massive $250 million Adelaide Pointe development and the proposed 240-unit The Docks project. Combined, they would add thousands of for-sale and rental housing units over the next fiveplus years. The projects, combined with the city’s scattered-site housing program that has yielded about 200 new construction single-family homes since 2020, will bring online at least some of the nearly 3,000 units the city is projected to need by 2027, per its own housing needs assessment. “We’re enthused by the opportunities that we have underway right now, but we also have big challenges ahead of us (to build) truly affordable housing that can be accessed for very low price points,” said Jake Eckholm, director of development services for the city of Muskegon. “(But) we’re very up for the challenge at city hall, and housing will be a main focus for our community over the next decade.”

Major Muskegon lakefront developments spark interest By Kate Carlson

Bryan Bench remembers as recently as four or five years ago when older buildings in downtown Muskegon could be bought for next to nothing as interest waned in the shoreline city. These days, however, that malaise has been replaced with a palpable enthusiasm as embodied by four massive mixed-use projects in various stages of development along the shores of Muskegon Lake, said Bench, the commercial manager and partner at Muskegon-based Core Realty Partners. Three of the developments — Adelaide Pointe, Harbor 31 and the renovation of the Shaw Walker Furniture building — propose to add about 700 more housing units to the perimeter of the downtown along with marinas, retail, event space, and bars and restaurants. Plans are also in the early states of site due diligence to redevelop the former Sappi Paper Mill into a large mixed-use community called Windward Pointe, which could include up to 2,314 residential units. Bench said “the big story for Muskegon” stems from the amount of available land along the lakefront. “That is really unique to have as much land and potential projects on the waterfront. Where else can you find 90-100 acres on a lake that is available for redevelopment?” he said. The recent surge of large-scale

waterfront developments has piqued the interest of developers and investors from outside of the area and outside of Michigan, said Bench, noting those calls were nonexistent three or four years ago. While the development along the waterfront has received the most attention, Muskegon County broadly is experiencing an uptick in active projects, said Marla Schneider, president and CEO of Greater Muskegon Economic Development (GMED). Last year, companies either locating to or expanding in the county invested more than $407 million in capital projects, creating 314 new jobs, according to data from Schneider. “Those are good numbers for Muskegon County in particular, and I think just with the resurgence of downtown, it’s starting to catch on with the natural amenities and improvements in Muskegon County in the last decade with developers and companies,” Schneider said. Overall, Schneider said the county’s biggest limitation in attracting larger corporate expansion and relocation projects is that it lacks a mega site with hundreds of acres for development. To overcome this, GMED completed a study for two industrial parks located in Muskegon Heights and currently is working to get grant funding to start to improve the parks with gateway signage, infrastructure repairs, environmental assessments and site marketing.

Adelaide Pointe, condo living room view. | COURTESY OF LEESTMA MANAGEMENT.

GMED also is considering ways to combine some smaller parcels of land throughout the county to potentially draw some bigger projects, Schneider added. The Muskegon industrial real estate market is “pretty consistent” with the rest of West Michigan with very tight inventory and not many buildings for sale or space for lease, Bench said. Industrial listings usually are not on the market too long, and Bench has done several off-market industrial deals over the past few years. “Compared to the Grand Rapids area, what we’ve lacked is people building speculative (industrial) projects,” Bench said. Property across Muskegon County also is more affordable than other lakeshore counties, Schneider said, noting that the huge influx of mixed-use housing

serves as a selling point for companies. Other selling points for the county include the natural assets along the lakeshore, its proximity to a major metro like Grand Rapids, and a great downtown that’s been redeveloped with more retail coming into play, she said. Along with most other areas of the country, Muskegon’s office market continues to struggle, but some coworking models have found success in activating space in major buildings around the city’s downtown and lakeshore. “There is plenty of office (space) available that has been on the market for a while,” Bench said. “That still has been a challenge.” Frank Peterson, who served as the city manager of Muskegon before resigning in 2022, is leading one of those coworking efforts. Peterson is now the vice president of

operations at Wheelfish Group, an investment and development company that operates the coworking space called the Muskegon Growth Collaborative. The coworking model launched at the end of 2023 and operates on the second floor of the Hinman Company-owned Terrace Point building, formerly known as the SPX Pyramid. Wheelfish took out a 7-year lease for the second floor of the building, which comprises about 16,000 square feet of office space, Peterson said. “We didn’t initially take the space with a coworking vision in mind,” Peterson said. “We took the space because we wanted to activate it and signed the lease then started to put the plan together.” With more people working remotely and able to live wherever they want, Muskegon offers a slower pace and high quality of life with urban amenities that other lakeshore communities might not have because they are smaller, Peterson said. “It’s more likely that people who are working remotely are going to see a place like Muskegon and relocate here for the quality of life,” Peterson said. “More workers will be on their own and seeking this kind of building where you can have coworkers, friends and bounce ideas off them. You still need those opportunities if you ever want to fit into and find your place in a community.”

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State puts $23.8M toward large properties for development By Kate Carlson

Five sites across West Michigan have received nearly $24 million in state funding to prepare the sprawling properties for industrial and commercial redevelopment. That includes $17.5 million to help make a 237-acre property east of Grand Rapids shovel-ready for private investment. Covenant Business Park in Lowell Charter Township received the funding through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Strategic Site Readiness Program (SSRP), which was created to prepare industrial and commercial sites across Michigan for development. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board approved the funding for the Lowell Township project, which was among 18 projects across the state that received a total of $87.5 million in grants. The Right Place Inc., Oak Brook, Ill.-based developer Franklin Partners and Lowell Charter Township applied for the funding to further develop the parcel. The funds awarded are half of the $35 million needed to get the site shovel-ready for development. “To put it simply, there are very few sites throughout Michigan with the desirability of this one,” Travis Alden, senior director of community development at The Right Place, said in a statement. “This project’s potential is only realized by MEDC’s SSRP funding, and we will see a significant return on investment for the Lowell area and the region.” Other SSRP award recipients include sites in Muskegon Heights, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor and

Van Buren County. The 18 total sites that received grants average 200 acres in size, with the largest site being nearly 800 acres. The 240-acre Benton Harbor Data and Tech Park in Benton Charter Township received $3.6 million, which will help fund improvements such as extending utilities, improving transportation infrastructure and studying a drain relocation on the site. “Our local community and our private partners have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in this site already, and quite frankly, it hasn’t been enough,” Rob Cleveland, president and CEO of Cornerstone Alliance, said during the public comment portion of the MSF Board meeting. “It really will be transformational for our community. It’s the closest large site to the Chicago metro area.” An 800-acre site in Hartford Township in Van Buren County will receive $467,250 from the SSRP program to assist with studying threatened endangered species in the area, wetlands and site topography, said Zach Morris, executive director for Market Van Buren, the economic development organization for Cass and Van Buren counties. Morris said the sprawling Hartford Township property would be ripe as the next location for a large electric vehicle-related manufacturing plant once it is development-ready. “This site should be the next one developed,” Morris said at the meeting. “(We need the funding) to market the next large facility coming to the state of Michigan.” The MSF Board also approved $2.1 million for the 265-acre South-

Developers plan to convert a 237-acre property in Lowell Township into a commercial and industrial business park. | COURTESY OF THE RIGHT PLACE

west Michigan Commerce Park that would involve extending sewer lines deeper into Comstock and Pavilion townships near Kalamazoo. In Muskegon County, the MSF Board approved $121,200 for a 27acre site in Muskegon Heights that could host an industrial park and “assist in reducing the poverty level in an underserved community,” according to a project description in an MEDC memo. Terri Fitzpatrick, executive vice president, chief real estate and global attraction officer for the MEDC, said the SSRP is important because site location and talent continue to be the top priorities in the site selection process. “It’s more important now than ever because of contracted timelines in the development process and competitive offerings,” Fitzpat-

rick said. The MEDC received 72 applications totaling requests for more than $420.6 million for SSRP funding. After MEDC staff reviewed applications for eligibility, they evaluated the submissions based on several priorities. These criteria included whether the site was a brownfield, a site’s marketability, whether it had already received interest from companies in the past, speed to market, and how much a project is expected to have an effect on the state and regional economy. Strategic Fund Board member Cindy Warner said during the meeting she was surprised that a number of the award recipients had no local site funding support, and noted she expected more of the sites to be brownfields. Ten of the 18 sites qualify as brownfields.

“We looked at the total amount of the development cost that was presented by the applicant and we did look at if there was public or private support but our focus was really on what sites are the best site for attraction opportunities,” Fitzpatrick said. The SSRP was formed in December 2021 by Public Act 134, which was meant to increase Michigan’s chance of competing for transformational projects. Funding was then directed to the SSRP with Public Act 194 of 2022, including $100 million for strategic sites that have not identified an end user. The MSF Board held back some of the available $100 million in funding to support applicants that require more time for evaluation, as well as future applications it might receive later this year, Fitzpatrick said.

82 Ionia may be poised for office-to-housing conversion By Kate Carlson

Kent County’s plan to relocate various services to northeast Grand Rapids opens a private redevelopment opportunity at a four-story office building in the heart of downtown. Local brokers, property owners and downtown leaders say the 108,000-square-foot office building at 82 Ionia Ave. NW may be poised for a rare conversion to housing. While such conversions have failed to gain widespread traction based on design complexities and construction costs, Grand Rapids’ well-documented housing needs may help spur a new purpose at 82 Ionia. “Dollars to doughnuts that will get converted to residential,” Sam Cummings, managing partner at major downtown property owner CWD Real Estate Investment, predicted about 82 Ionia. While the concept of office-to-residential has been discussed at length coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, few projects have materialized. One notable project is a local developer’s plans to convert a former AT&T call center south of Grand Rapids into 150

affordable housing units. Kent County officials are in the process of building a new administration building near Fuller Avenue and I-196 in the coming years. The county’s administration building downtown would be renovated and house employees currently working at 82 Ionia. That frees up 82 Ionia, whose future county officials have debated for nearly a decade, for a private buyer. Jeff Karger, senior vice president at JLL’s Grand Rapids office, said the building is “not very efficient from an office use perspective” because of its unique interior layout. He raised the idea of a potential conversion to housing or a hotel. “Some B-type buildings downtown will be good candidates for change-of-use,” Karger said. “I don’t think the office market can absorb that in its current condition but it also depends on the timing of when they bring it to market.” Richard Winn, president of hotel operator AHC Hospitality and chairperson of the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority and Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, said the redevelopment potential at 82

The building at 82 Ionia Ave. NW was constructed in 1932 for Klingman’s Sample Furniture Co. | KATE CARLSON

Ionia is a positive in the county’s plan, which also involves moving 180 office workers out of downtown. “If I had a recommendation (for 82 Ionia), it would be residential because it’s right downtown,” Winn said. “We need more residential units downtown.” Kent County purchased 82 Ionia for nearly $5.4 million in 2005 from Sibsco LLC, which is registered to Mark Schut, who works as an accountant for the Secchia family. The 1.32-acre lot includes 126 parking spaces in a two-story ramp. The building was constructed in

1932 for Klingman’s Sample Furniture Co. The lower level of the building previously housed Diversions Bar, which closed in 2016. Kent County attempted to sell the property twice over the years. A $10 million offer from Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design in 2015 fell through. The county relisted the property in 2017, but the Kent County Board of Commissioners ultimately rejected purchase proposals that ranged from $3.4 million to $10 million. Those previous proposals lacked plans for displaced county employees and services at the time, ac-

cording to reporting from MLive. While increasingly pressing housing needs in Grand Rapids may support 82 Ionia’s conversion to housing, developers still face challenges with rising construction costs and interest rates that have made financing difficult. Architectural firms across the country with a specialization in multifamily residential reported that an average of 16% of their projects were significantly delayed over the past six months, according to the latest data from the American Institute of Architects. Architectural firms overall reported 14% of their projects were significantly delayed. New multifamily projects have been especially difficult to pencil in recently, mainly because of high interest rates. This is in line with what Third Coast Development LLC Partner Dave Levitt recently told Crain’s Grand Rapids when discussing the financing obstacles that have been stalling a 39-unit housing project on the city’s northeast side, near the county’s proposed campus. “If it’s not (using) Low Income Housing Tax Credits or high-end housing, there isn’t a lot of housing being built right now,” Levitt said.

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Banks eye steady business loan growth for 2024 By Mark Sanchez

Banks in West Michigan generally ended 2023 with solid commercial loan growth, even with higher interest rates and lingering concerns from a challenging economic environment. As the U.S. economy continues to hold up, albeit with slow growth still expected throughout the 2024, executives at several West Michigan-based banks that reported quarterly and full-year results during January said they anticipate steady loan growth in the year ahead. Among them is Independent Bank Corp. “Looking forward, based on a strong pipeline and a solid liquidity position, we see continued growth opportunity while maintaining our disciplined credit standards,” said Joel Rahn, executive vice president for commercial banking at Grand Rapids-based Independent Bank. The bank grew commercial loans by $54 million in the fourth quarter to $1.67 billion at year’s end. Commercial loans grew by $213 million for the whole year. Independent

Mercantile Bank’s commercial loans in 2023 grew $260 million by about 8.5% to $3.41 billion. Bank began 2024 with “pretty stable” loan demand that would benefit when interest rates, as predicted, begin to decline by midyear, Rahn said. “As I talked to our customers, especially our significant customers, … I would characterize their outlook for ’24 as much the same as ’23. Most businesses are doing well. I wouldn’t say great but doing well,” he told investors in a January conference call to discuss results. “The automotive strike fortunately was resolved before it really inflicted a lot of pain on the supply base. So, I think the outlook is pretty stable, and I do think that if we get to the second half of the year and rates do start to come down, that could provide some lift to things like commercial construction and future project planning.” Independent Bank targets 6% to 8% total loan growth this year and expects a total of four quarter-point cuts to interest rates beginning in May, according to Rahn. Huntington Bank expects three or four interest rate cuts in 2024 and anticipates accelerated loan growth during the year. In West Michigan, Huntington Bank began the new year with strong loan pipelines, particularly among commercial clients wanting to invest in automation to offset labor shortages, said Regional President Lauren Davis. “As I’m talking to our market leaders, we have a lot of customers who are very interested in still looking at buying equipment. (They’re asking,) ‘How can I automate? What kind of robotics do I need to

be thinking about?’ Any of that type of equipment, they’re looking to invest,” Davis told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. Given the economic uncertainty during 2023 that lingered into 2024, prospective borrowers have been more selective in seeking credit, Davis said. Still, businesses in general have not “necessarily taken their foot off the gas,” she said. “They may have thought about strategically, ‘Which should I invest in? Should I invest in equipment? Should I invest in expanding my building and maybe not both?’ But they are still saying, we have to look

out to the future and see what is growth going to look like for this region,” Davis said. Most business clients “are performing well,” and some are beginning to weigh whether to proceed with a credit request now or wait until rates start to come down, she said. Many business owners that Davis talks to “are very optimistic about our future in our region.” Grand Rapids-based Mercantile Bank recorded “extremely strong commercial loan growth” in the fourth quarter and continued “to build robust pipelines bearing some meaningful fruit as we ended

2023,” said President and CEO Robert Kaminski Jr. Mercantile Bank’s commercial loans in 2023 grew $260 million by about 8.5% to $3.41 billion. Commercial loans increased $178 million in the fourth quarter alone, or a 22% annualized growth rate, according to bank President Ray Reitsma. The strong commercial loan growth rates came despite high levels of loan payoffs and paydowns, said CFO Chuck Christmas. Economically, the bank’s commercial clients “continue to report strong results to date and have not begun to experience the impacts of

a potential recessionary environment in any systemic fashion,” Reitsma said. At the end of 2023, Mercantile Bank had $311 million in commercial construction and development loans that it expects to fund over the next 12 to 18 months, he said. The biggest growth prospects for Mercantile Bank are tied to ownership transitions, including acquisitions and companies converting to an employee stock ownership program, or ESOP, Reitsma said. “That’s been an area that we’ve done well in over the last year or two,” he said.

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LOCAL JOURNALISM

NEWS From Page 11

But even the largest news organizations that remain in Michigan have been hard hit. The Detroit Free Press had a newsroom of more than 400 before the 1995-97 Detroit newspaper strike, a former Free Press staffer recalls. In 2000, the Detroit News had a newsroom of 300, publisher Gary Miles recently told Axios. Those numbers have steadily eroded. In 2023, the Newspaper Guild of Detroit had 75 union members at the Free Press and 31 at the News, which doesn’t include nonunion journalists, according to Guild data. At the Macomb Daily, the Guild’s membership went from 72 to 11 between 2013 and 2023. Staffing information is not available for MLive Media Group, which has newspapers in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint, Bay City, Saginaw, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Muskegon. But the chain had four rounds of layoffs and buyouts between 2009 and 2018. (The author of this story retired from MLive in 2021 and still has a freelance contract with them.) Local journalism is “in crisis,” said Tim Franklin, who heads Northwestern’s Local News Initiative and is a former top editor at the Indianapolis Star, Orlando Sentinel and Baltimore Sun. “I equate the local news crisis to being journalism’s climate change. It’s this grinding attrition,” he said. “We’re at a real inflection point for local news in America. The question is, how are we going to get out of this?” It’s a question that Stephen Henderson thinks about a lot.

‘Nobody is watching’ Henderson was deputy editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press when the newspaper was covering one huge story after another: The Kwame Kilpatrick scandal, the auto bankruptcies, the Detroit city bankruptcy. Henderson won a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for his columns on city issues. Henderson left the Free Press in 2017 and helped to found BridgeDetroit, an offshoot of Bridge magazine, a nonprofit news outlet that covers statewide issues. Henderson is immensely proud of BridgeDetroit, which has six full-time staffers and several contract workers. But he’s the first to acknowledge it can’t match the breadth and depth of coverage provided by the Free Press and Detroit News. “BridgeDetroit is doing really great stuff,” he said. “But there’s never a day in which I imagine it’s an adequate replacement for the newsrooms that I used to work in. It’s not even close.” That’s worrisome, say many, because of the importance that the media plays in holding government officials accountable, keeping the populace informed and helping to foster community connections. “I really do believe there’s never been a better time to be a corrupt

Change in newspaper journalists working in 2005 vs. 2022 The number of newspaper journalists working in Michigan from 2005 to 2022 has decreased by 58%.

-60% or more -40% to -60% -20% to -40% 0 to -20% 3%+ Source: Medill Local News Initiative; Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. newspaper employment in 2005 and 2023 Total newspaper employment has decreased by more than 70% across the United States in the past 15 years. . -29% Accounting and Management -58%

Newsroom

-70%

Other, Administration and Support

-75%

Sales and Marketing

-85%

Production and Distribution

Source: Medill Local News Initiative; Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. newspapers, 2005 and 2023

Michigan news landscape

There has been a net loss of 2,886 papers since 2005.

Total number of outlets in 2023

7,419 7,000

14 9 16 Digital Ethnic Public sites outlets broadcasting

6,000 5,000 4,000

241 Total news outlets

3,000 1,472

1,000 0

Michigan has 202 newspapers: 45 dailies and 157 weeklies. 170 150 157 125 100

4,792

2,000

Michigan newspapers

1,213

75 50 25 0

’05 ’23 Nondaily

’05 ’23 Daily

202 Newspapers

’22 ’23 Daily -2% change

’22 ’23 Weekly -8% change

Source: Medill Local News Initiative

local politician because nobody is watching the henhouse,” said Sue Ellen Christian, a former Chicago Tribune reporter and now a Western Michigan University journalism professor. “There are very few local reporters now, few local news outlets with the bandwidth to pull the documents, go to obscure committee meetings — that’s where you find the story, the string that you pull that becomes a really good, important local news story.” Gannett, which owns 20 Michigan newspapers including the Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Gary Miles, executive editor of

the Detroit News — owned by Digital First Media in Denver, which also operates the Oakland Press, Macomb Daily and News-Herald in Southgate — declined comment. MLive also declined tocomment.

‘That was stupid’ For much of the nation’s history, newspapers were a core pillar of democracy and the population’s primary information source. They were also highly profitable. Most newspapers’ revenue came from advertisers — retail stores, supermarkets, movie theaters, car dealers, real estate list-

ings, employers seeking to fill jobs, candidates running for office. In the late 1990s, publicly traded newspaper companies averaged a 19.5% profit margin, which was two to three times higher than the average for U.S. manufacturing companies, said a 1999 report by Harvard’s Nieman Foundation. In the past quarter century, the internet has completely upended the business model. Most people now get their news online. Monetizing digital news sites is a challenge; the explosion of online searches and social media has created new ways for people to stay informed and for advertisers to target potential customers.

It didn’t help that media companies initially posted all their news content online for free. “That was stupid,” said Esther Thorsen, a Michigan State University journalism professor who studies media economics. “‘Here, Facebook. Here’s all our stories’. … I think the statistics are now that about 50% of people never read a newspaper or look at TV news. They get their news from social media.” The result has been a downward spiral in which media conglomerates cut costs to maintain profitability, which only seems to exacerbate declines in advertising and circulation. In 1997, Gannett reported a 27% return on investment. From 202022, the company lost money. It returned to profitability in 2023 after slashing its workforce from 21,000 in 2019 to 11,200. But many question whether Gannett — and a host of other corporations that have laid off staffers in recent years — are digging their own grave. In 1999, the Sunday circulation was almost 770,000 for the Detroit Free Press and 820,000 for the Detroit News, according to Michigan Press Association data. In 2022, the Free Press’ Sunday circulation was 103,000, according to Gannett’s 2022 annual report. The Detroit News no longer has a Sunday newspaper. “It’s as old as capitalism itself — you have to make a product that people are willing to pay for,” Franklin said. For the big media companies, “the big question I have is, can they survive long term by giving people less and charging more and expecting people to go along for the ride?”

‘A pretty simple calculation’ There are success stories. In 2020, Charles Colby purchased The Sun-Times, a Washtenaw County weekly that covers Chelsea, Dexter and Saline just after it went defunct. Colby — who has a background in marketing and lives in Dexter — revived the publication and it’s now doing well enough that he’s planning to launch a new website and divide the Sun-Times into two publications, one for Chelsea and Dexter, and another for Saline and Milan. The Sun-Times currently has five reporters, three advertising salespeople and two administrators in addition to Colby. The key has been local ownership and interesting, relevant content, he said. “In my estimation, it’s a pretty simple calculation — if the newspaper is of value to the reader, the newspaper becomes of value to the advertiser,” he said. Local ownership helps in selling advertising and subscriptions, Colby said. He’s also more willing than a corporation to break even vs. maximizing profits. “Ownership from afar is almost always the kiss of death” for newspapers, he said. Another success is the growth of online news sites such as Bridge magazine, Chalkbeat and Michigan Advance. Issue Media Group, which started in 2005 with Model

12 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | February 19, 2024

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D, an online magazine in Detroit, now operates 12 news websites in Michigan, including the Ann Arbor Concentrate, Flintside, Lansing Area Capital Gains, Second Wave in Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and Rapid Growth in Grand Rapids. Many of the new startups were created as nonprofits. “I think that’s the future — no offense to our many colleagues in traditional newspapers who are still doing very important work and working harder than ever in the toughest conditions ever,” said John Bebow, founding CEO of Bridge. “I’m bullish about the nonprofit models for a variety of reasons,” he said. “I think their growth poten-

can capture the public’s attention enough to get them to pay.” But, he acknowledged, a nonprofit newsroom “takes a tremendous amount of energy to build. ... You need accounting services, benefits, payroll management, insurance, stuff that adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. You’ve got to have all that backend stuff before you can gather any news.”

‘Filling gaps’ Ben Lando has taken on that challenge. In 2019, he created NowKalamazoo, which already has won awards from the Michigan Press Association and recently garnered a mention in the New York Times. But Lando and his staff — one full-timer and a slate of freelancers — are focused on deep dives into issues such as homelessness and gun violence. At this point, NowKalamazoo doesn’t attempt routine coverage of city and township governments, school boards, crime and court news, business openings and closings, obituaries and local sports. “For me, it’s not about replacing,” Lando said. “It’s about filling gaps” in news coverage. Sarah Alvarez also is about fill-

“What really worries me is that last year, we saw a huge number of layoffs across the media industry including in local news.” — Tim Franklin, who heads Northwestern’s Local News Initiative

tial is only limited by the passion and interest of readership markets. There is money in every midsize city in Michigan to have thriving nonprofit newsrooms. It’s the challenge of whether journalists

Sarah Alvarez and Candice Fortman of Outlier Media run a nonprofit newsroom in Detroit that also trains residents to cover meetings and puts their notes online. | NIC ANTAYA

ing gaps. In 2016, she helped to create Outlier Media, a nonprofit news organization in Detroit. Outlier’s initiatives include its Detroit Documenters project, which has trained more than 500 Detroiters to attend local governmental meetings and take notes. The notes go through a pair of editors and are posted online.

The documenters, who are paid $18 an hour, are not journalists, Alvarez stresses. But the notes help keep citizens abreast of what’s happening on panels such as Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners and alert journalists to potential stories that need more in-depth reporting. The documenters project also increases civ-

ic engagement by employing hundreds of Detroiters to be active observers of local government. But just as with traditional journalism, fiscal sustainability is the big challenge for Outlier and other nonprofit newsrooms, especially as grants typically fund limited periods. See NEWS on Page 14

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LOCAL JOURNALISM

NEWS From Page 13

“Being a nonprofit does not change the fundamental economics of news,” Alvarez said. “It’s a very difficult business model.”

‘Some foreboding about 2024’ There is no silver bullet for the news industry, experts agree. “There is no one answer to this problem,” said Franklin, the Northwestern professor. “But in general, for legacy local news outlets, it’s making the pivot from print to digital and making the pivot from an advertising-based business model to a readerrevenue-based model. So changing the income equation so that it’s more focused on digital subscriptions, and then finding other diversified revenue streams. “But what really worries me is that last year, we saw a huge number of layoffs across the media industry including in local news, and we’ve seen advertising revenues just plummet for a lot of local news organizations, so that gives me some foreboding about 2024.” On the other hand, more and more foundations and philanthropists are interested in supporting

Unique visitors of newspaper websites

Total estimated circulation of U.S. daily newspapers

The average monthly unique visitors to the top 50 U.S. newspapers by circulation in the fourth quarter of each year. 13.9 million

In 2022, estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) was 20.9 million for both weekday and Sunday, down 8% and 10%, respectively, from 2021. 60 million

12.0 million 11.1 million

10.0 8.0

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4.0

2.0 0.0

0 2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

Note: The data represent the average traffic for each website in October/November/December of each year. The analysis is of the top 49 newspapers by average Sunday circulation, according to the Alliance for Audited Media, and the Wall Street Journal and the Comscore results for the papers’ homepage URL.

Note: No data for 2010. To determine totals for 2015 onward researchers analyzed the year-over-year change in total weekday and Sunday circulation using AAM data and applied these percent changes to the previous year’s total. Only those daily U.S. newspapers that report to AAM are included. Affiliated publications are not included in the analysis. Weekday circulation only includes those publications reporting a Monday-Friday average. Comparisons are between the three-month averages for the period ending Dec. 31 of the given year and the same period of the previous year (2015-2019).

Source: Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform US Unique Visitors October-December 2014-2022. Pew Research Center.

Sources: Editor & Publisher; estimate based on Pew Research Center analysis of Alliance for Audited Media data.

local news initiatives, Franklin said. A coalition of 22 national foundations recently announced plans to pump a half-billion dollars into local news efforts over the next five years. Meanwhile, local foundations are giving money to nonprofit newsrooms such as Bridge, Outlier and NowKalamazoo. In December, the Rotary Club of Traverse City hosted a brainstorming session for

community leaders to consider ways to support and promote the region’s media outlets. Community members also have an important role to play, by realizing that when it comes to local news, people get what they pay for, said Christian, the WMU professor. “If you care about what’s happening in your community, then

pay for local news” by subscribing to local news sites, Christian said. “The inevitable response is, ‘Well, it’s just so bad.’ To which I say, ‘So what do you expect? Nobody’s paid for 20 years, and now we’re on fumes.’” Leach, the Holland Sentinel executive editor, echoes that sentiment. The reporting on Ottawa Impact proves the importance of

local media in keeping communities informed and holding public officials accountable, she said. “What we do has value,” she said. “But journalists can’t live on air. We have to eat. … By giving a couple of dollars a month, you’re able to help prevent cronyism, corruption, all of those sorts of things that nobody ever wants happening in their community.”

14 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | FEBRUARY 19, 2024

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COMMENTARY | LOCAL JOURNALISM

Being vital is a better strategy than going viral

Here are a couple of the things eading the headlines, you going on right now, as I see it. would think that the media is on death’s doorstep. What is really happening is an inflection Consumption changes point on changes already in progress for years. It’s easy to point a finger at the It’s not like people aren’t spendalmighty algorithm, the formulas ing time with media. People are tech companies use to decide watching a billion hours of Youwhat’s in your feed. But we can’t igTube each day, and YouTube has Jer Staes is a nore that the way we live, for better more than 100 million paying co-founder and or worse, has changed. People are subscribers. busy. Kids, jobs, commutes, gym the host and Obviously, you’ve heard the sto- producer of the time, making dinner; you name it. ries of TikTok and Instagram’s suc- Daily Detroit What you create has to fit into cess. But did you know that Face- podcast. daily life. It must be useful or interbook’s “Golden Age” is now? More esting enough for people to keep people are using Facebook (even in North locked in. There’s a lot of competition for America) than they ever have. I would have time and attention. been surprised if I didn’t have a post that If you want to play the algorithm game, recently did more than 750,000 impressions there’s success in short, punchy content on our page. that gets the point across, often with visual Newsletters are seeing a rise, too. There impact. are independent journalists, writers and But what you want to do, in time, is set collectives of creators, building subscrip- yourself apart through connection. Viral is tions and getting advertisements; covering all well and good, but vital pays the bills. their niches like no one else can. Some have Community works, where you’re “part” of a paywall, and others don’t. something. The runaway success of the New And podcasts. Despite some recent York Times (they’ve recently added another shakeouts, deals big and small are still hap- 300,000 subscribers, with more than 10 milpening. It turns out you can’t just grab a lion people paying) is not just about the random celebrity and think they’ll be good news part, but the games, the recipes, the at making a podcast. It’s a talent of its own puzzles. Being an NYT subscriber tells othand the cost structure of some shows were er people something about you. Public raout of control compared to the revenue. dio often uses this strategy well. I still have

and wear my “Public Radio Nerd” shirt, and my Detroit Public TV novelty license plate. Podcasts are a great “companion” medium. You take it with you, helping you get through the worst or mundane of your day. Washing the dishes, walking the dog or driving. Where you may have blocks of 15, 30 or 60 minutes to get into a story. Or you’re working a job where your mind needs to escape, or need someone to keep you company. Connecting to storytelling and conversations is as old as human history. Whatever way you can find to go deeper and make it valuable with a connection that sets you apart from the algorithm. That’s a tall order, but can be done.

Standing apart After the last few years, it’s understandable that news avoidance is on the rise. Whatever your political beliefs, it’s been a ride. But the news can’t only feel like a chore. Guilting people into giving up money every month isn’t a viable business strategy. You need to give people affirmative reasons to support what you’re doing. Maybe it helps them do their job. Makes them feel that they’re a part of something. Or just flat out entertains them. A mentor of mine, an award-winning member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of

Fame, taught me to ask “What’s the plus one?” and I’ve taken that advice to heart over the years. It still works today. What’s the point of rewriting the same thing everyone else did, fishing for traffic, when you can build an audience by adding context, a new fact, or a new perspective? Or can you save someone time, by distilling something and sending people to the best work possible? If you step back and think about it, especially in national news, there’s a lot of the same. Who really needs 65 versions, most all the same, of the latest presidential story? Of course a few are going to rise to the top, and the others will fade away. Cable news gets a lot of attention among pundits, but there’s no guarantee it sticks around, either. This path does take more work. But it adds more value. When people feel like they’re getting value, whether it’s underwriters, partners or supporters, they’ll give value back. If you’re giving people the same thing everyone else is, you’re a commodity. I don’t know what the future holds. I do not have all the answers, and do have a lot to learn. But I do know doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Unlike some, I am optimistic. It will look different, but there is a path forward by keeping the main thing the main thing, and being that “plus one” to people’s lives.

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LOCAL JOURNALISM | COMMENTARY

Strong democracy is worth investment in local news

lenges to our voting and voteayoffs. Strikes. Shrinking aucounting systems, to dispel all the diences. News fatigue. mysteries and conspiracy theories. The news about today’s ◗ It’s not just small or niche nonnews business is pretty bleak. But drowned out by the roar of bad profits. Last year, the Detroit Free headlines is something far more Press joined other news outlets at positive: The quiet blossoming of “Advancing Democracy” workideas into a journalism that is more shops, co-hosted by the Solutions responsive, more inclusive, more Journalism Network, where they collaborative — and worthy of inexplored how to refocus election vestment if we are serious about campaign reporting on what voters democracy. want to know, instead of what canHugh Dellios Where do parents, taxpayers, is a former didates want to tell them. ◗ Even what you’re reading right policymakers, and CEOs find news editor and they can trust, amid all the distrac- correspondent now, Crain’s Forum for Michitions on social media, talk radio, with the gan, is an effort to resurrect the and cable TV? Well, here’s a few Chicago kind of invaluable, in-depth public places where philanthropy is help- Tribune, affairs reporting that other media ing new ideas hatch, right in the Associated can’t or don’t spend money on great state of Michigan: Press, and anymore. Without a website pay◗ Bridge Michigan, with its NPR. He now wall, it’s free to the public. The question is how we give partner Bridge Detroit, is an manages the these projects the oxygen they award-winning, nonpartisan news Journalism organization that offers original, program at the need to thrive and scale, against so many financial, technological, and fact-based reporting on big-picture Joyce other threats. And there’s no time public affairs for the state. It’s one Foundation in to lose, given how many of our of a number of respected nonprofit Chicago. Joyce communities are turning into newsrooms sprouting across the is a sponsor of country, such as the Texas Tribune, Crain’s Forum. “news deserts,” according to Northwestern University’s Medill Local CalMatters and Wisconsin Watch. ◗ Outlier Media serves Detroit residents’ News Initiative. This is where philanthropy can help. need for useful information about housing, transportation, and more — and starts by Foundations in Michigan and beyond have asking directly what people need to know, increasingly stepped up to support journalthrough its pioneering text-message system ism, recognizing that our media troubles and the explosion of misinformation underthat’s become a nationwide model. ◗ Votebeat Michigan, another nonpartisan mine our communities’ highest priorities, nonprofit, was born of lessons from the 2020 such as good schools, fair elections, public election, and focuses on illuminating chal- health, and public safety.

Nonprofit newsroom Outlier has trained more than 500 Detroiters to attend local governmental meetings and take notes, which are then edited and posted online. | NIC ANTAYA

The Joyce Foundation has expanded its journalism grantmaking to help strengthen nonpartisan, independent reporting on public policy issues in the Great Lakes region — including in Michigan. More recently, it is exploring how to fortify “trusted messengers” for communities who don’t see themselves or hear their voices in traditional media. That is the idea behind Press Forward, a national campaign to revitalize local news. Through it, 22 foundations — including Joyce — have pledged to spend $500 million over five years to empower local journalism again, make it more inclusive, build new business practices, and explore changes to public policy that might help it prosper again. Half a billion dollars sounds like a lot, but fixing such a pervasive national problem is going to require far more. The underlying aim is nudging all of us to acknowledge the dangers in our news crisis, so we can address it in our own neighborhoods, through community foundations, private donors, corporate sponsorships, reader donations, and other means. So far, so good. Local Press Forward chapters have sprung up in states such as Minnesota and Alaska, and in cities such as Chicago; Springfield, Illinois; and Wichita,

Kansas. By itself, philanthropy isn’t the ultimate solution. But it can be a bridge to a moment when this generation’s media entrepreneurs have had a chance to solve the puzzle of a more sustainable business model, one that serves audience needs, counts on a variety of solid revenue streams, and restores value in producing news. Like at Outlier, a good starting place is to listen better. Another Joyce investment is a new study of audiences across the Midwest by the Pivot Fund, a venture philanthropy organization. Its goal is looking deeper into where people choose to get their news today, and who they trust, especially in communities of color and rural communities. A strong, free press is essential to the functioning of our society – and that’s why it’s the only private industry specifically protected by the U.S. Constitution. But unless we invest in real newsrooms, we’ll continue to see the disappearance of real reporters who ask the tough, informed questions that help forge good policy and hold our leaders accountable. The return on that investment? A betterfunctioning, more stable democracy. The alternative? Maybe waking up one day without one.

Local news outlets should seize the moment

tion. How do we get honest reportn a recent wintry morning, ing on local events and issues six of us from a local journoticed by readers, viewers and nalism collaborative sat listeners in our digital age of conaround the table in a nondescript tent saturation, misinformation office of a monthly community and online chaos? Plus, not only magazine, fingering the printed are adults overall consuming less agenda. The first item: “Need to news, but many also now intenraise funds to support collaborationally avoid any news and its attive operations and work.” tendant hyperbole, negativity and Like most local news operations Sue Ellen in Michigan and beyond, the publi- Christian is the fear-mongering. Local news is an oasis from the cations in the collaborative are 2021-2024 national muck. The Gallup/Knight struggling to stay afloat financially Presidential study from last year showed that and are sharing reporting on key Innovation adults in the U.S. trust local news topics to expand the outlets’ reach Professor in and resources. The collaborative, Communication organizations two times more than national news outlets (44% to 21%), the Southwest Michigan Journalism at Western and perceive local journalists as Collaborative, represents nine news Michigan caring more about the impact of or community information organi- University. She their reporting. zations, as well as the student is the author of For the collaborative and the namedia and journalism program at “Everyday Western Michigan University. Media Literacy: tion’s many struggling local news outlets, there was this hope-giving The collaborative members are An Analog finding: “When Americans perworn out from battling a common Guide for Your ceive that local news organizations challenge that I address in my book Digital Life.” do not have the resources to report on media literacy and news media literacy: The attention economy. Our soci- the news accurately and fairly, they are ety isn’t short on news, we’re short on atten- more likely to say they would consider pay-

ing for news in the future,” stated the report. The future is now, people. Substantive research indicates that with the loss of local news, communities and our society lose more than just prep sports and city commission coverage. Reduced staffing at local newspapers results in fewer candidates running for mayor and lower voter turnout, according to one California study. Local newspaper closures mean poorer standards of public finance, including increased government wages and higher deficits, a 2018 national study reported. Members of Congress who are less covered by the local press work less for their constituencies and more for the national party, another study found. Plus, when a local newspaper closes, people don’t find another local news source. According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, they turn to national news, which makes people more likely to vote for one party up and down the ballot. No one will routinely and neutrally cover local happenings except local journalism. As it is now, national and regional outlets

don’t care about smaller communities until there is a school shooting, a natural disaster or an over-the-top power grab involving library books. The “local” news choices on my Apple News feed are laughably large and far away: Chicago is my local news choice. Detroit isn’t even an option. A healthy democracy depends on an informed citizenry. Local news is essential, and today’s financially struggling outlets need local paying subscribers.

Reduced staffing at local newspapers results in fewer candidates running for mayor and lower voter turnout. A major hurdle for the collaborative is getting noticed by residents in this age of clickbait, AI-generated news and disinformation. It’s one reason I created a website for teens and adults focused on media literacy and news media literacy, so people can learn the skills to assess real news from bot-produced fake content. With local news, the people reporting and writing are not only real, but they are neighbors.

16 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | February 19, 2024

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LOCAL JOURNALISM

6 strategies to bolster local journalism in Michigan By Julie Mack

Michigan’s news industry is in crisis. The internet has completely upended the business model. Most people now get their news online for free. Advertisers once wholly dependent on newspapers now have many more options. Local journalism has gone from being a highly lucrative business to one on life support, struggling to survive. The shrinking of local newsrooms can have major implications for communities. “There’s research that shows in news deserts or low-information communities, corruption increases, and civic participation goes down. So does turnout in local elections and the number of candidates seeking public office,” said Tim Franklin, who heads Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative, which studies American journalism. “So, there are tangible consequences to the lack of local news,” he said. “It’s the watchdog role, the accountability role. And I would argue it goes well beyond that. I think local news organizations are the glue that holds together communities in many ways.” But there are paths to increasing resources for local journalism.

Increase financial support from readers. A major challenge for media organizations is that people now expect to get their news for free. For newspapers to stay financially viable they need to transition from a business model largely funded by advertising to one largely funded by subscriptions. “That’s one of my struggles,” said Amber Rood, general manager of The Daily News in Greenville. When people complain about paying for online news stories, “I explain to them that the writers are educated employees and they need to be paid. … I don’t get to fill up my gas tank for free or get my groceries free” and news reporting is a service that requires payment. Key to getting and keeping subscribers is providing a steady stream of interesting and relevant content, a challenge for shortstaffed newsrooms. “You got to pay for your local news. You just got to,” said Sue Ellen Christian, a Western Michigan University journalism professor. “Readers have not been funding local journalism. And so to people who complain about local journalism, I say, ‘Do you subscribe?’”

Increase support from outside funders. “Philanthropy is moving into local news in a big way, and in an unprecedented way,” Franklin said. Last September, a coalition of 22 foundations launched the Press Forward initiative, committing

more than $500 million over the next five years to bolster local news organizations and initiatives. Michigan now has a number of online news organizations largely funded by foundations and corporate sponsors, including Bridge, BridgeDetroit, Michigan Advance, Chalkbeat and Outlier Media in Detroit and Issue Media Group, which operates 12 news websites in Michigan including the Ann Arbor Concentrate, Flintside, Lansing Area Capital Gains, Second Wave in Kalamazoo-Battle Creek and Rapid Growth in Grand Rapids. Moreover, it’s unrealistic to think that philanthropy will fully fund the depth and breadth of coverage once provided by for-profit newspapers. “More than 90% of all local news organizations are for-profit,” Franklin said. “So as important are nonprofits are becoming, it’s still a small percentage of the overall number of local news outlets.”

$18 an hour, don’t write stories or do the follow-up reporting that a journalist would do. But the documenters do help keep an eye on local officials and keep residents informed. It’s a grant-funded model already being replicated in other communities, said Sarah Alvarez, a founder of Outlier Media.

Enact public policies that bolster revenues. About 20 states have passed legislation or are considering legislation to bolster local news organizations, Franklin said. Among those policies: Directing government agencies to spend part of their marketing budget on

local news advertising; tax credits for local news subscriptions; and/ or tax credits for local businesses to advertise in local news outlets.

Use of artificial intelligence. “At the moment, we’re not there yet where AI can deliver reliable, accurate news and information 100% of the time,” Franklin said. “But I think in the not-to-distant future, we’re going to see AI-generated local content in local publications. The question is: How extensive can that be? Certainly, in some cases, such as with local sports or local business or local events, you can see AI playing a role.” If AI can help make local news gathering more efficient and free

For-profit companies such as those that own the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News have had a series of cutbacks in the last decade. | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS FILE PHOTO

up human journalists for more indepth reporting, “then AI can be a really powerful tool that can help local news,” he said.

Increase collaboration between outlets. Competition has long been part of journalism culture. But as newsrooms shrink, it makes more and more sense for local news outlets to maximize their collective resources. “Our DNA has always been to compete with one another locally, and, to me, the secret sauce is how we retain that sense of competition that gives us great local news while allowing collaboration,” Christian said. For the past two years, Christian has been part of the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative, an initiative funded by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and involving 12 media outlets in the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek region. (The writer of this story also participated in SWMJC.) In 2022 and 2023, collaborative members wrote more than 75 stories on various issues around mental health care. The foundation grant was not renewed, but SWMJC is seeking new funding and moving onto new topic areas. More collaboration between media outlets was a big takeaway at a Dec. 1 brainstorming session in Traverse City to consider ways to bolster the region’s local news coverage, said Jacob Wheeler, publisher of the Glen Arbor Sun.

Deploy citizen watchdogs. One of the fundamental responsibilities of local news media is covering county, city and township government, a labor-intensive effort. Outlier Media, a nonprofit digital news organization in Detroit, is trying to combat that with its Detroit Documenters project, in which it has trained 500 Detroit residents to attend local meetings to take notes, which are posted online. The documenters, who are paid

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mikameyers.com

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SHOWCASE INDUSTRY LEADERS AND THEIR CAREERS RECOGNIZE TOP ACHIEVERS IN GRAND RAPIDS’ PREMIER PUBLICATION New Hires / Promotions / Board Appointments Retirements / Special Acknowledgments

MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT Debora Stein / dstein@crain.com

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WOMEN IN LAW Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Notable Women in Law introduces members of the legal profession who are making their mark in the community in a variety of ways. All are attorneys, but each is contributing to West Michigan’s growth by using their legal expertise in areas beyond the office and courtroom. This year’s Notables “class” includes women who are pushing their profession forward through nationally recognized expertise, rare certifications, mentorship and public service. Their passion shines through in everything they do, including their work with varied community organizations. Get to know them better in the following profiles. Methodology: Notable Women in Law is a nomination/ application process recognizing women attorneys who are doing outstanding work in their profession and the community. Once applications are collected, they are turned over to the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Editorial Department for judging. Editorial staffers are looking for and voting on individuals who are leaders in their organization and who exhibit that leadership professionally through participation in programs to enhance their organizations, the law profession and the community at large. While there is no set number of recipients, there cannot be more than three lawyers representing an individual firm. Profile information is based on answers to application questions as well as some Crain’s Grand Rapids Business research.

Danielle Mason Anderson Principal, Managing Directors Chair Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone As a member of Miller Canfield’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution group, Danielle Anderson assists clients with pre- and postjudgment remedies including receiverships, sale of collateral, foreclosures, repossessions, evictions, debt sales and debt restructures. She was elected in 2022 to serve as chair of Miller Canfield’s Managing Directors, who oversee more than 400 attorneys, paralegals and professional staff. She also is resident director of the firm’s Kalamazoo office. She believes in leadership through service and served as the District F commissioner for the State Bar of Michigan for three terms.

Joscelyn Cekola Boucher

Michelle Anthes Managing Partner McShane & Bowie

Michelle Anthes in 2018 was named the first female managing partner at a West Michigan law firm. Her practice includes estate planning, trust and probate administration, and corporate law with a focus on physician practices and farming. Anthes used that expertise for a farming family with two aging parents, five adult children, and thousands of acres of land valued at $50 million by crafting a business structure and estate plan that equitably accommodated everyone — including some children who did not wish to participate in the business — to ensure the future of the enterprise and family harmony. Community work includes Children’s Advocacy Center in Ottawa County, Mulligan’s Hollow Ski Bowl in Grand Haven, and Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Executive Partner Warner Norcross + Judd With more than 20 years of experience, Josie Boucher focuses her practice on representing emerging growth companies, investment funds and individuals in venture capital and other investment transactions. She is chair of Warner’s Funds and Investment Services Industry Group, and in 2022 made history as the first attorney from the law firm’s Kalamazoo office elected to the Management Committee. She is executive partner of the Kalamazoo office, leading a team of 25 attorneys and five staff. Boucher serves on the board for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. She also volunteers for the Kalamazoo Communities in Schools Career Prep Club, mentoring a high school student.

Congratulations. We congratulate firm members, Liz Bransdorfer and Nikole Canute, for their inclusion in “Crain's Notable Women in the Law." Liz and Nikole are not only excellent attorneys, they are dedicated and proven leaders in their profession and in the community. Mika Meyers is honored to have them on our team!

Elizabeth Bransdorfer

Nikole Canute

616.632.8000 mikameyers.com

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NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW

Elizabeth Bransdorfer

Nikole Canute

Attorney/Member Mika Meyers

Liz Bransdorfer takes a “long view” when approaching advocacy. Family law matters inevitably involve emotions, but she reminds clients that long-term goals are more important than short-term frustrations. She helped the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan fight back against changes to the Michigan Child Custody Act that would have placed the interests of parents above the child. “Liz has been a leader, mentor, and example to family law attorneys across Michigan. Under her leadership, as chair of the Family Law section, the section advanced positions to protect families and children in this state. Liz doesn’t just talk about or complain about a ‘broken system,’ she takes action to fix it,” said 37th Circuit Court Judge Tina Yost Johnson.

Nikole Canute has more than 18 years of experience in a variety of employment matters, including employee investigations, employee discipline, policy drafting and implementation, and wage and hour analyses. She also represents clients dealing with condemnations, energy and natural resources matters, and oil and gas matters. In addition, she is active in her firm, having previously served or serving on the firm’s Management Committee, Labor and Employment Committee, Marketing Committee and as chair of the firm’s Lawyer Recruitment Committee. Her community work includes the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Charity Softball Game Committee since 2007, and a board position with the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth.

NOTEWORTHY There are over 46,000 Michigan attorneys, 42,403 of whom are active attorneys and 35,001 of whom are active attorneys living in Michigan. The data shows that as of July 2022, most Michigan lawyers are male (63.4%) but that in the last 10 years, about half of all new attorneys have been women (46.9%). Source: State Bar of Michigan, 2022

For being a 2024 Crain’s Notable West Michigan Lawyer

Lin

Attorney/Member Miller Johnson

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Anne Marie Carson is co-chair of Miller Johnson’s Corporate and M&A practice and helped grow the group to 26 attorneys representing clients in more than 250 M&A deals with more than $5 billion in total transaction value. Her practice also focuses on general business services and family office counseling. Carson counts among her clients two of the largest employers in West Michigan and is counsel to Kamps Inc., a pallet supplier with more than 400 locations nationwide. Her leadership in the M&A space elevates the role of women in transactional work, especially in service to companies in traditionally male-dominated industries. She is a board member for the Grand Rapids Public Schools Foundation and its Great Sports, Great Kids program.

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CELEBRATING WOMEN IN LAW!

Anne Seurynck was the first woman elected President in Foster Swift’s 120-year history and recently elected to a second 3-year term. Anne practices municipal law and is highly regarded for her knowledge of FOIA and Library Law.

Anne Marie Carson

Congratulations, Laura Johnson! Named a

Notable Woman in Law in West Michigan 2024

GRAND RAPIDS / LANSING / SOUTHFIELD DETROIT / HOLLAND

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Lindsay Cummings

Rachel Foster

Member Bodman

Partner Warner Norcross + Judd

Lindsay Cummings is an accomplished estate planning and business lawyer in Bodman’s nationally recognized High Net Worth Practice Group. She helps clients protect personal and business assets and transfer that wealth from generation to generation. She handles over 100 clients annually whose estates have an aggregate value of more than $350 million, while managing multiple attorneys and paralegals in a variety of practice groups including business, workplace law, real estate and tax practices. Cummings is on ICLE’s Elder Law Advisory Board and co-plans the group’s annual seminar on drafting estate planning documents. She also has served as an adjunct professor at Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School and is on the long-range planning and fundraising committees at Ada Christian School.

Rachel Foster is a partner in the Kalamazoo office of Warner Norcross + Judd. With 25 years of experience, she practices transactional real estate, assisting clients with zoning matters, construction contracts, condominiums, foreclosures and real estate acquisitions, sales and leases. She represented Hollander Development Corp.’s project known as The Creamery, a $14.7 million mixed-use project in Kalamazoo. Achieving LEED Platinum certification, it includes workforce housing, a child care center and residential units reserved for very low-income households. Foster navigated complex real estate issues, addressing intricate financing structures with low-income housing tax credits, a loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and funding from the city of Kalamazoo.

NOTEWORTHY

38% of legal professionals were women in 2022, up from 31% in 2010, 20% in 1991 and 3% in 1960. Sources: ABA National Lawyer Population Survey; American Bar Foundation Lawyer Statistical Reports; ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Rachel Frank

Regan Gibson

Criminal Defense Attorney Rachel Frank Law

Partner Varnum

Rachel Frank said opening her own firm in 2023 was the “best decision I ever made.” A criminal defense attorney with nine years of experience in federal and state courts, Frank also shares that knowledge with young attorneys. She served on the executive committee of the West Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association from 2019-2023 as co-chair of the Young Lawyers Section, with the goal of helping new attorneys acclimate to federal practice. In 2023, Frank was voted vice president of programs for the FBA. “In my new position, I hope to create informative and interesting programs for the federal bar, so that we can all expand our knowledge base and serve our clients better.”

Regan Gibson is a partner in Varnum’s Litigation and Trial Practice Team, representing clients in civil and criminal litigation matters and internal investigations. Her work ranges from the representation of developers and property owners in real estate and zoning disputes to high-profile matters including Flint water crisis litigation and the independent investigation into the Oxford High School shooting. Gibson oversees complex e-discovery matters, including processes and strategies for gathering, processing, reviewing and producing large volumes of electronic data. She chairs the firm’s Technology Committee and is a formal mentor for two associate attorneys. Gibson also is board vice president of the Michigan Center for Civic Education.

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NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW

Laura Johnson Shareholder Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge Laura Johnson defends hospitals and medical professionals against claims of medical malpractice and licensing action. She is wellversed on the subject, having spent part of her career prior to joining Smith Haughey as a medical malpractice plaintiff’s attorney in Grand Rapids and Detroit. In one case, Johnson achieved summary disposition and complete dismissal of an action against a Kalamazoo health care system. The motion was originally denied, but she used a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision to persuade the court on a Motion for Reconsideration that the claims of vicarious liability against her client were without legal merit. Johnson also is a member of the firm’s Associate Development Committee, working to develop and mentor those newer to the profession.

NOTEWORTHY

DEMOGRAPHICS State Bar of Michigan race and ethnicity data over the last 10 years:

African Origin: 7.4% American Indian: 0.6% Arab Origin: 7.7% Asian/Pacific Islander: 4% European: 67% Hispanic/Latino: 3.2% Multiracial: 3.2% Other: 6.9% Source: State Bar of Michigan

Kay Kossen

Madelaine Lane

Ail

Shareholder and Managing Partner Kreis, Enderle, Hudgins & Borsos

Partner Warner Norcross + Judd

Sha Hilg

Madelaine Lane specializes in white collar criminal defense and litigation. She is co-chair of the firm’s Data Solutions Practice Group, co-partner in charge of the eDiscovery Center, associate general counsel for the firm and a member of the Management Committee. Among her most meaningful cases is helping a victim survivor of human trafficking. “My client faced decades of trauma and the pardon helped her to finally free herself from her past. I was deeply humbled to be able to walk alongside this client and help to highlight her story for Gov. Whitmer. Thankfully, the pardon was granted, and she no longer needs to explain her past every time she applies for a job or seeks to volunteer at her grandchildren’s school.”

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Kay Kossen in 2021 took on the role of managing partner for Kries Enderle, which has offices in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and St. Joseph with approximately 28 attorneys and 34 support staff. Her principal practice areas are estate planning, elder law and real estate transactions. She is a member of the Calhoun County Bar, the State Bar of Michigan’s Elder Law and Probate sections, Commercial Alliance of Realtors, Battle Creek Area Association of Realtors and the Michigan Land Title Association. She is an affiliate member of the Southwest Michigan Association of Realtors and past chair of the West Michigan Forms Committee. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the Women’s Leadership Institute of Olivet College.

CON G R AT U L AT I ON S ,

REGAN GIBSON

■ Partner, Varnum Trial and Litigation Team ■ Serving Michigan Center for Civic Education, H.O.P.E. Gardens ■ Leadership Grand Rapids, Class of 2024

We are proud to celebrate Regan on her well-deserved recognition in Crain’s Notable Women in Law.

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Aileen Leipprandt

Christina McDonald

Shareholder and Director Hilger Hammond

Member Dickinson Wright

Aileen Leipprandt, a shareholder at Hilger Hammond, practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation and construction law. She has been a lecturer and author on many topics involving contract and construction law and is a certified mediator, focusing on construction disputes. A member of the board of directors at Hilger Hammond since joining the firm in 2010, she currently serves as vice president. She is a member of the governing council of the State Bar of Michigan’s Real Property Section and is co-chair of the Construction Committee. Leipprandt is considered one of the top MIOSHA citation attorneys in the state and acts as a mentor to young female lawyers, female business associates and local high school students.

Christy McDonald is a member in Dickinson Wright’s Grand Rapids office, where she focuses her practice on employment law and litigation. She provides daily counseling for employers on all aspects of employment law and provides proactive advice on litigation avoidance and risk management. As a seasoned trial advocate, McDonald has significant experience achieving favorable results for clients in employment and commercial cases. She is a member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, where she led the efforts to expand paid parental leave policy to staff. She represents multiple Fortune 50 companies as lead counsel in complex commercial litigation. McDonald is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Law Committee and has volunteered with mock trials.

NOTEWORTHY

Elizabeth White McDonnell

Anne Seurynck Shareholder, President Foster Swift Collins & Smith

Senior Attorney Clark Hill

WAGE GAP Female lawyers in the U.S. earn 81 cents for every dollar earned by male lawyers.

Male attorneys:

488,000

Median weekly earnings: $2,687 Female attorneys:

318,000

Median weekly earnings: $2,169 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022

Beth McDonnell is an attorney for cities, townships, villages and counties throughout Michigan. She is passionate about the role her clients play in upholding the democratic process, protecting the integrity of elections, and ensuring transparency of government through the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings acts. So it should be no surprise that after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., she sprang into action. McDonnell took a year off from practice to teach American government and civics classes to students in Kent County. “There is nothing I could do with my law degree that would be more important and more rewarding than teaching young people to appreciate our legal system and participate in the democratic process.”

Anne Seurynck is president of Foster Swift, a firm of more than 100 attorneys and 200 support staff, and chairs its executive committee. She has been practicing law for 27 years, with extensive experience in drafting and reviewing ordinances and policies, serving as general counsel, counseling clients on Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act issues, and working with communities on millage and Michigan campaign finance issues. She also is one of only a few lawyers in the state with expertise in library law, having worked with communities to form 22 new libraries and drafting amendments to the District Library Establishment Act and other state laws. She is on the board of the Library of Michigan Foundation.

CONGRATULATIONS MICHELLE ANTHES For being honored as a 2024 Crain’s Notable West Michigan Lawyer Michelle is the Firm’s managing partner, and is the first female to hold that position since McShane & Bowie’s founding in 1952. Michelle concentrates her practice on corporate, estate and business planning, and trust & probate administration.

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NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW

Monica Stover

Connie Thacker

Senior Attorney Bodman

Attorney, Partner Thacker Sleight

Monica Stover has been pivotal in expanding Bodman’s intellectual property capabilities in West Michigan and beyond. Her trademark and copyright work includes both prosecution and enforcement activities in U.S. and foreign jurisdictions around the world. She has managed major trademark portfolios for clients ranging from individuals and small businesses to large privately owned businesses and global publicly traded corporations. A major career win is her role in building Bodman’s technology and gaming client base, specifically West Michigan clients focused on cutting-edge technologies and concepts, including the Web3 and NFT space. She is co-founder of the Grand Rapids Intellectual Property Women’s Forum (GRIP), which now counts more than 75 members, and is a member of the Bissell Pet Foundation board.

Connie Thacker, an attorney and shareholder at Thacker Sleight who focuses primarily on family law cases, is known as both a tenacious litigator and an accomplished mediator. Having gained much of her 20 years of legal experience at large firms, she and her law partner, Allison Sleight, started their own firm to provide better service and results without the bureaucracy and costs inherent in large firms. She is the only attorney in West Michigan who is designated as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. She also is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and has received certification as an AAML arbitrator, and works with the Grand Rapids Chamber’s LGBTQ community outreach.

NOTEWORTHY

53.3% Percentage of women in U.S. law schools in 2021. Source: American Bar Association

Elizabeth Welch

Amy Zdravecky

Justice Michigan Supreme Court

Partner Barnes & Thornburg

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch co-chairs the Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, co-chairs the Justice for All Commission’s Technology and Data Sharing Work Group and serves on that organization’s resource and communications work groups. She also is the liaison on data gathering and transparency in the courts and to the Michigan Judicial Institute. She has devoted time to public education advocacy to engage parents and train them to be advocates for public schools. Collaborating with Michigan Parents for Schools and others, she mobilized support for whole-child funding. She also served on the School Finance Research Collaborative, a stakeholder coalition that commissioned a study to determine the true cost of educating a child.

With 20-plus years of experience, Amy Zdravecky counsels employers throughout the country on traditional labor relations and employment law matters. She focuses on National Labor Relations Board proceedings, union-organizing campaigns and NLRB elections, arbitrations, collective bargaining, and other contract negotiations and employment discrimination issues. Her practice area and gender stand out: She is one of only four nationally recognized female traditional labor lawyers in the country. Zdravecky has led company union organizing campaigns in every region of the country for major employers in multiple industries, including retail, hospitality, warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, transportation and health care. She has bargained contracts with every major national trade union.

NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW WOMEN IN LAW NOTABLE NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW WOMEN IN LAW NOTABLE NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW WE CELEBRATE TOGETHER

Detroit

Grand Rapids Kalamazoo millerjohnson.com

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Investments boost Meijer Gardens as destination By Rachel Watson

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will use findings from its 2023 economic report as the “baseline” for a broader strategy to generate more nonlocal visitor spending and Kent County room stays in the coming years. The Grand Rapids Township-based nonprofit arts and horticultural destination — last year named the nation’s top sculpture park by USA Today readers — recently published the findings of a 2023 economic study conducted by Grand Valley State University. The report, based on visitor surveys and internal data, found Meijer Gardens generated $138 million in economic activity in 2023, supporting 1,167 jobs and contributing $77.6 million to Kent County’s gross domestic product. It also found that Meijer Gardens drew a record estimated 755,000 visitors last year, up from 686,763 in 2022 and 328,539 in 2020, before its $115 million expansion had wrapped. Sixty-two percent of last year’s visitors came from outside Kent County, while 38% were local. GVSU’s last Meijer Gardens study published in 2017 found that the destination generated $75.2 million in economic activity that year, and 86% of the visitor spending came from individuals outside Kent County. After adjusting for inflation, Meijer Gardens’ economic activity in Kent County increased about 44% from 2017 to 2023, according

cant number” for the institution founded in 1995. “I think that’s a testament to the power of philanthropy, I think it’s a testament to the power of the vision of Fred and Lena and the entire Meijer family, and the community as a whole,” he said. “To have an institution that is focused on gardens, butterflies, the amphitheater, (sculptures and) on bringing people together to generate this type of deep and meaningful economic activity for the region, is a profound statement of the ‘specialness’ of our community.” As Meijer Gardens’ new leader succeeding former President and CEO David Hooker, Burke said he wanted the study done now as part of a “wider matrix” of internal actions underway to give the nonprofit a “baseline” and “good metrics” as it builds its next strategic plan. That plan will primarily look to drive financial sustainability for Meijer Gardens apart from philanthropy, but Burke said there’s also an opportunity to play a greater role in the county’s largescale visioning and planning effort, Kent County 2050. Al Vanderberg, Kent County administrator/controller, said Meijer Gardens is one of a large number of organizations invited to help with Kent County 2050. “Meijer Gardens is a major national attraction, and when you look at their record with conservation, with art, with preservation, they are going to be a major, major player in this community well into the future, and so I think that their voice is one of the major voices that we want to tap into … (to) be part of helping define the future.” Burke said Meijer Gardens hopes to help by drawing people in for longer stays and more spending. “Our hope over the long term … is that we can move the institution from being perhaps a three- to five-hour experience with a number of repeat visitors within our membership, to perhaps a threeor four-day experience, where we can drive people to hotel rooms who spend time in Grand Rapids (and) spend time at other cultural institutions,” he said. “It’s part of a greater tapestry of interconnectedness.” Burke said it’s too soon to disclose what might be on the table internally to make its vision to grow overnight stays in Kent County a reality, but the leadership team is brainstorming with the board, donors, volunteers and employees to examine the full Meijer Gardens experience, from exhibits to events to concerts, to see what combination of tweaks could make people stay longer. “All of these things are part of an algorithm that’s creating a future strategic framework for us to build our operations around,” he said. Glupker, the lead researcher for the study, said he was “really

Sixty-two percent of last year’s visitors came from outside Kent County, while 38% were local. to calculations by GVSU’s lead researcher for the report, Christian Glupker. Charles Burke, who became Meijer Gardens’ new president and CEO in February 2023, said the organization commissioned the follow-up study for a number of reasons. One was to gauge the effects of COVID-19 on cultural visits and spending, as well as to assess the return on investment of the 2017 Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love capital campaign, which funded the facility’s multiphase expansion that wrapped in 2022. “This (study) is the first lens into ‘That campaign is working,’ and it’s having an amplifying effect for the region,” Burke said. “As we look at all the other wonderful transformational projects that are going on in the region, from the amphitheater to the soccer stadium and other big projects, we wanted to make sure that people were reminded of this 30-year-old institution that is really bringing a lot of influence to our region.” Burke called $138 million in economic activity a “very signifi-

Additional highlights from the report:

Entrance to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. | COURTESY PHOTO

shocked” by the sheer number of visitors every time he stopped to check in on his GVSU student researchers during the visitor intercept survey period for this study, which ran from June to August last year. “The place was just absolutely hopping in the middle of the afternoon,” he said. “I’m an Ottawa County resident, and even though I have young kids and would love to take in Meijer Gardens (more often), that’s a long drive for a 5-year-old. So I’d never really understood the scope of it. It’s just the place to be.” Vanderberg described Meijer Gardens as a “major reason” to

visit Kent County. “It’s a destination,” he said. “They are a draw to the community that brings significant economic impact to Kent County, and they also provide a cultural and educational resource that our school kids are able to access through their classes, (and) they partner with many different organizations throughout the community. Meijer Gardens is a huge asset in Kent County.” Burke said Meijer Gardens plans to spend about $10 million over the next three years on capital improvements, which mainly will include maintenance of the grounds, artwork and buildings.

w Although Meijer Gardens is a nonprofit and exempt from federal income tax, the visitor direct spending, operational spending and capital investment spending generate $353,115 in annual tax revenue for Kent County. w Half of the nonlocal visitors were visiting Meijer Gardens for the first time, and 48% of the local visitors visit the place six or more times a year. w 40% of all visitors have household incomes over $125,000. w 37% of all visitors have a fouryear degree, and 40% of all visitors have a graduate degree. w There were 271,541 primary visitors to Meijer Gardens, which means visitors who stated their primary reason for being in Kent County was to visit the facility. w All local and nonlocal primary visitors generated $20.9 million in direct spending. w The direct spending from primary visitors results in $30.6 million in economic activity, supporting 268 jobs. w The nonlocal primary direct spending generates $106,969 for Kent County. w Meijer Gardens’ organizational spending generates $35.7 million in additional economic activity and support for 301 jobs. w Over the past three years, Meijer Gardens’ capital investment spending generated an average of $12.1 million in annual economic activity and support for 80 jobs.

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COMMENTARY

Employee mental health is an essential business strategy

ployee mental wellness.

Personal development

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f there was a big red bell that someone could ring to sound the alarm about the health of our workforce, we should all be ringing it. More than one in five adults are living with a mental illness. For young adults aged 18-25 who are ready to join the workforce or are just getting started, it’s even higher: one in three. Worse yet, people are not getting the help they need. According to National Institutes of Health data, less than half of those struggling are accessing care. If those numbers were accurate for physical health, we would be racing to create a wellness platform for our employees because our insurance premiums would be sky-high. But this crisis is not physical … it’s mental. It’s an issue that has been treated at arm’s length for decades. We Dan Gowdy, must normalize the Ed.D., is the conversation around president and mental health to make chief executive the topic more acceptofficer of able and treatment acKentwood cessible. At a recent nonprofit Economic Club of Wedgwood Grand Rapids lunChristian cheon, Rebecca Ryan Services. identified “normalizing mental health” as one of the top 10 business trends for the next 10 years. It is not a community or nonprofit trend — it’s a business trend. As leaders, we must lean into our responsibility and invest in the future of our workforce.

Depression costs U.S. employers approximately $187.8 billion annually, including $134 billion in health care, $20.9 billion in absenteeism, and $32.9 billion in lost productivity, according to the Meadows Policy Institute. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate untreated mental health can cost businesses $105 billion nationwide. Let’s look at the health of our developing workforce: According to the CDC, 36.7% of adolescents aged 12-17 had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, while 18.8% seriously considered attempting suicide. Additionally, there are about 10,000 children in Michigan’s child welfare system whose trauma and resulting mental health challenges will negatively impact their future earnings potential, quality of life, and so much more. Mental health. Trauma. Abuse. Neglect.

It affects all of us. Let’s consider mental health an investment instead of a societal cost. We can actively work to improve our perspective, personal development and partnerships.

Perspective We must increase our awareness and make our workplaces an open and accepting environment regarding mental health. It starts by showing our employees more empathy when they’re struggling and insisting that mental wellness days are just as important as sick days. Workforce mental health can be a competitive business strategy. Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” suggesting we can’t have a successful organizational strategy if it doesn’t include a healthy workplace culture. And, based on everything we see, we can’t have a healthy culture without embracing em-

Leaders who are not self-aware can do more harm than good. I believe every CEO should engage in counseling or have an executive coach to develop their mental health competency. A leader engaged in self-development is more emotionally intelligent, asks better questions, and works toward more thoughtful, positive solutions. Self-aware leaders promote a wellness culture and help the organization continue to grow and evolve.

Partnerships Our community connections must be as fluid and flexible as those we hope to serve. Everyone is unique, and we can’t expect to address a complex mental health need with a siloed approach. Mental health professionals, schools and businesses can all benefit from working together, finding common ground, and co-creating innovative solutions for a complex multi-generational problem. For kids who are in the child welfare system, we need to look at business partnerships for training and job placement to support better the development of youth who have few natural supports. Events like Wedgwood’s State of the Child empower businesses and community leaders to be a part of the conversation, increase awareness, and become stronger advocates for kids and families. All of us have an opportunity to support the health — physical and mental — of not only today’s workforce but also our future.

COMMENTARY

Now is the time to support knowledge-economy jobs

ate high-wage jobs, diversify our ow more than ever, busieconomy, and spur innovation. ness and community leadMichigan lags other states in iners, legislators, and policycome growth and knowledge makers must come together to economy jobs. In her State of the ensure Michigan can compete State address, Gov. Gretchen and win no matter the obstacles Whitmer rightly pushed for action we face. It’s time for action. that would incentivize research The results from our recent CEO and development, start and scale survey indicate a more cautious up new businesses, and boost economic outlook for the state Jeff Donofrio compared to the broader U.S. is president and high-wage jobs. While these tools aren’t a reThree primary concerns emerged CEO of Business placement for long-term economas potential threats to a thriving Leaders for ic development strategy, they put Michigan economy: rising costs Michigan, the Michigan on a more even playing and wages, ripple effects from re- state’s business field with other states. cent labor strikes and the impacts roundtable. Today, Michigan is one of only of state policy. While the Federal Reserve works to curb eight states without a payroll incentive for inflation, and as the impact of the strikes new job creation and one of only 13 states continue to unfold, there is an immediate — and the only one in the Midwest — withopportunity to address the third threat: shap- out a tool to support research and development activities. This puts Michigan at a ing public policy to strengthen Michigan. Sitting before the state Legislature right clear disadvantage for attracting and renow are economic development proposals taining businesses, especially those in the that can increase business investment, cre- knowledge economy. Neighboring states

like Ohio are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in supporting entrepreneurs. We urge lawmakers to expand our economic development toolbox by passing these bills expeditiously.

Meaningful work should be done now There is a great deal of uncertainty in the world, ranging from global conflicts to the upcoming presidential election to industry disruptions. Despite this unpredictability, businesses continue to operate, households continue to function, and individuals and families persist in navigating daily life. CEOs and entrepreneurs understand the complexity and inherent tension between decisions and actions we take today and how those impact and shape tomorrow. They know how to strike a balance between managing the present, creating the future and challenging the past. Much has been said about the 54-54 split in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Political control is a Lansing concern. Michiganders are focused on their families, their jobs and the bottom line for their businesses. This is a unique opportunity to collaborate and build consensus around solutions that matter most for our future. We need to shift the focus away from winning the next election or news cycle to doing what it takes to make Michigan more competitive. Lansing has a short window of time to get meaningful work done before

Michigan is one of only eight states without a payroll incentive for new job creation. attention turns to state and national elections. This includes immediate passage of sound economic development proposals with bipartisan support, and a genuine start to the heavy lifting on long-term initiatives like systemic education reform. Michiganders need and deserve action.

Sound off: Send a column for the Opinion page to tim.gortsema@crain.com. Please include a phone number for verification purposes, and limit submissions to 500 words or fewer. Please include a headshot, title and organization name with the submission. 26 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | February 19, 2024

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Experts debate county’s ‘exodus’ from downtown By Kate Carlson

Kent County is part of a national trend of governments rightsizing their real estate footprint, and in the process is raising questions about downtown Grand Rapids’ commercial vibrancy. Recent advancements in the county’s plan to build a new $60 million administrative office on Grand Rapids’ northeast side would include moving roughly 180 office workers out of downtown, Crain’s Grand Rapids reported recently. Local brokers and property managers have mixed opinions on whether the move is another blow to an office sector already grappling with the widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work, or if it’s a footnote in Grand Rapids’ relatively stable office market. “Any time we hear of an exodus in downtown from a people perspective, it does affect downtown, specifically in first-floor retail,” said Jeff Karger, senior vice president at JLL’s Grand Rapids office. “We have a challenge in general with the work-from-home component of the office market, which lends itself to not as many people in the streets during the daytime population, but it really affects the restaurateurs and retailers in downtown Grand Rapids.” Sam Cummings, managing part-

GOTION From Page 3

done, we will break ground,” Thelen told Crain’s Grand Rapids. “I’m hoping, optimistically, that will be the end of summer, but it could be early fall.” In addition to criticism about Gotion’s parent company’s ties to the Chinese Communist party, other ongoing concerns have involved the project’s potential effects on the environment. In 2023, a local opposition group threatened to sue the company over concerns involving the plant’s potential effect on endangered species as well as groundwater, given the project’s proximity to the Muskegon River. The facility will reportedly withdraw about 715,000 gallons of groundwater per day. Gotion plans to manufacture cathode and anode materials for battery cells for electric vehicles and energy storage. The components would be assembled into battery packs at another proposed $2 billion Gotion factory in Manteno, Ill. Thelen said the company is working with an as-yet-unnamed architectural engineering group on a design package for the project, and a general contractor would be selected from bidders once the design plans are more mature.

ner at CWD Real Estate Investment, takes a more optimistic view and doesn’t see the county’s relocation as a needle-mover. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for Grand Rapids that we haven’t seen the economic destruction (downtown) that’s happening in other cities,” Cummings said. “There are headwinds, but ultimately I think it’s an extraordinary opportunity for us to differentiate from other (cities).” Grand Rapids’ total office vacancy rate was 13.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, with stable occupancy and marginal absorption in the office market, according to the latest office market report from JLL. Downtown has a slightly heightened vacancy of 14.6% based on nearly 150,000 square feet of occupancy losses in 2023, while the suburbs had vacancy rates in the single digits. Comparatively, the national office vacancy rate rose to a record-high of 19.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data from Moody’s Analytics, while Chicago’s hit an all-time high of 23.8%. Kent County recently advanced plans to demolish an existing building on county-owned land near Fuller Avenue NE and I-196 to make way for a new $60 million administration building. County officials say the move is meant to improve customer service and

accessibility with a centralized campus, and is an opportunity to move from an aging facility. About 180 employees currently working at 300 Monroe Ave. will relocate to the county’s Fuller campus once the new building is constructed. The relocation plan also opens up the potential sale and private redevelopment of a four-story, 108,000-square-foot building at 82 Ionia Ave. NW in downtown. One of the five county commissioners opposed to the plan said the county’s downtown presence has a “true added benefit — from being centrally located, which could be adaptable to any changes to transportation infrastructure — to being in close proximity to the other major regional players in our community.” However, Kent County Administrator Al Vanderberg said he doesn’t see the move creating “a negative impact on the downtown at all.” “I think this is the right plan for the future and will still maintain flexibility because we’ll still own substantial facilities on Ottawa and Monroe,” Vanderberg said, though the plan wouldn’t bring additional county employees downtown. Cummings said he sees a win with the shuffling of county services and the redevelopment opportunity at 82 Ionia, where a con-

version to residential could potentially bring more foot traffic to downtown. “In the short term, I don’t know how many people who work (at the current administration building) go out to eat at lunch time and come into the office every day anyway,” Cummings said. JLL held a Future of Government Workplace Summit in November 2023 and presented a forecast of government agencies’ plans for workplace transformation, based on surveys and research conducted by JLL. Key takeaways were compiled in a national report, which shows that Kent County is in line with government agencies across the country that are looking for ways to update aging buildings to support long-term growth. Many organizations across the public and private sectors are rightsizing their real estate portfolio to cut costs, as shown by national office leasing activity that’s down 35% in the last four quarters compared to 2019, according to JLL research.

Employee counts for downtown Grand Rapids foot traffic in December 2023 were up 1% year over year, but down 4% compared to November 2023, according to a Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. report. “There is plenty of shadow space and underutilized real estate and that will continue to work itself out,” Karger said. “We’re rightsizing a lot of our clients and that’s not always downsizing. A lot of locally based companies are keeping the same (office size) and looking for about the same square footage, it’s very industry specific.” However, plenty of second-generation office space is getting absorbed, especially if it does not require a lot of capital to build out, Cummings and Karger both said. CWD’s smaller office suites downtown are “almost 100%” occupied, Cummings added. Despite some relocations and downsizing of office space, Cummings is confident downtown office space in Grand Rapids will be OK in the long term, he said.

Thelen said Gotion has been working with EGLE for about 16 months and has completed site surveys in collaboration with a Michigan-based environmental engineering firm. A report on the environmental condition of the site will be submitted along with the permit requests in March, Thelen said. EGLE spokesperson Hugh McDiarmid Jr. said the department’s water resources division staff has had a pre-application meeting with the company and reviewed a wetlands analysis done by a Gotion consultant “to ensure that their analysis of the wetlands areas and types are consistent with EGLE’s understanding of the property.” While McDiarmid said EGLE can’t yet speculate on the nature of the permits until they’ve been submitted, EGLE’s review and consideration will include a public comment period. “Until we are through public comment and review, EGLE will not have anything analytical to say about the proposed permits,” McDiarmid said in an email. “We will, of course, be able to answer any questions about (the) process, or technical aspects of the applications that may be confusing to lay persons.” To ensure the “community is comfortable with the environmental permits,” Thelen said Gotion also has been sharing infor-

mation about the future plants’ operations with the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly and Mecosta County Conservation District. “Obviously, a lot of planning goes into a project of this size, and that includes working with our environmental organizations and regulatory bodies,” Thelen said. Meanwhile, Thelen said Gotion has received more than 400 resumes for open positions. The company is working on job offers for two individuals with four other applicants approved and eyed for offers. “The goal is, by the end of the year, we’ll have 55 people working with Gotion in Big Rapids,” Thelen said. Gotion’s progress comes after voters in Green Charter Township in November recalled all five members of the township board who petitioners claimed weren’t listening to residents’ opposition to the plant. Gotion’s Big Rapids project is moving forward as other large battery plants in Michigan scale back and face similar political scrutiny for their ties to the Chinese government. Two U.S. House committees recently asked the Biden administration to investigate Chinese companies that they say are involved in Ford Motor Co.’s planned EV battery plant in Marshall, according to a Reuters report cited

by Crain’s Chicago Business. This comes after plans for the Ford project were scaled back in late 2023. As of November, the project is now expected to create 1,700 jobs, a 32% reduction from the 2,500 previously announced jobs. Total investment in the plant will likely be reduced by the same measure, from $3.5 billion to roughly $2.2 billion. Local opposition also has emerged around the Marshall project, partly based on Ford’s partnership with CATL, a supplier in China that will supply technology to be used at the plant. “The American thing to do is to ask questions,” Thelen said when asked about concerns surfacing around the Gotion plant. As for the Big Rapids plant, Thelen said the project timeline is still on track based on economic development contracts with the state. Phase one of the project calls for the first facility to start producing materials by 2026, with a second facility to follow. Both plants would be operational by 2031 with full production slated for 2033, per the current timeline. While Gotion’s project has been progressing, the EV industry’s growth trajectory has slowed recently compared to automakers’ earlier projections. “We still expect this year will sell more EVs than last year, but that growth rate feels like it’s decelerating,” said Mike Wall, executive di-

rector of automotive analysis at S&P Global Mobility in Grand Rapids. “We’re seeing that sort of overarching growth maybe just not as robust as what was hoped for or maybe planned on by automakers — and, more importantly, when you start layering in the sheer number of models that are launching.” Because of this, suppliers of power electronics and other EV-related components will have to grapple with changing volume projections from automakers. “The demand (for those components) has been a bit more tentative,” Wall said. “On the one hand, it’s also been a bit more volatile. We’ve got a lot of vehicles launching, and when you have vehicles launching like that, a lot of times what you’ll see is volatility there.” Despite the forecast for the industry, Thelen is optimistic because of Gotion’s relatively diversified portfolio. “We’ve certainly seen the industry make decisions based on consumer demands,” Thelen said, noting that 40% of Gotion’s business is for energy storage. “We’re not just tied to the EV industry.” Overall, he is eager for the Big Rapids project to move forward. “We’re very excited about creating 2,300 good-paying jobs in an area that desperately needs the financial influx,” Thelen said. “I am laser-focused on making this project happen.”

Kent County is building a new administration building on Grand Rapids’ northeast side, relocating roughly 180 workers from its current facility downtown. | KATE CARLSON

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CORRIDORS From Page 1

key commercial corridors in the study. Although Oosterman and Kilpatrick declined to disclose the full list, it includes Plainfield Avenue, Alpine Avenue, Fulton Street, Kalamazoo Avenue, 44th Street and 28th Street. It spans municipalities including Plainfield Township, Walker, Wyoming, Kentwood and Grand Rapids. Kilpatrick said a draft report will be ready by March or April to share with community stakeholders, with the final version expected out in late spring. “We’ve always said that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for housing, and the more we engage with communities, the more we recognize that established neighborhoods are going to stay generally the same as they’ve been for at least another generation,” Kilpatrick said. “But we have a number of corridors in the community that are seeing lack of investment or disinvestment, where retail isn’t working out as well as it did 20 or 30 years ago, and where we have this mix of big-box and small-box retail stores, plus some older residential, plus a lot of underutilized or vacant parking lots or just vacant lots. So right now we’re analyzing those corridors.” The study is funded by Housing Next’s traditional network of backers, which includes a mix of unspecified foundations, businesses and municipalities, Kilpatrick said. Early conversations about conducting the as-yet-unnamed study began last July at the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Grand Rapids Policy Conference, with a draft proposal outlining the cost and framework shopped around to funders in time for work to begin in late November.

Study details Kilpatrick said the work started with geographic information systems analysis to look at where utilities and infrastructure already exist. “Now, what we’re doing is working on a pattern book that essen-

AHC

From Page 1

“We are excited about the opportunity to add these staple properties to our managed portfolio and to grow our AHC Hospitality brand in the Muskegon market,” George Aquino, vice president/managing director of AHC Hospitality, said in a statement. The deal for AHC Hospitality to take over management at Parkland Properties sites does not include any property sales. In addition to Parkland Properties’ two proposed projects, the company also developed the 55,000-square-foot VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center, which opened in 2021, in collaboration with the city of Muskegon.

tially outlines the core DNA elements of a really solid, walkable neighborhood along a commercial corridor, so that it’s easy for local municipalities to plan and zone for that land use type,” he said. The corridors will be evaluated for the presence of trees, adequate lighting and safe driving lanes and crosswalks to determine their pedestrian friendliness, Kilpatrick said. In cases where those elements do not exist, the report would make recommendations. The study will look at underused retail areas that could accommodate adaptive reuse or new construction housing, particularly in areas that can handle the additional vehicle trips that new housing would generate. One of the advantages to those areas is they tend to already have public transit in place, which would require less surface parking.

An easier sell for communities? As Crain’s Detroit Business noted in a December report on the housing shortage, opposition from neighbors — frequently called “NIMBYs,” short for “not in my backyard” — stands high among the external factors that get in the way of housing development in Michigan, with some of the top concerns being infrastructure capacity, environmental effects, noise and traffic. Oosterman said developments along commercial corridors would theoretically be less disruptive to residents on all of those fronts. “If there is consensus around a scalable solution to the housing shortage that offers opportunity and alleviates other challenges that the community is facing, it’s a benefit to all to be able to have that conversation,” she said. Oosterman said having a corridor plan that city staff and elected officials can use to communicate land use goals with one voice is one piece of the puzzle. Another piece is demonstrating the cost savings associated with putting new development where infrastructure already exists. Kilpatrick added the study also will evaluate the potential for an increased tax base for cities that

“There is a huge opportunity with the convention center to make it an even bigger catalyst for the community. It’s a big building with a lot of meeting space and when you dovetail that with some of the other assets for AHC, it will be a really synergistic relation-

knocking, they’re likely to encounter less resistance from neighbors. He said he’s hopeful the township’s new zoning ordinance — paired with Housing Next’s commercial corridor study — will inspire developers to turn from greenfield sites in floodplains to commercial areas that are development-ready. “We need to do a better job as local governments to sell those opportunities, to talk about what incentives are available with all the state programs that have recently come out … and really market those areas as an alternative to more greenfield development,” he said. “Even though it’s a lower cost for the developer today, it has a higher economic cost for the community down the road as we have more roads (and) more infrastructure to maintain.”

In addition to Grand Rapids, another municipality that has already done a lot of heavy lifting is Plainfield Township. Suzanne Schulz has been the urban planning practice leader for Progressive AE since 2019, and before that served as planning director for the city of Grand Rapids for 14 years. After joining Progressive AE, she helped Plainfield Township develop Reimagine Plainfield, a new vision for its main commercial artery, Plainfield Avenue. The two-year process culminated in the township board adopting a new zoning ordinance in 2021 that allows for mixed-use developments on that corridor. Plainfield has struggled with high retail vacancy rates and business turnover since the former North Kent Mall

closed in 2000. She said Housing Next’s study could help other townships accomplish some of the same analysis. “I think part of it is a discussion … (of ) is this corridor being successful? What is our tax base in this corridor? In Plainfield’s case, we found that they went six years without any increase in tax receipts. It was just flat because they weren’t getting any new development,” she said. Schulz encouraged stakeholders during that engagement process to think how much better places can be when they shift from being “drive-through zones” to “drive-to zones” with a mix of commercial and residential. “Then, you’d also have the density to support those businesses, so it becomes this virtuous cycle … of more people to shop and eat that support the commercial districts that people want, which attracts more people and more energy into the community, as well as tax dollars, and so it helps keep tax rates low for the rest of the community,” she said. “It also provides us housing opportunities that currently don’t exist … in places where neighbors would generally (not) oppose it.” While Plainfield has yet to approve a housing project for the corridor since the zoning change took effect, Township Superintendent Cameron Van Wyngarden said he believes that is mostly related to construction costs. “There’s some additional costs that come with redeveloping an existing site, and then you’ve got that on top of higher interest rates right now, and it really has pushed back on some of those projects that we thought maybe had some potential,” he said. “But we see this as something that we’ll still be working on when the interest rates come back down, and we’re building the story that this is the place to go.” Van Wyngarden said the township made other changes to the zoning ordinance to pair with allowing mixed-use developments in commercial zones, including protecting existing residential neighborhoods through required buffers, setbacks and landscaping, so that when developers do come

pancy rate that’s consistent with the surrounding community, said Jon Rooks, Parkland Properties president. Other communities across West Michigan average around 70% occupancy for hotel room stays, which is an area that Parkland hopes AHC will help improve, Rooks added. “We believe they can do things with the convention center that makes our hotels more successful than they are now, as well as improving our food and beverage because they run really good restaurants,” Rooks said. Bob Lukens, director of Visit Muskegon, shared this sentiment. “The engagement of AHC Hospitality will bring a new level of expertise and sophistication to Mus-

kegon’s expanding tourism and hospitality sector,” Lukens said in a statement. “Adding Parkland’s lodging and restaurant properties and the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center to AHC Hospitality’s portfolio of managed hospitality assets will aid in Muskegon’s continuing development as a premier lakeshore destination.” Parkland Properties is based in Muskegon, where the development company gained a foothold in 2009 when it acquired the 140room Shoreline Inn and Conference Center through a loan default by the prior owners. Four years later, Rooks acquired the nearby Holiday Inn, which was built in 1986, from a Southfield-based investment group. Parkland Properties invested millions of dollars into both hotels to help boost occupancy rates and bring in more

visitors. Rooks also has developed prominent apartment and condominium projects in Grand Rapids, including Boardwalk Condominiums, Union Square Condominiums, Cityview Condominiums and Monroe Terrace Condominiums. The growth of tourism in both Grand Rapids and Muskegon and linking the two cities together could be an important driver for economic development for West Michigan, Rooks and Charron said. “Grand Rapids is a world-class city that’s recognized all over the nation as a city with great things,” Rooks said. “Muskegon is still a little bit of a hidden gem, but it’s a city on a lake with a downtown directly on the lake and really is the easiest highway link to Grand Rapids.”

redevelop dying corridors. “We (will) look at how much taxable revenue is coming in as a result of those existing spread-out patterns of just single-story commercial, and how much additional taxable revenue could be generated if we started to think about pockets of mixed-use walkable neighborhoods,” he said.

‘Context-sensitive’ solutions Kilpatrick said he will be applying to this study some of the lessons learned from his previous consulting work with the city of Grand Rapids to make corridors more developer-friendly, like changing the zoning ordinance to allow four stories by right with residential on the ground floor. But he and Oosterman emphasized all recommendations will be “context-sensitive” to each area’s unique situation. “We really are going to be looking for leaders, stakeholders and community members to be a part of the conversation in each municipality that we’re in, because we do recognize that even with that urban core consistency across the board for those key corridors, we know that the history, the architecture, the strategies moving forward are going to look a little bit different … for each of those communities,” Oosterman said.

A local case study

“There is a huge opportunity with the convention center to make it an even bigger catalyst for the community.” — Rory Charron, Parkland Properties’ director of operations and real estate ship,” Charron said. Parkland Properties’ two Muskegon hotels bring in more than 120,000 guests every year, but they have a 50% to 55% average occu-

The bigger picture Schulz said Housing Next, developers and municipalities need to look no further for examples of suburbs using their limited space to best advantage than the work that Hudsonville has done to create a walkable mixed-use downtown area, or the 10-year effort that led to the creation of Ada Village, which now offers housing, retail and restaurants. “It’s more than double the value on half the land in those types of scenarios,” she said. “Building new neighborhoods along these corridors really does provide a noncontroversial path that is low-hanging fruit.” Travis Alden, senior director of community development for The Right Place Inc., said he is thankful Housing Next is tackling a countywide corridor improvement playbook, because if there’s anything that holds back employers from bringing jobs to the region, it’s the lack of housing. “From an economic development perspective, I don’t know if we have a conversation with a business or major employer where housing doesn’t come into the conversation at some point,” he said. “Maybe eight, 10 years ago, housing was thought of as separate from economic development. That certainly is not the case here in 2024.”

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GROCERY From Page 1

offers baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, a variety of fresh deli meats and specialty products. Supermercado Mexico is owned by Olvera Enterprises Inc., an entity consisting of brothers Javier and Pablo Olvera, Javier’s wife Kerry Olvera and Pablo’s wife Maricela Olvera. Maricela Olvera currently is serving as interim CEO as Cochran shifts into his new role, a strategic transition that has been in the works for some time. Javier Olvera noted that Supermercado has grown to be a well established company that mostly is “running by itself.” “We saw this opportunity because the Hispanic community is expanding,” he said. “The Grand Rapids community has a lot of opportunities for growth and for grocery stores for our community.” The U.S. Census Bureau found that between 2010 and 2020, the Hispanic population of Kent County grew by 29%, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming years. According to some estimates, West Michigan’s Hispanic population could grow by as much

GENTEX From Page 3

Grand Rapids. Property records show 1639 Madison was previously owned by an affiliate of Rockford Construction Co. Gentex and Rockford Construction on Jan. 31 submitted the request to rezone the property to the Grand Rapids Planning Commission.

HOTEL ROSE From Page 3

financing worth $539,450 and a $3.25 million Community Revitalization Program gap loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in addition to local TIF funding worth $940,100 that the company secured last month. Wheeler said the project team hopes to receive a decision on the state funding by March or April to start construction later this spring. “We’re pursuing all these avenues for the incentives to make this project happen, and we’re hopeful that everything’s going to remain on track and we get our approvals,” he said. “This project really is dependent on that.” The remainder of the project cost is expected to come from Wheeler Development Group’s investment income, undisclosed investor partners and debt financing. For the latter, the developer has a term sheet pending for a senior loan with Mercantile Bank, Wheeler said.

Property history The firm is under contract to buy the parcels for $450,000 from the city of Rockford, pending ap-

as 130% by 2045. “As the Hispanic population in West Michigan continues to grow, we have a duty and a responsibility to continue to serve them as best as we possibly can,” Cochran said, noting that “a lot of our customers are driving 30-plus minutes just to shop at our stores and purchase the products that we offer.” While Supermercado Mexico’s growth will be concentrated in the coming 10 years, Cochran said it largely will be driven by finding the best opportunities available in areas where potential customers are located. The retailer also is taking an opportunistic approach to growth and will consider new construction and acquisitions of existing facilities. “The vision is where could we put a store where it makes sense, independent of what it takes,” he said, adding that the company is focused on long-term financial stability as it tackles expansion, with “potentially a mixture of both” investment and internal funding fueling new growth. “We seem to be growing much more rapidly year over year than the rest of our industry, so I hope that means we’re doing something right,” Cochran said.

Now in his third year at Supermercado Mexico, Cochran previously spent 10 years at West Michigan convenience store chain J&H Family Stores, including two years overseeing its Tim Hortons operations. As Cochran assumes the responsibilities of CEO at Supermercado, the Olvera family will turn its attention to growing Olvera Property Management, a commercial real estate management company they have been cultivating for the past three years. Supermercado Mexico got its start in 2006 when the Olvera family purchased the former La Tapatia

Supermarket at 1546 Clyde Park Avenue SW, which it renamed Supermercado Mexico-Clyde Park. Since then, the retailer has expanded with two additional locations in Wyoming at 1160 Chicago Drive and 3355 S. Division Ave. SW. In 2022, the families announced plans to add a fourth location in Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park neighborhood with the redevelopment of a vacant building at 900 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW and 919 Caulfield Ave. SW. The $4.1 million project would renovate an existing 33,419-squarefoot, two-story building while add-

ing 5,400 square feet of additional space and a rooftop deck to the building. The company would also use the facility for its corporate offices. Work at the new Supermercado Mexico location also includes an upgraded parking lot with 66 spaces and new storefront windows. The company anticipates it will create 55 new jobs with the expansion, according to plans filed with the city. The Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved the site plan in September; work will begin on the project in the coming months, executives said.

Piersma said more detailed site plans will be shared at a later date. Gentex officials have previously said the company’s move into Grand Rapids is a way to better access talent and bring economic activity to areas with historical disinvestment. The satellite production facility on Cottage Grove Street produces sub-assembly components for the company’s HomeLink prod-

uct, which is used for operating garage doors and other home automation devices. That expansion brought 50 new jobs to the Madison Square neighborhood. “Rising transportation costs make commuting increasingly difficult, so if Gentex wants to recruit employees from Grand Rapids, we need to be here,” Gentex President and CEO Steve Downing said in a statement last year. “And by locating a satellite plant

and creating jobs in a neighborhood near (the) city center, our goal is to strengthen not only Gentex, but also the surrounding community, and we look forward to future opportunities to do so.” Gentex also moved into second-floor office space at 25 Ottawa Ave. SW downtown. Company officials said in September that about 40 team members would transfer from Zeeland to the new tech hub while new software and

engineering workers would be recruited for the remaining space. Gentex is the largest employer in Ottawa County, with more than 6,000 employees working at the company’s main campus in Zeeland and other nearby facilities on the lakeshore. Late last month, company officials reported a record year in 2023 as sales exceeded $2 billion for the first time.

proval of state incentives. The city of Rockford has been eyeing the property for a future hotel since buying the land in 2008, said City Manager Thad Beard. In 2019, the city approved a purchase option on the site with Wheeler Development Group and extended it several times before it expired during the pandemic. When the hotel market began to stabilize following COVID-19 lockdowns, the city reached back out to the developer to renew the option and revive plans for the project. The Rockford Brownfield Redevelopment Authority on Jan. 8 approved Wheeler Development Group’s request to amend the city’s brownfield plan to include Hotel Rose. That same day, the Rockford DDA approved a local TIF agreement to reimburse Wheeler Development Group for certain public landscaping and accessibility improvements tied to the project, Wheeler said. Securing a brownfield TIF award from the state would reimburse the developer for expenses associated with environmental cleanup of the site, which formerly was a car dealership. The gap financing loan, if approved, would be from the MEDC’s Community Revitaliza-

tion Program, created in 2011 to “accelerate private investment in areas of historical disinvestment” and “foster redevelopment of functionally obsolete or historic properties” while reducing blight, according to an MEDC fact sheet. Beard said the project is “definitely needed,” since the closest hotels to Rockford are either the Holiday Inn Express 9 miles north in Cedar Springs, or the Tru by Hilton 9 miles south in Comstock Park. “With the expansion of Meijer Sports Complex on 10 Mile, as well as the major businesses in the area, there’s just no place for anyone to stay, like Wolverine (World Wide) and Byrne (Inc.) and others that have people coming in regularly,” Beard said. He added that even before the West Michigan Sports Commission announced the planned $11 million expansion of the Meijer Sports Complex, the venue was bringing in national tournaments, and there were no nearby hotels to put all the visitors in.

for the retail space this week, Wheeler said. While the initial concept called for some typical main-floor amenities for hotel guests, the project’s budget, the size of the building and its location led Wheeler Development to scale back those elements in favor of more commercial space. “Working with the city on this project, we really felt like the draw was to have our hotel guests be able to experience downtown Rockford more than having traditional hotel amenities, especially with a small room count,” he said. “So really, (the ground floor) has just got the reception area, the restaurant, a little marketplace, and then the rest of it is going to be out-for-lease retail space to add to the downtown community.”

Wheeler Development Group has an agreement with the city for guests to be able to use the public parking lot across the street, as well as lots that comprise “several hundred” spaces on the surrounding blocks, Wheeler said. Additionally, the developer and the DeVos- and Van Andel-owned AHC Hospitality have entered discussions about the company managing the hotel and restaurant. Chad LeRoux, spokesman for AHC, confirmed the talks but said nothing has been finalized yet. Rather than seek a franchise agreement, Wheeler Development Group plans to retain ownership of the hotel, Wheeler said. Now that concept design is complete, the developer plans to seek bids from general contractors to manage the construction.

Inside a Supermercado Mexico store. | COURTESY PHOTO

Other project details In addition to the 54 rooms, the hotel would feature a ground-floor restaurant and bar and about 7,500 square feet of retail space. The company is opening leasing February 19, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 29

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THE CONVERSATION

Third generation helps restaurant operator Gilmore Collection reach a younger audience Morgan Gilmore, scion to the Gilmore Collection restaurant group, is the latest family member to join the thirdgeneration business, which spans locations in West Michigan and Colorado. Gilmore, 27, led the creation of Mo’s Cocktail Lounge in the basement of Mangiamo at 1033 Lake Drive SE in Grand Rapids. Mo’s opened in January alongside the newly refreshed Mangiamo, an upscale Italian restaurant replacing Paddock Place in the mansion. The small bar seats approximately 35 guests in a cozy atmosphere reminiscent of a jazz club. At Mo’s, Gilmore doubles as host and sole bartender, serving an array of traditional and specialty cocktails, like The Ashtray and The Tenenbaum, from a self-designed menu. While leaning on classic Italian liquors and the jazz club aesthetic of the early 1900s, Gilmore has worked to intentionally create space for Gen Z to feel welcome, whether in her own bar or throughout one of the company’s 12 locations. She spoke with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business about her hopes for the new bar, her inspiration, and what it’s like to grow up in one of West Michigan’s largest locally-owned restaurant groups. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. | By Abby Poirier

What lured you back to West Michigan from Colorado? Bartending and serving came easy to me. I went to school to study psychology (and) getting to know people is the easiest thing to do behind a bar. I moved back in June. Then we started doing the first (Mangiamo) tasting meetings in September and all the renovations. (The Mo’s space) was just like a storage room down here. … It was just empty. My parents (said), ‘If you’re interested, you’re more than welcome to take it over. Just come to us with the idea of what your vision board is and what you think you want to do with the space.’ I made a whole presentation. Gilmore’s a big name (so) it was definitely nerve-wracking, but in a good way: I just want to make him proud. I pitched him everything I had, the idea of a retro jazz/cigar lounge kind of vibe down here — obviously with no cigars, but that energy of the bar. How did you put together the look for Mo’s? I ended up thrifting from Century Antique downtown. … I scraped all the walls and painted them and did the carpet squares one by one. It was all DIY. All the tables were high tops from The B.O.B. originally and they were just in storage because they’re really top heavy, so I painted them black and gold, and (did)

everyone that takes the night off to join us for dinner or get a drink here to just feel like they’re special, that they’re treated like the queen or king for the night. They’re important, not just another guest that I’m trying to take money from, get your drink and get out. Hopefully, I’ll get to know your name.

Morgan Gilmore led the creation of Mo’s Cocktail Lounge in the basement of Mangiamo at 1033 Lake Drive SE in Grand Rapids.

Do you and your siblings have a long-term interest in the Gilmore Collection? My dad definitely wants to retire, eventually. It would be great if all four of us (siblings) did it. Everyone’s interested in somehow being in the collection and providing something, whether it’s marketing or bartending or opening another restaurant. But definitely, all four kids are totally invested in that for sure. It’s such a cool thing that (my dad) made, so any way of being involved in that is just really cool for me — just getting that stamp of approval and a ‘proud dad’ moment. You can see his eyes tear up and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m doing something right.’

ABBY POIRIER

What’s your background in the restaurant business? I lived in Breckenridge, Colorado, for the last eight years. I graduated high school early and moved out there. I was serving, managing (and) bartending, at three different mainstream restaurants out there: a steakhouse, a Thai sushi restaurant, and then a tap house/ taco joint. (But my siblings and I) all were raised in the industry. Since I was like 11, I’ve been a busboy or a host. I helped open Bostwick over in Rockford when I was like a freshman in high school. So I’ve always been one way or another helping my dad out with the restaurants.

the same with the bar and fireplace. What was your inspiration for the cocktail list? I just wanted something cute and very ‘photo op’ — something that’s worth spending 14 bucks on. The bar manager from Bostwick Lake Inn in Rockford, Brody, he really helped educate me on Italian liquors. I wanted to have Italian-based spirits with (Mangiamo) reopening and bringing that back. There’s a lot of Disaronno amaretto and Aperol in all the cocktails, things you wouldn’t really think to order. The margarita is kind of a Luxardo dark cherry margarita, like an Italian version. (I use) a bunch of unique liquors to make my cocktails, not just anything

that you can find. Working on the menu, it was super fun to throw myself in there and educate myself on everything that I haven’t tried before and new flavors. They’re all really botanically based and fragrant. Talk about what you learned growing up in the family business. My dad’s work ethic is a huge part of it. Our family is very motivated to not just be in the industry, but provide an experience in hospitality. That was instilled at a very young age — genuinely caring about people and not just doing it for the paycheck. I’m trying to make a lasting impression for that person, that customer. … I want

What are some perspectives your generation brings to the business? Just to feel seen and accepted and welcome. (You) can have a coming out party here. I would love to host that. We have a very large LGBTQ+ community in Eastown. You don’t have to be worried and not be yourself and in love because there’s an older generation over here. Come as you are. Having everyone feel welcomed is huge. That’s what we’re bringing as the ‘younger kids.’ I want you to feel represented. Then marketing, obviously. Our Saltburn-theme Instagram (and) having a drink called the Lana Del Slay is definitely a little younger generation energy. I’m representing (the Gilmore Collection) hopefully in a positive way. I am privileged to have my dad be Greg Gilmore. The Gilmore Collection exists, but to take that and (add) this space, with the purpose solely of having people feel seen and important and valued as a customer and a guest here is huge.

CrainsGrandRapids.com President and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk, (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Executive editor Mickey Ciokajlo, mickey.ciokajlo@crain.com Editor Joe Boomgaard, joe.boomgaard@crain.com Managing editor Andy Balaskovitz, andy.balaskovitz@crain.com Special projects editor Tim Gortsema, tim.gortsema@crain.com Director of audience and engagement Elizabeth Couch, elizabeth.couch@crain.com Audience engagement editor Matthew Pollock, matthew.pollock@crain.com Director of Visual Media Stephanie Swearngin Creative director Thomas J. Linden, tlinden@crain.com Associate creative director Karen Freese Zane Digital design editor Jason McGregor Art directors Kayla Byler, Carolyn McClain, Joanna Metzger Notables coordinator Ashley Maahs REPORTERS Kate Carlson, real estate, kate.carlson@crain.com Jack Grieve, audience engagement, jack.grieve@crain.com Abby Poirier, restaurants, retail and agribusiness, abigail.poirier@crain.com Mark Sanchez, health care and finance, mark.sanchez@crain.com Kayleigh Van Wyk, manufacturing, technology and law, kayleigh.vanwyk@crain.com Rachel Watson, residential real estate, insurance and tourism, rachel.watson@crain.com Danielle Nelson, research and data, danielle.nelson@crain.com ADVERTISING Senior vice president of sales Susan Jacobs, susan.jacobs@crain.com Advertising & event sales director Jill May, jill.may@crain.com Account executive Jennifer Maksimowski, jennifer.maksimowski@crain.com Michigan events director Samantha Flowers, samantha.flowers@crain.com Events Planner Tressa Brondyke, tressa.brondyke@crain.com People on the Move manager Debora Stein, dstein@crain.com Classified sales Suzanne Janik, sjanik@crain.com Sales assistant Rachel Smith CRAIN’S CONTENT STUDIO Senior director of Crain’s Content Studio Kristin Bull, kbull@crain.com Crain’s Content Studio manager Clare Pfeiffer Content marketing specialist Allie Jacobs PRODUCTION Vice president, product Kevin Skaggs Product manager Tim Simpson Prepress/production director Simone Pryce CUSTOMER SERVICE (833) 830-7446 toll free (845) 267-3031 local line (for any foreign calls) customerservice@crainsgrandrapids.com

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