Crain's Grand Rapids Business, June 10, 2024

Roosevelt Park poised for historic investment

Four signi cant projects are in the works for majority Hispanic community

By Kate Carlson

Roosevelt Park Neighborhood, referred to as “the Ellis Island of Grand Rapids” by one of its longtime community leaders, is on the cusp of receiving a once-in-a-generation level of investment.

Four major projects are in the works on the neighborhood’s western border and within the neighborhood boundaries of the majority Hispanic community.

ey include:

◗ e $147 million mixed-use Factory Yards project, a renovation of a long-vacant 15.5-acre industrial property that once housed a furniture plant, a parachute maker and an automotive seat supplier.

◗ e new headquarters for the

West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is estimated to cost $6.5 million to $7 million and will include the Center for Latino Economic and Talent Advancement.

◗ A $6 million project from Supermercado Mexico to refurbish a vacant building for the family-owned chain’s fourth store and corporate o ces.

◗ Hispanic Center of Western Michigan’s plans for the multimillion-dollar renovation of a vacant church building, where it plans to expand its programming for the local Latino community.

e “hidden gem” of a neighborhood has not received as much attention as other parts of the city until very recently, said

Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park neighborhood

Bridge Street businesses bullish on soccer stadium

Concerns mostly involve parking and traf c patterns

By Abby Poirier

Bridge Street business owners appear generally optimistic about how the proposed $175 million soccer stadium development will a ect the burgeoning Grand Rapids west side corridor.

If the 8,500-seat stadium becomes reality and breaks ground as expected in the coming months, it will draw an estimated 164,000 visitors per season, opening new opportunities for restaurants, bars and retail business along the evolving stretch of Bridge Street.

“I don’t think people realize the opportunity that’s going to come from this,” said Walt Gutowski Jr., the second-generation owner of Swift Printing, located at 404 Bridge St. NW, and other

Acrisure CEO says IPO is coming ‘sooner than later’

Source: Google Maps

Insurance brokerage, ntech leader expects to reach $5 billion in revenue this year

By Andy Balaskovitz

Grand Rapids-based global insurance brokerage and nancial services rm Acrisure LLC will be a publicly traded company at some point, and “potentially sooner than later,” according to its top executive.

Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Greg Williams o ered his most recent assessment on the company’s potential initial public o ering during an inter-

Old National Bank hunts for acquisitions

view with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

As reports in June 2023 generated buzz about the company potentially going public, Williams said late last year it felt like the “worst time in the world” to do so, given the prevailing economic and geopolitical conditions.

Six months later, with the company poised to

ACRISURE on Page 33

BRIDGE STREET on Page 33 See ROOSEVELT on Page 32

Kalamazoo County optimistic about residential, commercial real estate sectors

18

Development has started work on the $147 million mixed-use Factory Yards project, a renovation of a long-vacant 15.5-acre industrial property near 655 Godfrey Ave.

INDUSTRY 4.0: Manufacturing Automation

The manufacturing industry is moving at a breakneck pace. Artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 principles, electric vehicles, 3D printing and robotics are just some of the subjects leaders are dealing with on a daily basis. Join Crain’s Grand Rapids on June 20 to hear how experts in the field are addressing these topics and many more during a discussion about all things manufacturing.

Firm helps homeowners build accessory dwelling units

Anchored Tiny Homes participates in every facet of the process |

Lured by housing-friendly policies in Grand Rapids and Traverse City, a pair of Michigan natives are launching a business that will help property owners build accessory dwelling units.

Adam and Nichole Earle, a husband-and-wife duo from Traverse City, are in the process of rolling out Anchored Tiny Homes of Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan, a franchise of the Sacramento-based company founded by the Paulhus family in 2019.

The company, which began franchising in 2022, designs and sells custom tiny home plans to property owners, hiring local builders to construct the units in accordance with each municipality’s rules for accessory dwelling units.

Adam Earle will work on the sales and operations side, while Nichole Earle will guide customers through interior design choices. They also plan to hire sales

staff and construction project managers for both territories.

The pair began marketing their business in the Traverse City area

in late May, and they plan to kick off sales efforts in Grand Rapids this month.

Adam Earle said they chose the

By Rachel Watson

two territories in part because of new housing-friendly ordinances

Grand Rapids and Traverse City recently passed. Grand Rapids eased restrictions around ADUs in April, while Traverse City in October lifted the cap on the number of ADUs allowed in residential zones and adjusted other variables like minimum lot size.

“We knew Grand Rapids would be a good market, (because), outside of Ann Arbor, it’s probably the most ADU-friendly large market in Michigan, so it was already on (Anchored’s) radar,” Adam Earle said. “And Traverse City, they are moving in that direction, too.”

Adam Earle, who also is a partner in Foundry Craft Grillery in Elk Rapids and owns Firehouse Subs franchises in Gaylord and Traverse City, said Anchored’s business model appealed to him

Tommy’s Boats files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Dealer says move is to ‘preserve and maximize value’ for stakeholders

By Rachel Watson

A West Michigan boat dealer embroiled in numerous lawsuits is now seeking bankruptcy protection so it can find a buyer and pay back creditors at “the highest possible value.”

Grand Rapids-based Tommy’s Boats, a dealer with stores in Michigan and seven other states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on May 20. Court filings indicate Tommy’s Boats has assets of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

Tommy’s Boats has a Fort Worth, Texas-based boat dealership that is one of 17 affiliates named in the filing. All entities are listed as being 100% owned by Matthew Borisch or his trust. The company moved to

See BANKRUPTCY on Page 33

Blue Cross, Priority Health seeking double-digit rate hikes

Insurers say proposals reflect billions of dollars spent on claims

By Mark Sanchez

Michigan’s two largest health insurers each proposed double-digit rate increases for employee health coverage in 2025 that would affect small employers, the highest increase at least since the pandemic.

Executives at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Priority Health — which together hold about 86% of the market for small group health coverage in Michigan — say the rate proposals reflect billions of dollars more in claims involving medical care, behavioral health and high-cost drugs.

“We have just seen our overall claims cost increase, when we looked at even ’22 to ’23, pretty significantly,” said Sandra Fester, vice president of Michigan business for Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan proposes to increase rates for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees by an 11.5% statewide average for PPO health plans that renew Jan. 1, 2025, according to a rate proposal submitted to state regulators.

HMO subsidiary Blue Care Network submitted a rate proposal to the Michigan Department of Insur-

ance and Financial Services requesting an average 11.2% increase.

At Priority Health, small group rates would increase by a statewide 13.2% average for HMO policies, if regulators approve the proposal as submitted. Priority Health Insurance Co. proposed a 12.3% statewide average increase for PPO policies.

Fester added that the growing cost from claims has “been consistent. It has not been going down.”

Renderings show a possible accessory dwelling unit design from Anchored Tiny Homes, which is opening franchise locations in Grand Rapids and Traverse City. | AnCHOReD TInY HOMeS

Tommy’s Boats has a showroom at 247 Morrissey Drive NE in Comstock Park, between West River Drive and U.S. 131.

| JOe BOOMGAARD

Business owners list Saugatuck

‘serenity’ haven in the woods

By Rachel Watson

As their extended family grows, Elizabeth Estes and Mary Fechtig are preparing to leave behind their home in the woods that they’ve molded to their tastes since 2013.

The couple, who co-own Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar in downtown Saugatuck and Isabel’s Market + Eatery in Douglas with a few other partners, listed their 3,500-squarefoot four-bedroom, three-and-ahalf bathroom home in Saugatuck Township on May 16 for $1.25 million.

Realtors Bill Underdown and Clement Beaudoin, of Century 21, have the listing.

Though they’re both originally from Illinois, Estes and Fechtig met while working at San Diego-based digital marketing agency JHG Inc. in executive-level roles. The pair eventually made their way back to Chicago, which is when they bought this home as a vacation retreat.

Now, they are leaving behind more than a decade’s worth of memories in the home, which they purchased for a little more than $424,000 in 2013. After falling in love with West Michigan, they made it their primary residence in 2015.

Over the course of about eight years, the couple completely renovated the house from top to bottom and created an outdoor oasis that has played host to two wedding receptions — including their own in 2015 — and countless family gatherings.

A lawyer by trade, Fechtig — who, according to Estes, has “owned more homes than cars” —

Fechtig said. “When you have those kinds of bones or structure … the rest is just lipstick.”

Though the couple wasn’t planning to move, they recently jumped at the chance to own more square footage when a listing with a main house and a guest house on Lake Michigan near South Haven hit the market.

“For us, it was the opportunity to watch those sunsets every night and not have to drive anywhere, but also to have a place for our large, extended, loud family with a guest home,” Estes said, laughing.

The two are now ready to move on from their meticulously maintained Saugatuck sanctuary after spending more than $600,000 to renovate it.

The couple said they will entertain offers for the home’s furnishings, which are not included in the list price. They also will give right of first refusal to the buyer for a lot next door and a lot behind their house, which they acquired to maintain a privacy buffer around their property. The lots would be sold separately from the dwelling.

‘Built for memory-making’

When it comes to home buying, Estes says Fechtig has “vision.” Estes, meanwhile, “needs to see it first, then believe,” according to Fechtig.

“When I walked in (to this house) the first time, I was like, ‘OK, wait a minute,’” Estes said. “You’re going to laugh, but every piece of trim in the house was basically painted a different color, in each room. So it went from mus-

Over the course of about eight years, the couple completely renovated the house from top to bottom and created an outdoor oasis that has played host to two wedding receptions — including their own in 2015 — and countless family gatherings.

finds a creative outlet in buying places with good “bones” and transforming them into snug and inviting homes.

This project was no different, as the house needed work when they first toured it. But the wooded setting was perfect, they both agreed.

“Just the serenity of the house — when you’re in it, all you see is greenery and flowers and plants — for me, that was the aspect of the house that I loved so much, along with the flow of the house, with the room sizes and the high ceilings,”

Fechtig said.

They also added more landscaping with the help of a local master gardener friend.

The backyard outdoor kitchen that they built has a wood-fired pizza oven, a Hestan brand grill and a meat smoker, along with a picnic table and fire pit surrounded by soft patio seating. It ultimately ended up becoming the home’s “social hub” during the warmer months, Estes said.

Another family favorite is the four-season porch.

“The (former) screened-in porch became an all-season room,” Fechtig said. “We literally tore it all down and built walls that were insulated and put special windows in it.”

Estes added: “It’s such a gathering spot, with that wood fireplace. There’s nothing better in the winter than sitting out there in front of the fire, and the snow is coming down all around you. It’s like you’re in a snow globe.”

Indoors, other than the built-in bookcases in the library/music room, there was “virtually nothing we didn’t renovate,” Fechtig said.

tard yellow to peach, and I was like, ‘What’s happening?’”

Estes and Fechtig also said the outdoor space had been underutilized by previous owners. The area had beautiful gardens, but otherwise only a small porch, a bunch of gravel and a plastic fountain.

“There was no pergola system, and there was no big deck with a (hot tub), so we renovated that entire outdoor area with a walkway, with the kitchen and the fire features and all that, so that was obviously a significant investment,”

That includes redoing the owner’s suite, putting in new flooring except for the original wood floors, updating all of the bathrooms and modernizing the kitchen with Thermador appliances, a steam oven and Sub-Zero refrigerators.

“From an amenity perspective, this house was completely built for memory-making,” Estes said.

Adding indoor attractions

Luckily, major indoor floor plan changes were unnecessary because, despite lacking an openplan concept, the home has “total

flow,” Estes said.

The one exception was the basement, which was unfinished and had to be built out from scratch.

They added a full bathroom, a bar, TV/living area, gym, a mudroom and storage.

According to Underdown, one of the couple’s listing agents, the basement has turned out to be one of the home’s biggest attractions during showings.

“To quote the 8-year-old boy who came in and ran downstairs, he said, ‘Holy cow!’ And I laughed, because it’s a complete sports bar down there, and there’s also a gym, and it’s just really fun,” Underdown said.

Estes said the first thing people say when they walk downstairs is, “Oh my God, I love this floor.”

“I’m a White Sox fan, and so I said to Mary, ‘I want the sports bar and the basement floor to look like a baseball bat,’ and (so we used) European oak, and it’s incredible,” Estes said.

Other parts of the home also have a wood motif, like the garage doors and front door, the outdoor kitchen, the walls of the living room and the ceiling of the four-season porch.

Fechtig and Estes also made some key plumbing and heating upgrades, like installing a state-ofthe-art irrigation system for the landscaping that shuts off when it rains, and putting radiant heated floors in the master suite and the four-season room to make it “nice and snuggly in the winter,” Fechtig said.

In the garage, they added cabinetry, redid the floors with professional-grade epoxy and installed a “slot wall system” for hanging tools and equipment.

Time well spent

Despite their plan to move about 17 miles south, Estes and Fechtig say they will continue to remain involved in the Saugatuck-Douglas community as co-owners of Coast 236 and Isabel’s, though they have listed the latter for sale.

Fechtig also continues to serve on the board of the Douglas Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, and the pair still run the digital marketing agency they co-founded, Meraki. Social, from their West Michigan home base.

Fechtig said it’s been a long road, but she’s grateful for the time they got to spend in the home after finishing it.

“I’ve done a lot of renovation in my life on houses, and I usually live through the renovation and then sell it, and I never get to enjoy it,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed this a lot, especially the outdoor kitchen. We have hosted many parties there, and as Elizabeth said, it was built to enjoy. We certainly have, and we will miss that.”

Underdown said given the home’s amenities, its setting and the level of customization, he sees it as a great value for the $1.25 million list price. That’s been intentional to draw a larger pool of buyers, he added.

In its first week or so on the market, Underdown has hosted a series of open houses and showings for a couple dozen people, all of whom have been qualified buyers, rather than curious neighbors.

“A lot of people have bookmarked this as being their favorite house. It’s a crowd-pleaser,” Underdown said. “I would say, at least five of the people have said, ‘If an offer comes in, let us know.’ I think we’ll do pretty well.”

A Saugatuck-Douglas couple have listed this fully renovated home in a cozy wooded setting for $1.25 million. | BILL UNDERDOWN AND CLEMENT BEAUDOIN, CENTURY 21

Old National Bank hunts for acquisitions to drive growth

By Mark Sanchez

Old National Bank wants to build a much larger presence in Michigan, most likely through acquisitions.

More than a decade after entering the market, the Evansville, Ind.-based Old National Bank now aims to create greater scale and density in the state, according to Chairman and CEO Jim Ryan.

“My long-term vision is to really have a much bigger presence statewide, at least in the Lower Peninsula, and that’ll probably have to come through inorganic means, so probably through an acquisition in the future,” Ryan told Crain’s in an exclusive interview.

Since then, Old National has intended to build a broader Michigan presence with a subsequent acquisition, but a deal never materialized.

“It’s been pretty quiet since, and we’ve been able to hire a lot of talent and grow organically, which has been great, but we never found that large-scale partner that really brought a much bigger presence to Grand Rapids or to Michigan in total,” Ryan said.

Most recently, Old National Bank a year ago moved into the Detroit-area market by opening a commercial banking office in suburban Troy that now has a staff of 10 people who were hired in the last year.

“I really think there’s more opportunity for us there. We’re always looking for a great partner in Michigan, specifically,” he said. “Michigan is one of those areas that if you talk to our investors, I feel like we’re just scratching the surface of what we could potentially do there.”

Old National Bank currently operates 23 offices in Michigan with about $1.9 billion in deposits.

Ryan has some familiarity with the Michigan market. He’s a Michigan native and a Grand Valley State University graduate who once worked at the former Old Kent Bank in Grand Rapids before moving to Old National.

“I still really think of Michigan as home,” he said.

Old National entered Michigan beginning with the 2013 acquisition of a dozen Bank of America branches in southern and southwest Michigan. A year later, the bank scooped up United Bancorp Inc. in Ann Arbor, and then bought the former Founders Bank in Grand Rapids in 2015.

“Detroit is becoming a little bit of a hub for us in terms of talent,” Ryan said. “We were able to locate talent there that actually can support our entire footprint. That’s a nice opportunity for us.”

The Troy office may eventually transition into a full-service location for Old National, he said.

In Grand Rapids, Old National this past spring hired Mike Chaffin as West Michigan market president, a role in which he’ll oversee commercial banking across the region. Chaffin came to the role after working for nearly 12 years at Fifth Third Bank, most recently as senior commercial executive and senior vice president in Grand Rapids.

Old National could grow through additional de novo office development, although that route takes longer to achieve growth goals, Ryan said.

“There’s always this tradeoff between ‘build versus buy’ and we would continue to look for opportunities to build, (but) it’s a little bit slower and takes a little longer,” he said. “To the extent that there are also partnerships, we can grow

faster that way. So, that’s really the playbook.”

Old National Bank operates 260 offices in seven Midwest states: Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky and Michigan. At the end of the first quarter, parent corporation Old National Bancorp (Nasdaq: ONB) had $49.5 billion in total assets, $37.6 billion in total deposits, and $33.6 billion

in total loans.

As of June 30, 2023, Old National ranked 17th out of 103 banks in Michigan with a 0.6% statewide deposit market share, according to the FDIC’s annual summary of deposits.

In pursuing growth in Michigan, Old National intends to initially focus on Grands Rapids, Kalamazoo and Detroit, where the bank has

established footprints, Ryan said.

“Our primary concentration is that lower half of the state,” he said “I really think about branch networks, and we need more scale and density. Scale and density in our business matter and are important, and so concentrating on the places that we’re already at today make sense first and then you can build beyond that.”

Across the U.S., bank acquisitions have cooled in the last couple of years. The most recent merger is the proposed $510.3 million deal announced in April in which Rosemont, Ill.-based Wintrust Financial (Nasdaq: WTFC) plans to acquire Holland-based Macatawa Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: MCBC). The merger is expected to close in the second half of the year, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

According to trade publication Bank Director’s annual M&A survey, just 9% of respondents said that their bank was “very likely” to make an acquisition by the end of 2024 and another 26% said it was “somewhat likely.” More than four out of 10 executives surveyed said their bank was “very unlikely” to acquire another bank.

More than half said their board and management were open to selling in the next five years, if the price was right. Of the banks that would consider a sale, nearly twothirds said a regional bank was their preferred acquirer.

As Old National scouts the landscape for potential partners in Michigan, Ryan said patience will lead the way.

“The bank turns 190 years old this year, and so we very much think about long-term investments in people, long-term investments and partnerships. And so, I’m patient,” he said. “Even if we can’t find the right partner, we’re going to continue to build and invest in Michigan.”

Developer resurrects plan for west side food truck court

By Kate Carlson

A developer’s plans for a food truck court on Bridge Street on Grand Rapids’ west side are still in the works, although the project is set to move a block away from where it was originally proposed last year.

David Meikle owns The Back Lot food truck courts in Petoskey and Charlevoix, and plans to bring a similar concept to 616 Bridge St. NW on property owned by Rockford Construction. Co. The Grand Rapids Planning Commission is set to consider a special land use for the project on June 13.

Site plans call for demolishing the existing building on site, which most recently served as a bank branch, and constructing a restaurant with an upper roof deck. The project is set to include a courtyard, food hall and beer hall with indoor seating for 207 people and outdoor seating for 109, according

to planning documents filed with the city. Hookup equipment would allow for food trucks on site, while 16 parking spaces would be included just south along Lexington Avenue NW, according to planning documents.

The Back Lot would be open year-round, with fire pits and heat lamps for the colder weather. Outside of food truck employees, The Back Lot expects to employ five full-time and 10 part-time employees.

“Overall, the project is one of adaptive reuse and revitalization,” according to Meikle’s special land use application. “A site with historic environmental compromise will be built upon with minimal intervention, and a new community gathering place will allow for a more resilient and sustainable urban amenity.”

Meikle did not respond to a request to comment on the project. Grand Rapids-based Mathison |

Mathison Architects serves as the project’s architect.

The Back Lot currently operates two locations in Petoskey and Charlevoix. The company’s website indicates another location planned in Marquette. The projects have full bars, outdoor seating and a mix of seasonal and perma-

nent food trucks on location. The Back Lot in Charlevoix opened in 2021 and includes a private room available to rent, while the Petoskey location opened in 2018 and can seat 200 people outdoors.

The property at 616 Bridge previously housed a Chase Bank branch, and before that the site

served as a tin shop, machine shop and gas station from approximately 1888 to 1960, according to the special land use application.

Last year, the Grand Rapids planning commission approved Meikle’s initial plans to bring The Back Lot project to 648 Bridge St. NW and 345 Lexington Ave. NW, the site of the former Duthler’s Family Foods grocery store. However, the project never moved forward.

Birmingham-based developer Ryan Talbot now plans a mixeduse project at the Duthler’s site that would include 150 apartment units. Talbot’s proposal calls for demolishing the former grocery store.

The newly proposed site for The Back Lot is on the same block that a Jenison restaurant and bar owner plans to open Bridge St. Bar at a former real estate office located at 600 Bridge St. NW.

Developer David Meikle’s plans call for tearing down a former Chase Bank branch building at 616 Bridge St. NW and building a food truck court. Meikle previously proposed opening The Back Lot a block west at the former site of Duthler’s Family Foods. | KATe CARLSOn

Old National Bank’s location 161 Monroe Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids. MARK SAnCHeZ

Old National Bank’s office at 5003 Century Ave. in Kalamazoo. | MICKeY CIOKAJLO

Ryan

City approves incentives plan for amphitheater, stadium

By Kate Carlson

The Acrisure Amphitheater and soccer stadium projects under development in downtown Grand Rapids are one step closer to securing roughly $318 million in tax incentives.

The Grand Rapids City Commission on May 21 approved Grand Action 2.0’s Transformational Brownfield Plan (TBP). The TBP also encompasses conceptual plans for mixed-use projects adjacent to both venues, and includes an affordable housing agreement for the proposed 735 residential apartment units across both projects.

City staff added language to the resolution ahead of the meeting to allow the city manager to make minor modifications to the TBP. The significant financing tool now heads to the Michigan Strategic Fund board for approval, which could come this month.

“This transformational brownfield project plan is a 160-page document and it’s common for things to change slightly from the time the city approves (the plan) until the state of Michigan approves (the plan),” said Jono Klooster, interim economic development director at the city of Grand Rapids.

Following Michigan Strategic Fund consideration, the development agreement for the project would then come back to the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, which is expected to happen in July.

Demolition work started last

month at 201 Market Ave. SW to make way for the 12,000-capacity amphitheater. The 8,500-seat soccer stadium is also expected to break ground this year on surface parking lots owned by the city and the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, located just west of U.S. 131.

The transformational brownfield tool goes beyond the traditional brownfield program by allowing construction-period sales and use tax exemptions and incremental tax captures from property, income, withholding and sales and use taxes once the project is completed.

Transformational brownfield incentives for the amphitheater are estimated to be $17.2 million, while the adjacent mixed-use project could receive $196.6 million. Meanwhile, the soccer stadium could receive $10.8 million from the TBP while the adjacent mixeduse project could get $93.4 million.

Pending final approval, Grand Action 2.0’s projects would be the fifth time that a TBP has been approved in Michigan. It would be the second TBP in the city of Grand Rapids, following the Factory Yards development approval in October 2023.

Grand Action 2.0 also hopes to secure revenue for the projects from a potential increase to Kent County’s lodging tax, which the Kent County Board of Commissioners voted on May 2 to put on the Aug. 6 primary ballot for county residents.

The amphitheater and soccer stadium would both be eligible projects for lodging tax revenue,

pending approval by the county board of commissioners. Kent County already voted in December 2023 to use $15 million from its lodging excise tax revenue, which is currently set at 5%, for the Acrisure Amphitheater.

Grand Action 2.0 Executive Director Kara Wood told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business at the Acrisure Amphitheater groundbreaking last month that the potential lodging tax revenue is crucial for the development. The development team would need to rework some of the fundraising if it doesn’t pass, but the development team is hopeful that it will, she said.

Meanwhile, the TBP and a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy would put the amphitheater within about $25 million of its

fundraising goal, Wood said.

Conceptual plans for the adjacent mixed-use projects next to the venues include 475 residential units at the amphitheater site and 260 residential units at the soccer stadium project. Across both projects, the plans include a total of 1,300 proposed parking spaces.

No private developers are currently attached to the mixed-use projects, so affordable housing agreements would be transferred to any future developer that would participate in the housing components of the developments.

“We’ve had significant interest (from developers) and it’s highly likely we’ll be able to identify those very soon,” Wood said. “If the TBP is approved by the state, we have up to five years to use that, so we have time.”

The affordable housing agreements would provide two options for future developers, while the final terms of the agreement would be subject to future city commission approval.

One option is for the developer to agree to rent out 20% of each unit type at or below 100% of the area median income for 20 years, which would mean a total of 94 units would be rented out at affordable rates at the amphitheater housing project and 52 units would be affordable at the Stadium District Tower housing project.

The other option could require developers to make an annual contribution to the city’s affordable housing fund or similar investment to provide a comparable benefit for 20 years.

“Either option provides opportunity for the city to leverage the TBP program in collaboration with identified developers to support additional affordable and/or attainable housing production in the city,” according to a city staff memo about the project.

The price tag for the projects, which collectively span nearly 20 acres, is estimated at $715 million. Developers anticipate the projects could lead to the creation of 238 full-time jobs.

Including residential components in the TBP application with a binding level of affordability allows Grand Action 2.0 to get a much higher incentive level than just applying for a TBP with the soccer stadium and amphitheater projects alone.

Logistics firm moving headquarters to Kalamazoo

By Kate Carlson

Clark Logic LLC is moving its corporate headquarters from Portage to the southeast corner of the city of Kalamazoo at the former county road commission site.

The transportation, logistics, facility and real estate company purchased the 1.7-acre property at 3801 E. Kilgore Road on April 18 for $3.8 million, according to property records. The parcel sits just west of I-94 and contains about 93,000 square feet of building space across five structures.

Clark Logic has had the property under contract since February 2022 and expects to complete a remodel of the former Road Commission of Kalamazoo County site, said Clark Logic President Jamie Clark.

“It’s a great location with great visibility and just the perfect toolbox for our operations,” Clark said. “It will definitely help our efficiency and operational protocol on a daily basis.”

Building and truck maintenance operations would be housed at the new headquarters, which is expected to be completed this summer, Clark said. A “very extensive remodeling and

redesign” for the company’s offices would be built-out by the end of 2024 or early 2025, Clark said. Clark Logic employs approximately 200 people and will likely have about 100 employees working on site.

“We started in Three Rivers 54 years ago and have been in Portage for the last eight to nine years, and soon we’ll have a corporate address with Kalamazoo, Michigan on it,” Clark said. “We’re excited about the site, visibility and all the dynamics that have evolved since we’ve had it under contract since February 2022.”

Clark Logic owns more than 3 million square feet of real estate throughout Southwest Michigan and a property in northern Indiana, according to the company’s website. The company doesn’t plan to sell any of its locations where it is relocating services to the new headquarters, and will lease out the space to other companies, Clark said.

The county road commission’s new $65 million complex about 1 mile to the east at 4400 S. 26th St. in Comstock Township was completed earlier this year, according to a report from MLive.

A view of the planned Acrisure Amphitheater from Market Street. | PROGRESSIVE COMPANIES

State boosts 5-year housing goal to address shortage

By David Eggert

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state leaders have a new housing-production goal that calls for permitting, building or rehabbing 115,000 units over five years to address a shortage of affordable and quality housing, up 53% from an earlier target of 75,000.

The Democratic governor announced the revised number May 29 at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, saying Michigan is ahead of schedule with nearly 50,000 units built, renovated or permitted. The initial goal, 75,000, is now 40,000 units higher.

The five-year period began in 2021 and ends in September 2026.

“By raising our statewide housing goal to 115,000 units, we will build more housing to drive down costs and ensure every Michigander has a safe, affordable place to call home,” Whitmer said in a statement ahead of a news conference.

The governor also brought attention to federal funding the state is receiving to help 18,000 low-income households install solar panels on their roofs or in their communities and to reduce the cost of new energy-efficient appliances for 10,000 people. The fund-

ing includes $211 million for home efficiency rebates and home electrification and appliance rebates under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and $156 million for a “Solar for All” program.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is expected to open the rebate programs this fall.

The solar program, which also was authorized by the IRA, will be available to residents in the summer of 2025. Whitmer announced

annually, according to Rent.com.

The issue, according to state housing leaders, is a lack of supply.

“By raising our statewide housing goal to 115,000 units, we will build more housing to drive down costs and ensure every Michigander has a safe, affordable place to call home.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

the $156 million in solar funds in April.

The cost of housing, whether to rent or own, has been top of mind for the state’s business and political leaders for years.

Metro Detroit home values have appreciated about 55% in the last four years, and rents have also appreciated at double-digit figures

“Basic economics are, if you are short on supply and high on demand, the cost increases. We really have to help the market. The market is not working how it should,” Amy Hovey, CEO and executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, said during a panel discussion at the conference. “If it did, our business permits would be way up, people would be building, and we would have the housing we need. However, it costs too much to develop housing compared to what Michiganders can afford to pay. [And] when you are out of balance like that, it throws us into the housing crisis we have today.”

The issue is hardly limited to Michigan. Pontiac-based mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage, the nation’s largest home lender, in May rolled out a 0% down payment program in the form of a second lien loan.

A common occurrence during the homebuying frenzy of the pandemic era, bidding wars have been

common again in recent months, particularly in the entry-level market, further driving up prices. The issue, according to developers, is a disconnect between typical incomes in Michigan and the true cost of housing.

“When you think about those particular numbers, how are people supposed to have that home ownership opportunity? The math don’t math. Unless we get additional resources you need to solve that problem, you’re going to continue seeing low-income families,” Glenn Wilson, president and CEO

of Flint-based

Inc., said during the panel. “This is not a partisan issue either. This is something that goes across both. If you do not have a wealthy person in your family, if you do not have someone passing down a home, it’s going to be very hard for you to get, one: the American Dream, or two: to be able to just have a nice home or apartment with your family.”

David Eggert is a reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business. Crain’s Detroit Business reporter Nick Manes contributed to this report.

Communities First

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announces expanded housing goals during the Mackinac Policy Conference on May 29. CReDIT: DALe G. YOunG

Beverage maker quadrupling cold brew coffee production

By Abby Poirier

A West Michigan beverage manufacturer is investing $500,000 in a new location and production upgrades as demand surges for shelf-stable cold brew coffee.

Prospectors Specialty Beverage, which brews and packs ready-todrink products for coffee industry giants like Biggby as well as small, local makers like Soldadera Coffee, anticipates quadrupling production in 2024 as part of an ongoing growth spurt.

Earlier this year, the business relocated from an 8,000-square-foot facility in Kentwood to 22,000 square feet of space at 6980 South Belt Drive in Caledonia, where the company has spent $500,000 to

Prospectors primarily produces cold brew coffee. The beverage, made by steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in cold water for 12 to 14 hours, has grown in popularity in recent years.

According to a Food and Beverage Insider article that cited the fall 2023 coffee data trends report by the National Coffee Association (NCA), cold brew coffee popularity has increased by 300% since 2016. Since 2019, the number of people who stated they drink cold

“Since COVID, we’ve been doubling our business every year.”

David Wentworth, co-founder

aged 500,000 units but expects to package approximately 2 million in 2024.

Expansions for the company include an upgraded, 80-foot automated packaging line, a 1,500-gallon brew tank for cold brew coffee processing and an 8,000-squarefoot cold storage space.

The company also is expanding its operations to be able to package shelf-stable items, rather than focusing solely on refrigerated products. The move comes in response to consumer trends, Wentworth said.

“We spent about a year developing our shelf-stable formula and getting it certified,” he said.

Wentworth also anticipates picking up more Midwest brands

ner Eric Pearson founded Prospectors in 2014. Prospectors Specialty Beverage operates the Prospectors Cold Brew brand, a canned cold brew, latte and coffee concentrate sold in a range of flavors in Meijer stores.

“COVID did hurt a little bit, but it did help a lot in a lot of different ways,” Wentworth said. “People still want a premium product, (and) we’ve repackaged it to make more financial sense for them.”

In the years since, Prospectors

– Aaron Nykamp,

Prospectors Specialty Beverage moved to a larger facility in Caledonia and invested $500,000 in upgrades to meet growing demand for cold brew coffee products. | COURTESY PHOTO

CRAIN’S DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

Options for vibrant culture, delectable cuisine and unforgettable entertainment.

AMPED VIRTUAL REALITY

2923 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512 616-608-5508 • ampedrealityvr.com

Amped Virtual Reality is an amazing venue for company team building, birthday parties, date nights and more, where you can play several competitive games in an hour. Explore over 41 multiplayer games and experiences, including multiplayer VR escape rooms, where you can save Alice’s Wonderland (VR escape room), battle with pirates on your sailing ship, or go head-tohead with zombies.

FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS

AMPHITHEATRE

1000 East Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525 MeijerGardens.org/music

There is no better place to catch a concert than outside at the Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater. Home of two unique concert series, music at Meijer Gardens is a summer tradition. Convenient free on-site parking, the ability to bring your own picnic, and views of a world-class sculpture collection make the Meijer Gardens concert experience one that can’t be missed.

MICHIGAN MARITIME MUSEUM

260 Dyckman Ave., South Haven, MI 49090 269-637-8078 • MichiganMaritimeMuseum.org

The Michigan Maritime Museum is your premier year-round waterfront entertainment, education and event destination in West Michigan. Be it a sailing cruise, museum tour or group gathering, your experience is sure to be first-class. The museum campus boasts multiple waterfront indoor and outdoor spaces giving you the opportunity to select the perfect venue for groups from 5 to 500 attendees.

REDWATER RESTAURANTS

5500 Cascade Rd. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

616-949-0570 • redwaterrestaurants.com

Elevate your taste at RedWater Restaurants! With nine unique concepts from Grand Rapids to the Lakeshore, RedWater prides itself on exquisite ingredients and exceptional service. Enjoy sophisticated yet approachable meals in contemporary settings, paired with some of the best patios and views in West Michigan. Lunch, dinner, or a special occasion, RedWater provides every guest with an unforgettable dining experience.

APPLAUSE CATERING + EVENTS

3755 Broadmoor Ave. SE, Suite C, Grand Rapids, MI 49512

616-940-0001 • applause-catering.net

Applause Catering + Events, awarded Best Caterer nine times by Grand Rapids Magazine, offers comprehensive services for weddings, corporate events, and more. Our experienced team ensures every detail is perfect, from custom menus to event design. Partnering with West Michigan’s exclusive venues, we guarantee a memorable, tailormade experience. Call us at 616-940-0001 for your event needs. Founded in 1989.

GLC LIVE AT 20 MONROE

11 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

313-230-2613 MichiganPremiumSeating@LiveNation.com

GLC Live at 20 Monroe is a fan favorite venue in West Michigan. Our guests enjoy our friendly staff, clean environment and unmatched sound quality. We can elevate your experience with our premium seating options which come with a fast pass to skip the line, private lounge access, in- seat service and of course, the best seats in the house.

REDWATER EVENTS

5500 Cascade Rd. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 616-264-6818 • redwaterevents.com

RedWater Events features nine stunning venues across West Michigan, perfect for weddings, business events and social occasions of all sizes. Revel in beautiful event spaces with picturesque views. Indulge in delectable food and beverage catering, accompanied by unparalleled service from a dedicated team of professionals. From intimate affairs to grand celebrations, RedWater specializes in creating unforgettable experiences tailored to your needs.

SHKODÉ CHOPHOUSE

1123 129th Ave., Wayland, MI 49348

269-792-7777

gunlakecasino.com/dining/shkode-chophouse

The finest flame-grilled steaks, chops and seafood sizzle with perfection at Shkodé, where you can indulge in an array of succulent entrees complemented by craft cocktails, curated wine list and whiskeys from around the world. It’s just one of the five tantalizing dining options here at Gun Lake Casino.

Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant

Muskegon Country Club

MICHIGAN ACCOUNTING FIRMS CRAIN’S LIST

ERNST & YOUNGLLP Detroit48226 313-628-7100; ey.com

DOEREN MAYHEW & CO.PC Troy48084 248-244-3000; doeren.com

BDOUSA Troy48084 248-362-2100; bdo.com

UHYLLP Farmington Hills48334 248-355-1040; uhy-us.com

KPMGLLP Detroit48226 313-230-3000; kpmg.com

MICHIGAN ACCOUNTING FIRMS CRAIN’S LIST

CROWELLP

Grand Rapids49504

616-774-0774;

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com|ThislistofaccountingfirmsisanapproximatecompilationofthelargestsuchcompaniesinMichigan.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensive available.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.CompanieswithheadquarterselsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmainMichiganoffice.NA= not available.

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TOP-COMPENSATED CEOS IN MICHIGAN CRAIN’S LIST

1

2 JAMESFARLEYJR.

3 JAMESFITTERLING Dow Inc. (Midland)

4 KEVINLOBO Stryker Corp. (Portage)

5 FREDERICLISSALDE BorgWarner Inc. (Auburn Hills)

6 RAYMONDSCOTTJR. Lear Corp. (Southfield)

7 KEVINCLARK Aptiv PLC (Troy)

8 STEVENCAHILLANE Kellanova (Battle Creek)

9 MARCBITZER Whirlpool Corp. (Benton Harbor)

$9,934,000,000

($1,981,000,000)

$4,582,000,000

$625,000,000 $944,000,000

1,659$11,388$572,500,000 $327,700,000

1,545:1$11,647$2,938,000,000 $594,000,000

322:1$52,936NA $960,000,000

437:1$30,922$481,000,000 ($1,519,000,000) 10

(Detroit)

SACHINLAWANDE

Visteon Corp. (Van Buren)

119$113,007$1,200,000,000 $1,714,000,000

527:1$24,943$486,000,000 $124,000,000

$844,000,000

$64,300,000

$41,700,000

$242,000,000

($140,600,000)

$1,083,000,000

$452,300,000

287:1$34,812$52,237,000 $34,500,000

56.6$170,276$887,000,000 $837,000,000

SOURCES:S&PGlobalMarketIntelligence,(Marketintelligence.spglobal.com)andSECfilings|TopcompensationforCEOsatpubliclyheldcompaniesinMichigan.Incentiveplan/retirementcolumnis totalofnonequityincentive-plancompensation,nonqualifieddeferredcompensationandchangeinpensionvalue.NA=notavailable. 1. BrownwassucceededbyMichaelRhodesasCEOonApril29. 2. Patrick Lockwood-Taylor became the new CEO, effective June 30, 2023 Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data

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Barnes & Noble plans third Grand Rapids-area store

By Abby Poirier

Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. plans its third store in the greater Grand Rapids area at a retail center currently under construction at Knapp’s Crossing.

Bloomfield Hills-based developer Lormax Stern has broken ground on a new 15,000-square-foot building on the north end of the Village at Knapp’s Crossing shopping center at 2070 E. Beltline Ave. NE in the city of Grand Rapids. The developer expects the new Barnes & Noble bookstore to open in the space in

“The location has the strongest demographic figures in the Grand Rapids area.”

Drew

mid-2025.

Lormax Stern

The new store will be Barnes & Noble’s third in the metro area. It currently operates retail locations at Woodland Mall in Kentwood, about 6 miles south from Knapp’s Crossing along the East Beltline, and at Rivertown Mall in Grandville.

According to Drew Ford, leasing and marketing coordinator for Lormax Stern, the retailer believes the

Knapp’s Crossing area will be a good fit for another location.

“The location has the strongest demographic figures in the Grand Rapids area,” Ford said in an email to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

In addition to Barnes & Noble, the overall 29,000-square-foot development will house a 6,800-square-foot Goldfish Swim School and a 2,500-square foot YogaSix yoga studio. Ford said that Lormax Stern has received “a lot of interest” in two smaller spaces available for lease in the new center.

Grand Rapids-based Visser Brothers Inc. is serving as the general contractor for the project.

The new Barnes & Noble store comes as the retailer continues a growth spurt in which it plans to open more than 50 new bookstores this year, a turnaround for the chain after more than 15 years of contraction, according to a statement.

The retailer ended 2023 with 609 locations, a year-over-year increase of 10 stores.

In part, the growth stems from a new strategy implemented by CEO James Daunt, who came on board after the retailer was acquired in 2019 by Elliott Investment Management, the owner of British book retailer Waterstones.

According to reports, Daunt launched a redesign of the company in 2020, taking a page from independent bookstores and allowing for a more locally-curated brand by giving Barnes & Noble general managers the ability to tweak their customer experience to customer tastes. Under the strategy, each new Barnes & Noble will look different based on location and customer interests, which has helped the national bookselling giant to grow its appeal.

“The curious trick has been that if you actually let the local

book-selling teams do what they think is best, you suddenly get much better bookstores,” Daunt told The New York Times last fall.

“You turn what had been a very uniform but dying business into something that’s much more unpredictable and dynamic and it begins to work.”

As well, other independent West Michigan bookstores, including stalwarts like Schuler Books, have capitalized on the pandemic-era spike in reading to return to growth mode.

For example, Grand Rapids-based Schuler Books recently announced

the expansion of its Ann Arbor location and added a new store in West Bloomfield in 2022.

“Young people have decided that books are good entertainment as well as an act of self-care (we agree!) and choose to spend on them,” Alana Haley, marketing coordinator at Schuler Books, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business for a prior report.

Also, in Grand Rapids, new retailer Black Dog Books opened this spring on Fulton Street with a focus on used books, the local arts community and political literature.

Work has started at the north end of the Village of Knapp’s Crossing, in the area at the top left of the photo, to build-out a new retail space for bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc., its third location in the Grand Rapids metro area. | COURTESY OF LORMAX

Ford, leasing and marketing coordinator for

Sullivan Field renovations hit costly design snag

By Kate Carlson

Renovation work on Sullivan Field, a neighborhood ballpark on Grand Rapids’ west side formerly known as Valley Field, has been stalled for a few months as engineering firms assess the fate of the iconic green grandstands at the aging field.

Construction started at the end of last year on the renovations to the field, which was built in 1937 and has hosted at least 70 players over the years who went on to play in the major leagues. A group of volunteers called Fans of Valley Field have partnered with the city

Soltysiak hopes that the two engineering firms looking into the structural integrity of the wooden grandstands will be done with their assessment and updated budget estimates for the project within about a month. At that point, the group will need to make a decision on whether to tear down the Sullivan Field grandstands and rebuild them, or to preserve them as originally planned.

The preservation route could potentially result in added costs to maintain the grandstands down the road versus building new, but the group has yet to make a decision, Soltysiak said.

“There is a lot of finetuning and specialized skill that goes into taking care of a baseball field.”

Paul Soltysiak, vice president and cofounder of Fans of Valley Field

of Grand Rapids and local businesses to raise funds to preserve and make improvements to the ballpark located at 650 Valley Ave. NW.

“As with many old structures, the more you start tearing it apart, the more things you find,” said Paul Soltysiak, vice president and co-founder of Fans of Valley Field, which formed at the end of 2020.

The group has nearly reached its goal of raising $4.2 million for the project, which includes $1.2 million from the city’s 2019 park millage. However, either route forward for the grandstands will likely include a large increase to the project cost, Soltysiak said. The project so far has received overwhelming support and excitement from community members and many local businesses and organizations; Soltysiak hopes to see a few more “local heroes” step forward.

Despite the grandstands currently being fenced off, Fans of Valley Field is hosting 13 fundraising events at the facility this summer. The events feature a range of live

music and entertainment that can take place at the park during renovation work, Soltysiak said.

“We want people to know we’re still doing our events …,” he said.

As of May 23, Fans of Valley Field had raised $4.05 million for Sullivan Field, including some in-kind donations. The organization plans to use some of the money to start a reserve fund for maintenance of the structure, Soltysiak said. The group plans to encourage travel baseball tournaments and beef up concessions at games and events to fund maintenance of the field in the future.

“There is a lot of fine-tuning and specialized skill that goes into taking care of a baseball field,” Soltysiak said. Part of the maintenance/ reserve funds could go toward training or hiring someone to help take care of the field, he added.

“The field hasn’t been re-graded since it opened in 1937,” Soltysiak said. “Players love playing here for the nostalgia of it, but the field itself is not good. It’s a historic field that needs some love.”

The first upgrades for the field include refurbishing the grandstands, dugouts, roof and replacing the chain link fence around the stands with netting that is more commonly used and makes it easier to watch games.

Other expected work includes re-grading the infield, building a new main entrance for the park

along Valley Avenue, and upgrading the locker rooms. Fans of Valley Field also plans to build museum displays to showcase players and teams that have played at Sullivan Field over the years.

Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction Co. is serving as the construction manager on the renovations. Integrated Architecture, also based in Grand Rapids, is designing the project.

Ultimately, the cost of the project will dictate the size and design of the museum at Sullivan Field, Soltysiak said.

“It could be anything from an additional structure that’s tacked on to the building, to a new, bigger structure that could also serve as an event space,” he said.

Fans of Valley Field recently started working with a cohort of student interns from West Michi-

gan Center for Arts + Technology who are receiving a small stipend to assist with documenting the renovation work at the field.

“Our core group at Fans of Valley Field has taken care of photographs, videos and that kind of work to promote this,” Soltysiak said. “Now, we’re at a point where we’re like, ‘What can we delegate?’”

The group plans for the interns to assist with creating recap and promotional videos of the project, as well as event planning and talent booking assistance for the fundraising events that are held at the field.

“We don’t want to pretend we’re experts. We’re learning too, but we’ll mentor them and plan to give them loose, creative (assignments),” Soltysiak said. “We want them to be creative and see what they come back with.”

The Diatribe breaks ground on $9M mixed-use hub

By Kate Carlson

The Diatribe Inc.’s $9 million mixed-use project, The Emory Arts and Culture Hub on South Division Avenue, is under way.

The nonprofit broke ground on the facility May 31.

The adaptive reuse project at 2040 S. Division Ave. will contain eight apartments, a venue, four retail storefronts, The Diatribe’s offices and programming space for artists and youth.

“It is a place that we wanted to bring to the community so that our community could have something in the 49507 (ZIP code) where they could go, have a cup of coffee, go and listen to poetry, and rent out spaces for quinceañeras and other events,” said Vanessa Jimenez, interim co-executive director of The Diatribe. “It’s really cool to see it come to fruition now and to see this groundbreaking happening.”

The Diatribe first announced plans for The Emory in 2022, and has been fundraising for more than a year. So far, the Grand Rapids-based arts and culture nonprofit has raised $6.7 million toward its $9 million goal. The project budget has increased to $9 million from the estimated $6.2 million when plans were first announced, largely because of inflation and rising costs of construction supplies, Jimenez said.

Crews have been at the building

working on asbestos remediation and plan to begin the renovation work sometime this month. The organization expects construction to take a year, and targets opening it by July or August 2025, Jimenez said.

Area students currently lack options for after-school programming, outside of staying at their school buildings, a gap that The Emory expects to fill for the community, Jimenez said.

The Diatribe anticipates The Emory will serve as an after-school space where a cohort of local youth in grades 7-12 will be able come on weekdays from 3-7 p.m. for free art workshops, homework help and leisure.

“We wanted to create those safe spaces for our youth and our community to really be a part of and come into the space and really be … their authentic selves and ex-

plore what they can do,” Jimenez said.

The Diatribe has been facilitating poetry programs in Grand Rapids schools since 2013 and offers programs in 20-30 classrooms a year in the Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Muskegon public schools.

The Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved a special land use application for the project in January this year.

Grand Rapids-based Pure Architects is designing The Emory, while Kentwood-based Wolverine Building Group serves as the general contractor. Grand Rapids-based Cella Building Co. is serving as the owner’s representative on the project.

Steelcase Inc. is designing the venue on the lower level of the project, which will be named “The Retort” — a nod to The Diatribe’s long-running “Drunken Retort”

slam poetry and open mic show that formerly operated weekly at the back bar at Stella’s Lounge.

The organization plans eight live/work apartments to be rented out at below-market rates on the second floor of the building.

“We are committed to keeping them affordable, but it’s really about building a program that can sustain that,” Jimenez said.

The Diatribe’s team is working with community partners and the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan to help establish an equitable, affordable way to rent out the apartments.

The Diatribe purchased the property for The Emory in 2023 for $400,000 from Calvin University Professor Leonard Van Drunen. The building on site was constructed in 1935 and previously housed the Holwerda-Snoap Sporting Goods store, which moved across

the street on South Division Avenue.

Except for a church that was operating in part of the lower level, the building has been vacant for the past several years. The Diatribe’s goal is to bring people from the community and from outside the area to visit the project and see all of the momentum in the Burton Heights neighborhood, said Javier Cervantes, culture and strategy champion at The Diatribe.

“Our goal is really not to push anybody out, but to bring people in and bring them together to really say, ‘We are here, our community has been here and we are here to enhance the work that’s already happening,’” Cervantes said.

The organization’s former executive director, Marcel Price, left his role at the nonprofit at the end of 2023. He was placed on administrative leave by The Diatribe’s board of directors on July 10 after it received “internal complaints regarding treatment of personnel.”

Jimenez said The Diatribe will announce an update soon on its search for a new executive director.

As part of the search, The Diatribe has also been working internally to enhance its operations and efficiencies to make sure its staff has resources and support to sustain The Emory.

“This is a big project,” Jimenez said. “This is taking The Diatribe really to the next level.”

Sullivan Field on Grand Rapids’ west side. FAnS OF VALLeY FIeLD

A rendering by Pure Architects shows the designs for The Emory Arts and Cultural Hub. | COuRTeSY IMAGe

The Diatribe is beginning work on The Emory Arts and Cultural Hub, an adaptive reuse project at 2040 S. Division Ave. | KATe CARLSOn

Office conversions aim to bring vibrancy to downtown Kalamazoo

By Kate Carlson

A developer’s $32.7 million plan to convert vacant downtown Kalamazoo office space into a mixeduse residential project continues a pre-pandemic strategy to combat low demand for large-scale offices while bringing people into the city’s core.

PlazaCorp’s plan to convert a vacant historic building at 203 N. Rose St. into an 82-unit mixed-use residential project is one of several adaptive reuses of vacant offices in downtown Kalamazoo. Other projects involve Kalamazoo-based developer and property manager Treystar’s conversion of multiple ground-floor spaces into retail as office demand shrinks.

“Office conversions have been going on for more than a decade in downtown Kalamazoo because the real demand is for residential,” said Rob Peterson, owner of Dover

Birch Real Estate Services. “First (developers) started with vacant buildings and when they ran out of vacant buildings they started taking mostly Class C office spaces. Now we’re starting to see that driven by low (office) demand.”

this year is also down from 2021 and 2022, which were at 18% and 18.6%, respectively, according to Peterson’s research. Peterson’s report excludes properties owned by municipalities, Bronson Healthcare and Zoetis, he said.

“Office conversions have been going on for more than a decade in downtown Kalamazoo because the real demand is for residential.”

Rob Peterson, owner of Dover Birch Real Estate Services

Peterson in late May released data documenting occupancy levels across downtown, which found an office vacancy rate of 15.2%, up slightly from the 2023 office vacancy rate of 14.7%. The vacancy rate

He attributes the present downtown office vacancy rate to some small office spaces being leased and office conversions into other uses, which is expected to continue until developers run out of large-scale offices that are freed from long-term leases, Peterson said.

“We’re going to see more ground-up residential development in downtown Kalamazoo,” Peterson said. “There are some larger vacant parcels, some under control by the city and some are under control by larger developers, and I expect we’ll see more infill development.”

Antonio Mitchell, the city of Kalamazoo’s community planning and economic development director, said the city is working with “a number of developers” looking to convert their office space as interest grows.

“After COVID, our office base started being adjusted and a lot of folks were working from home and I don’t think it’s fully bounced back,” Mitchell said.

Rick DeKam, principal at Por-

Kalamazoo on track to add nearly 8,000 housing units

By Rachel Watson

Housing experts say Kalamazoo County is on track to fill a projected housing gap of nearly 8,000 units by 2030, as new financing options and supportive local zoning policies help developers grow supply.

The Kalamazoo County Housing Plan published in 2022 by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research determined 7,750 new housing units will be needed in the county by 2030 to keep up with an anticipated population increase of more than 8% during that period.

Lee Adams, director of community development for the Upjohn Institute and lead author of the report, is working on an updated version of the study to measure the county’s progress.

Based on what he estimates to be about 3,000 units currently in the county’s construction pipeline, Adams said he expects the county is well on its way to meeting that goal.

“I think what we’ll see is that

development has outpaced our initial estimates of what we thought was needed,” he said. “Given the pace that we’ve seen in terms of the number of units permitted and already under construction … I think we’ll get there. Probably, we’re ahead of schedule.”

Several factors have contributed to the building boom, Adams said.

Those include the Housing for All millage that Kalamazoo County voters passed in 2020 and so far has supported the addition of more than 900 housing units. After its first full year of implementation in 2022, the millage put $6.7 million in gap funding toward projects totaling $115 million in capital investments that are expected to create 655 new housing units. In its second year, the millage put $7.9 million toward projects totaling nearly $69 million in capital investments that are expected to add 252 units. Notable rental projects receiv-

Portage-based Allen Edwin Homes plans a 58-unit workforce rental housing community, known as Oakland Commons, that will include a mix of detached single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes. | COURTESY OF ALLEN EDWIN HOMES

The 344-unit Abbey42 apartment project in Pavilion Township received funding support in 2022 from Kalamazoo County’s housing millage. | COURTESY PHOTO

Allen Edwin Homes is adding another phase with 36 lots to its existing Concord Farms development in Mattawan. | COURTESY OF ALLEN EDWIN HOMES

PlazaCorp is converting a vacant historic building at 203 N. Rose St. into an 82-unit mixed-use residential project. | MICKEY CIOKAJLO

HOUSING

From Page 18

ing millage funding have included the 344-unit Abbey42 apartment project in Pavilion Township, the 97-unit affordable Pinehurst Town Homes project in Portage and the 64-unit Nomi Senior Housing project at 530 Rose St. near downtown Kalamazoo.

On the single-family side, the millage has supported projects like AVB Construction’s plan to add 50 workforce homes in Portage, gap funding for several homes being built by Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity, and hundreds of thousands of dollars toward home rehabs and critical repairs to preserve homeownership units.

Mary Balkema, director of the Kalamazoo County Housing Department, which launched in 2021 to administer the millage, said she also is optimistic about the county’s ability to fill the housing gap on time.

“We’re very encouraged with the progress we’re making,” she said. “We passed the millage in 2020, we first levied it in 2021, and we’re delivering a lot of projects. … I think other folks around the state are looking at our progress and asking how we did it and … that’s encouraging, too.”

Favorable zoning

Adams and Balkema said local municipalities also are getting serious about making housing development — especially the lower-cost variety — possible by

CONVERSIONS

From Page 18

tage-based Midwest Realty Group, said while the future of the broader Kalamazoo region’s office market is unpredictable, he sees plenty of office buildings sitting vacant.

adjusting their zoning codes to allow for higher density and smaller homes and lot sizes.

For instance, the city of Portage is recommending zoning changes to allow a wider variety of by-right housing, including multifamily units and duplexes in some single-family zone districts, as part of master plan updates currently underway. The city of Kalamazoo adjusted its zoning to ease restrictions on accessory dwelling units and is mulling additional changes. And Comstock Township in 2022 earned its Redevelopment Ready Communities certification from the state for its work removing zoning barriers to draw new investment.

“There’s been a lot of commitment that the units of government and the populace have demonstrated to solving this issue,” Adams said. “Most everybody’s pretty committed to solving this.”

An influx of state and federal funding directed at addressing the state’s yearslong problem of underbuilding housing is also helping.

Andrew Gyorkos, principal broker at Kalamazoo Commercial Real Estate, said his brokerage hears from communities like Portage and Kalamazoo that “everyone is very pro-housing and promixed-use development,” which are the types of projects attracting recent state funding.

Michigan Economic Development Corp. incentive programs like the Revitalization and Placemaking grants, Michigan Community Revitalization Program grants, and some construction loans and tax increment financing have fa-

ture home of Western Michigan University’s men’s hockey team and men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the Kalamazoo Wings professional hockey team.

“What I’ve also been noticing are buildings that have not been filled that are now starting to drop off the market that are still vacant,” DeKam said, as office tenants move out but owners keep the vacant spaces off the market while they wait for market conditions to turn around.

“They think it’s a bad time and there will be a better time later,” DeKam said. “I think it’s honestly just going to get worse before it gets better and there will probably be some creative alternative uses.”

Eyes on event center

As property owners grapple with the soft office market, downtown Kalamazoo may be poised for a boost as Greenleaf Companies moves forward with plans for the $300 million, 320,000-squarefoot Kalamazoo Event Center.

The project is eyed for two city blocks bounded by Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo Avenue, Park Street and Eleanor Street, and would host nearly 240 events, shows, concerts and community sporting events a year.

The arena also would be the fu-

DeKam noted that Kalamazoo’s focus on entertainment facilities and bringing residents downtown could produce spinoff benefits for downtown commercial real estate.

“It’s important for municipalities and communities to understand that in order to have a vibrant downtown, you have to have two things: activities and a core population downtown to sustain those activities,” DeKam said.

“Once you have those two things you have a wheel that’s turning to attract other people and you’ll have businesses that can service the general population and the population that lives downtown.”

Mitchell said he hopes to see about 10 more restaurants and entertainment spaces downtown to support both the arena and additional residents coming downtown with the influx of housing projects, Mitchell said.

Andrew Gyorkos, principal broker at Kalamazoo Commercial Real Estate, expects the event center to benefit downtown because of the facility’s connection to Western Michigan University.

“What we have going for us in the county is Western Michigan, which has a medical school, and we have big employers like Pfizer, Stryker and Zoetis,” Gyorkos said.

vored mixed-use projects that promise to add housing units on a large scale.

“In order to get MEDC money, it has to be mixed-use,” Gyorkos said.

From what he’s observed, Gyorkos said developers in downtown Kalamazoo have been rewarded for building those types of projects, as they tend to lease up quickly.

Mike McGivney, vice president of sales and marketing for Portage-based Allen Edwin Homes, said Kalamazoo County continues to be a “staple market” for his company’s housing development efforts because of healthy demand. As of May 21, McGivney said Allen Edwin only had about five available homes on the market in Kalamazoo County.

To increase supply, the company is building additional phases to existing developments — adding 16 home sites to Meadowbrook Farms in Three Rivers and 36 lots at Concord Farms in Mattawan — as well as planning a new 118-lot development called Homestead at Centennial in Vicksburg.

Still recovering

While some developers have remained busy, the number of single-family homebuilding permits issued in Kalamazoo County has been trending downward for the past three years, dropping from 107 in the first quarter of 2021 to just 51 in the first quarter of 2024, according to a Builder Track report released last month.

That’s not because demand for housing has dropped, McGivney said, but rather because fewer sin-

“That helps keep us more buoyant through tough times; we’re fairly stable in that sense.”

While Gyorkos has been getting a few more calls about his firm’s properties downtown near the event center site, the project is yet to directly spur new development.

“We are starting to see some infrastructure construction start, but it is still four to five years out,” Gyorkos said. “Everyone is still excited about it, it is real, but you can’t monetize something that’s coming in four years.”

The arena construction, along with extensive road work that is set to continue in downtown Kalamazoo for the next several years to slow traffic and make downtown more walkable, will be a shortterm pain for downtown, Mitchell said.

“This work will make downtown more walkable and bike-friendly, moving toward hopefully having scooters in our downtown as well, but we have to create a pedestrian friendly environment for that to happen,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully in the future you’ll see more people moving downtown instead of mostly just cars.”

Long term, Peterson sees plenty of opportunity for downtown Kalamazoo, especially given the city’s focus on infrastructure investment, he said.

“I haven’t seen this much opportunity in downtown Kalamazoo in a long time,” Peterson said. “I’m bullish on downtown.”

gle-family builders are at work in the county. As well, elevated interest rates and construction costs make it harder for builders who might otherwise tackle speculative projects like Allen Edwin does.

Adams, at the Upjohn Institute, said some builders were “snake bit” during the Great Recession, and their numbers still haven’t bounced back.

“Kalamazoo is a little bit of a smaller market, where the developers here couldn’t weather the storm as well as a bigger market, so we suffered quite a bit there after the Great Recession,” he said.

McGivney sees that as a problem because the county’s housing stock just continues to age, and construction costs are pricing new

single-family homes out of reach for many buyers, especially those at the entry level.

That’s partly why Allen Edwin is trying new plans, like a 58-unit workforce rental housing community called Oakland Commons that will include a mix of detached single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes.

Adams said there’s a dichotomy now between “preference and affordability.” While many people in the county might prefer to buy a house, they will go for what they can afford, which might mean renting for longer.

“As we see the cost of housing rising faster than wages, people are leaning more toward price over typology preference,” he said.

However, Adams sees a silver lining for developers attempting to grow Kalamazoo County’s housing supply by shifting their portfolios.

“It’s why we see developers making the shift to more multifamily, smaller lot or smaller size single-family, to try to accommodate that,” he said.

“We just haven’t been building … so that’s why I think we’ve got so much room to bounce back,” he added.

Balkema said the will to build is going to be more important than ever, as Kalamazoo County expects to see an overflow of new residents from nearby Calhoun County if the Ford-CATL Blue Oval battery projects planned in Marshall comes to pass. While the project initially

called for the creation of 2,500 new jobs, the company still expects to create 1,700 jobs.

This is part of the reason why Kalamazoo County is updating its housing study, she said.

“Battle Creek, and certainly Calhoun County, has not kept up with the pace of housing that they need, so that just puts further demand on our region, especially our county,” she said. “… I think we’re keeping pace with what (demand) I see in Kalamazoo County. Are we keeping pace with other regions’ folks (who want to) live in our county and work in their area? Maybe not.”

Crain’s Grand Rapids Business reporter Kate Carlson contributed to this story.

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Whitmer advocates for long-term SOAR funding

By David Eggert

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it is important to secure long-term funding for Michigan’s major business-attraction incentives fund that is in place after she is no longer governor, saying a “piecemeal” approach to economic development would not serve the state well.

The Democratic governor and the Democratic-led Legislature are in the midst of talks over potentially providing an ongoing revenue source for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund beyond next fiscal year. It is part of negotiations over also restoring a job-creation tax incentive, enacting a research-and-development tax credit and creating a new fund to invest in early-stage startup companies.

Whitmer declined to say how much longer SOAR should have ongoing annual funding, though 10 years has been floated and is included in a plan House Democrats proposed last month. She called the proposal’s introduction “very positive.”

jointly with Whitmer. He said the state has the opportunity to “lay that long-term foundation” and have stability, consistency and predictability that was lacking under the previous administration.

“I think we do have to have a long-term view and a long-term plan,” the governor told Crain’s at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island. “I won’t be governor after 2026. But I want to make sure whoever succeeds me has got the tools to ensure Michigan continues to be competitive. Other states have built that in, so companies know that whether they’re investing today or in a couple of years, that they’ve got the apparatus ready to move. Our system has been piecemeal. That doesn’t work very well.”

She added that “with term limits and a Legislature that’s turning over frequently, (it is) crucial that our economic development strategy is led by economic development experts who’ve got the tools to make sure that Michigan continues to be aggressive and a leader.”

Democratic senators are pushing for changes that would redirect half of the maximum $500 million in corporate income tax revenue that goes to SOAR annually for community investments such as regional transit, affordable housing, the redevelopment of demolished or vacant properties, infrastructure, child care and job training.

House Democrats want to dedicate $250 million to SOAR over the next decade and $200 million each year for transit and mobility projects. Their plan also would double, to $100 million, the annual appropriation to the Housing and Community Development Fund and continue distributing $50 million a year to the Revitalization and Placemaking Fund beyond the 2024-25 fiscal year. The House Economic Development Committee will hold a hearing on the bills this month.

Whitmer said the latest proposal “appears to genuinely try to address a number of the foundational elements” identified by a population-growth council she created last year, including transportation.

“I think that it’s really great to see the Legislature put forth a serious effort to address this. We’re looking at it and trying to figure out (if) there are any improvements we want to offer up to the plan. But I’m grateful to see them come with a serious plan. I think it’s very positive,” she said.

She said the Senate, which passed its proposal in March, “moved the ball forward, and that’s a positive development.”

The House plan, she said, has “some really interesting aspects.”

The SOAR account was created in late 2021 in response to Ford Motor Co.’s decision to locate electric vehicle and battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. It has been used to land EV battery factories and other businesses and to prepare large sites for future development, but also has come under scrutiny from legislators due to factors such as the expense of the incentives and the quality of jobs promised.

“We think the more wins that we are able to secure, the more wins we will be able to compete for. In order to secure the wins today, we’ve got to have tools and that’s what this is about,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said in an interview that was conducted

She said Michigan cannot afford to always “throw cash at companies” like some states do, but it can spend to get sites ready, prepare the workforce, give businesses incentives to upskill their employees and have an R&D tax credit like many other states offer. David Eggert is a reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business.

“I want to make sure whoever succeeds me has got the tools to ensure Michigan continues to be competitive,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told Crain’s. DALE G. YOUNG

Super Bowl of hard cider celebrates innovation, awareness

By Abby Poirier

Hard cider functions as much more than an “alternative” to beer; it’s an agricultural product that showcases craft producers’ innovative ideas as part of a beverage category that continues to grow every year.

Those were among the central themes Crain’s Grand Rapids Business heard from cider makers who gathered at the 18th annual Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP) last month to showcase their best products and learn from one another.

The gathering, akin to the Super Bowl of cider, is hosted by the Michigan Cider Association. Billed as the largest international cider competition and hosted annually in Grand Rapids, the event drew hundreds of cider makers from across the U.S., Spain, Japan, Canada, Germany and elsewhere to share best practices and vie for a trophy recognizing the quality of various ciders and perries.

This year’s competition weighed more than 1,400 entries in 25 categories.

“It’s fun to see the camaraderie,” Paula Englin, executive director of the Michigan Cider Association, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “We have folks that are volunteering for their first time here at GLINTCAP, experiencing it with fresh eyes, and then folks that have been here for all 18 that we’ve held it.”

Over the course of two days, a panel of judges hailing from different countries and specialties judged six rounds of cider flights to determine the best of the best.

At GLINTCAP, cider and perry — made from fermented pears — are judged in both commercial and non-commercial categories, with awards for producer of the year, best in class, sweet, dry, botanical, rosé, hopped, traditional and modern ciders, among others.

The range of categories is a testament to the wide variety of flavor profiles cider has expanded to include over the years.

“I think cider is probably one of the most misunderstood beverages in the world, particularly in the U.S.,” Englin said. “At least here in the Midwest, cider is often viewed as the occasional alternative to a beer, or it’s the one thing available for your friend that has a gluten allergy.

“Cider is such a complex and really special beverage. It dates back to the foundation of our country. A lot of times, women are the ones who made cider in the home and it was a safe alternative to drinking water. It’s grown to be its own beverage category, and really ranging from very fun and lighthearted … to sweet and dry and hopped. (It’s) just a beautiful spectrum that cider possesses, but a lot of people kind of see it as just one-sided.”

GLINTCAP attendees remain focused on agricultural issues, including access to farmland, stability for growers and climate concerns that affect the apple and fruit growers that cideries source from.

“Cideries can’t support farmers

alone, but we need successful farmers to have cider,” said John Behrens, founder and president of Farmhaus Cider Co., located in Ottawa County’s Blendon Township, near Hudsonville, and treasurer of the Michigan Cider Association.

Farmhaus Cider recently purchased a 116-year-old orchard to provide apples for the cidery, while preserving farmland and creating a space to educate customers about the agriculture behind cider.

“The number of people that still don’t really get the connection continues to amaze me,” he said.

This is especially important as

the fruit industry continues to contend with rising H-2A labor costs that are challenging the economics for many growers in West Michigan and beyond.

In December, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the hourly wage for migrant farmworkers in Michigan would increase to $18.50 an hour in 2024, up 6.7% or $1.16 over last year. This is the 10th consecutive year the wage has risen, putting Michigan’s H-2A visa worker wage at fifth-highest in the nation.

In addition to climbing H2-A wage rates, issues like climate

change and access to farmland are threatening fruit growers.

“Having a healthy agricultural system is extremely important to

the survival of cider,” said Dave Takush, board secretary for the American Cider Association and co-owner of Corvallis, Ore.-based 2 Towns Ciderhouse. “There’s not any more land being created, and a lot of farmland is getting eaten up by urban expansion.”

Takush also noted that climate change is a concern as heat, lack of rain and changing weather patterns can affect and even destroy fruit crops.

“We’re making a fermented beverage. All the flavor profile and aromas are driven by the fruit we use. We need the best,” Takush said.

JO YF U L

The 18th annual Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition took place in Grand Rapids. | COuRTeSY PHOTO GRAND RAPIDS

$1M state grant helps startup bring window coverings to market

By Andy Balaskovitz

A West Michigan startup that has been developing transparent window covers to make homes and buildings more energy efficient has received $1 million in state funding to help take its products to market.

State officials announced in late May that Kentwood-based Mackinac Technology Company was among eight recipients statewide of an Inclusive Entrepreneurship Support Grant, a $10 million program for diverse entrepreneurs tackling a variety of challenges in clean energy, affordable housing and health sciences.

Mackinac Technology Company

President John Slagter said the state award comes “at a really criti-

cal time for us” as the company starts to ramp up production within the next two years.

“It’s a catalyst for our transition from research and development to manufacturing,” Slagter told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Backed by roughly $15 million in federal funding since its founding in 2007, Mackinac Technology has been developing lightweight coverings that give windows essentially the same insulation value as walls. Partners have included researchers from Calvin University and a major German research firm, while funding support has come in from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Defense Department and DTE Energy.

The company is preparing to

bring to market a polymer window cover that’s made of a rubber material, and acts as a less costly alternative to full-on window replacements.

“It’s a super high-tech storm window, basically,” Slagter said. “It goes over an existing window and it dramatically reduces energy loss, or heat loss.”

A second product offers “dynamic shading” that can be incorporated into the units to manage solar heat energy, keeping buildings cool during the summer and warm during winter.

According to Slagter, the company’s technology reduces the electricity use in an average house by about the same amount that’s needed to power one electric vehicle per year.

New retail and coffee shop to showcase refugee cultures

By Abby Poirier

Treetops Collective is moving closer to opening its South Division corridor retail space and coffee shop, where the organization will showcase the work of New American refugees while connecting them with the West Michigan community.

refugee

when you have a cup of chai that’s Nepali or Somali or Sudanese, it’s different wherever you go,” Carnahan said. “We’re offering our community a way of experiencing tea and coffee culture from around the world, in one place.”

The 2,500-square-foot gift shop and coffee shop is part of a community center project that Treetops started in 2022. The $2.5 million initiative involved the total renovation of the building at 906 S. Division Ave.

The new center features an event venue, kitchen, child care space and co-working offices. On June 20, the nonprofit is preparing to open the front of the building, where the new coffee shop and gift shop are located.

Inside the retail space, Treetops will feature refugee-made products, including clothing for children and adults, home goods, accessories and gifts. Teens in Treetops’ Teen Enterprise program will create some of the items for sale. The program offers a paid internship where teens can learn the retail business alongside local creators and design an item to sell in the Treetops product line.

Nadia Hamad, the maker behind many of Treetops’ current products and a refugee herself, will be a featured creator at the shop alongside other local makers who have a refugee background.

“(This is) a space for them to use their creative gifts and offer that to the community,” said Tarah Carnahan, executive director of Treetops Collective.

The shop will employ seven refugee women participating in Treetops’ programs. Customers will be able to watch Hamad and other makers create garments and other products in real-time.

As well, two women who have taken part in Treetops’ 15-month leadership program will run the coffee shop, which has space for 40 customers. The menu will focus on coffee, tea and pre-made snacks from different countries and cultures to showcase the diversity refugees bring with them.

“Something as simple as chai,

Eventually, Carnahan hopes to partner with the Grand Rapids Downtown Market to create an incubator kitchen for New American women to make food to offer as take-home items at Treetops’ coffee shop.

“Longer term, (the plan is) to have takeaway lunches that people could grab and be exposed to maybe a cultural food that they hadn’t ever had before, but also maybe a maker who could cater an event for them,” Carnahan said.

Like Treetops Collective’s programming, the new retail and coffee shop will help New Americans create connections with the community around them, while teaching customers about the diverse community of refugees.

“This has always been a core part of our mission,” Carnahan said, pointing out that “it is really hard to love your neighbor, if you don’t actually know who they are.”

“We want this space to feel like a celebration of the diverse community that West Michigan is,” she said. “Often, people don’t realize that so many cultural communities are actually making this place their home right alongside them. We are highlighting and celebrating these different places to create appreciation and more understanding, but also to create some new interactions.”

During the 2023 fiscal year, Michigan took in 2,437 refugees, more than double what it took the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Refugees came to Michigan last year from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Burma and 15 other countries.

According to the Immigration Research Initiative, Michigan ranked fourth in the nation for the most refugees received — 23,000 people — in the last decade.

FAMILY LAW

Treetops Collective plans a June 20 opening for its retail and coffee shop space at 920 S. Division Ave. in Grand Rapids. | ABBY POIRIER

28th Street hotel rebrands, adds restaurant and retail

By Rachel Watson

The co-owner of a hotel on a busy commercial corridor near Grand Rapids has long wanted to convert the hotel’s banquet space into a restaurant and add retail.

After rebranding the former Delta by Marriott at 3333 28th St. SE in Kentwood as an upscale Sonesta Hotel, co-owner Norman Leslie said he is now able to achieve that goal. Leslie is president and CEO of Fargo, N.D.-based National Hospitality Services and co-founder of Fargo-based Legendary Capital. The latter group acquired the hotel through its Lodging Fund Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) III in 2016 and converted it to a Delta by Marriott. Leslie had previously held the property through another affiliate since 2012, when it was a Ramada Inn.

Leslie said the group rebranded the 181-room, nearly 50-year-old hotel at the northwest corner of 28th Street and East Beltline Avenue SE to a Sonesta on April 30.

While Marriott is a “spectacular franchisor” that his firm partners with for many of its 50 lodging portfolio properties, Legendary wanted to make the switch for this hotel because Marriott’s methodology for the Delta brand emphasizes meeting rooms, Leslie said.

Sonesta offers more flexibility to include retail, he added.

“Some of the banquet space resides all along … 28th Street and off the Mall (Service Drive). It’s basically a brick wall,” Leslie said. “By moving to Sonesta, it’s giving us flexibility to take some of that banquet space and convert it into what we think will be one-of-a-kind re-

within six months and begin construction by the fourth quarter of this year. His goal is to open the restaurant and retail space, which would have more of a transparent, storefront appearance facing 28th Street, by the first quarter of 2025.

“There’s so much infrastructure already there, it’s not like building a new spot. So we have that advantage,” Leslie said.

“We’re still a full-service hotel with really nice conference space, but this just takes about 7,000 square feet and repurposes into what it’s going to be — really a complete change for that corner.”

Norman Leslie, president and CEO of Fargo, N.D.-based National Hospitality Services and co-founder of Fargo-based Legendary Capital

tail space, with restaurants and other types of retail facilities.”

Now that they have completed some minor general maintenance and converted the hotel to Sonesta signage and brand aesthetics, Leslie said his team will turn its attention to securing tenants for the proposed retail and restaurant space.

Leslie hopes to sign tenants

The hotel’s other amenities include a pool, fitness center, coin-operated laundry, a grab-and-go convenience store, Starbucks, the Urban on 28th Kitchen and Bar with a lounge area, and 5,000 square feet of meeting space that will be preserved.

“We’re still a full-service hotel with really nice conference space, but this just takes about 7,000 square feet and repurposes into what it’s going to be — really a complete change for that corner,” Leslie said.

The mix of retail could include one or two tenants or up to four, Leslie added. He’d like to see at least one restaurant, as well as a luxury spa. Hotel guests would be able to access all of the retail spaces

from inside the hotel, similar to how the 1-year-old KPot Korean BBQ restaurant in suite 1 is accessible without leaving the building. Brian Quinn, chief development officer for Newton, Mass.-based Sonesta International Hotels, said this marks the first location for Sonesta in greater Grand Rapids, though it has franchises in Lansing, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

He said Sonesta is “really excited” about adding this property to its franchise portfolio, not only because of its amenities but because it’s only 4 miles from the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and 9

Quinn added that Grand Rapids is an “incredible drive market” for both leisure and business travelers.

“I think also for the community to have another upscale hotel in the marketplace that can provide food and beverage options and meeting options at the location and also host guests for all different kinds of events and to serve different types of businesses, is really powerful,” he said. “We’re excited to see the platform bring all of its strengths to the marketplace.”

miles from Medical Mile and the downtown college and university campuses.

The lobby of the Sonesta Hotel at 3333 28th St. SE in Kentwood. SOneSTA HOTeLS AnD ReSORTS

Revenue growth is ‘limitless’ with AI, fintech execs say

By Andy Balaskovitz

Major Michigan-based players in the U.S. mortgage and insurance brokerage sectors say artificial intelligence is poised to fuel, or already has fueled, rapid growth in revenue and market share.

During a panel discussion at the Mackinac Policy Conference, CEOs from Acrisure LLC, Rocket Companies and Ann Arbor-based Amesite Inc. said integrating AI was either a foundational piece of their organizations or is being rapidly deployed to drive efficiency and worker productivity.

TRANSFORMATION BEGINS

sure’s early entrance into the AI space in 2020, when some saw the Tulco deal as “nuts,” has allowed the company to dominate in the global insurance brokerage space.

At Rocket Companies, the mortgage lender founded by Dan Gilbert, Shawn Malhotra was brought on in May as the company’s first chief technology officer to deploy AI as “a flagship, top line imperative across the country,” said Rocket CEO Varun Krishna. That includes creating Rocket Logic, an AI platform designed to make the entire homebuying process simpler and help close loans faster.

“Our focus is to leverage technology to drive growth and market share.”

Varun Krishna, Rocket CEO

For Grand Rapids-based Acrisure, AI has contributed to roughly $3 billion in new revenue over the past three years, from about $2 billion to $5 billion by the end of this year, said co-founder, Chairman and CEO Greg Williams.

That growth came after Acrisure’s joint venture with, and eventual $400 million acquisition of, AI platform Tulco.

Since the 2020 deal, AI has “transformed literally every facet of our business,” Williams said during the panel, which was moderated by KC Crain, president and CEO of Crain Communications.

“There’s no rolling back at this point,” Williams added. “It’s all forward and then very aggressively leaning into what’s out there in terms of capabilities.”

Meanwhile, AI has helped Acrisure’s sales professionals tap into a rapidly available and much wider potential client base, all while being able to analyze far more potential insurance plans for clients.

Moreover, Williams said Acri-

“What (Logic) does is it just saves us time,” Krishna said. “It allows our team members to be more productive so they can serve more clients, and allows us to close loans obviously twoand-a-half times faster than the rest of the industry.” Krishna also said that within the mortgage industry, no lenders have above a single-digit market share, “and that includes us.”

“Our focus is to leverage technology to drive growth and market share,” Krishna said. “We’re excited about this just because we’re at this sort of precipice of being able to take a giant leap forward with technology.”

Asked what AI can do for Rocket, Krishna responded: “I think the potential is limitless.” Amesite, which launched in November 2017, two years after founder Ann Marie Sastry sold her lithium-ion battery company Sakti3 Inc. to Dyson Ltd. for $90 million, said one growth path coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic has been rolling out systems across the U.S. allowing universities to offer professional learning.

Sastry said the company aims to provide education and training solutions “that makes (users) into someone with a superpower.”

From left: Crain Communications President and CEO KC Crain, Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna, Amesite Inc. founder and CEO Ann Marie Sastry, and Acrisure CEO Greg Williams. | DALE G. YOUNG

State health official lauds mental health crisis unit model

By Mark Sanchez

The behavioral health crisis unit that Trinity Health Grand Rapids and Network180 plan to open in late June represents the “way to go” in providing greater capacity for mental health care.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel praises the public-private sector partnership behind the facility as a model to replicate across the state. The setting will readily connect medical and mental health care providers and “makes it a lot easier to manage care when you have the same patients going back and forth,” Hertel said.

“Once I think people see the partnership with the hospitals, which is so important, and the value that these units are bringing, we’ll start seeing more of those rolling,” Hertel said in an interview

“Everyone deserves access to behavioral health care (or) medical care when and where they need it.”

Elizabeth Hertel, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director

with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business during which she touted the state’s financial support for expanding mental health care capacity.

“It’s a really great model,” she said. “I absolutely think that’s the way to go, the infrastructure and the capital investment, the ability to share staffing, share information, keeping in mind about how medical and health information is shared across data platform.”

The Grand Rapids facility is one of two crisis stabilization units that have opened using state funding. The other one is operated by the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. Eight more such units are planned across the state.

The walk-in Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Grand Rapids, housed in a medical office building on Trinity Health Grand Rapids’ main hospital campus on Lafayette Avenue SE, offers a 24-hour setting for people to seek care when in crisis.

Trinity Health Grand Rapids and community mental health agency Network180 developed the unit with $5 million in financial backing from the millions of dollars that state lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allocated over two years to improve capacity and access to mental health care.

The Whitmer administration aims to continue that push with another $250 million the governor proposed for the state’s next budget, including money for workforce development.

“We continue to prioritize behavioral health access in the state,” Hertel said. “Everyone deserves access to behavioral health care (or) medical care when and where they need it.”

The funding the governor recommended in her 2025 fiscal year budget proposal would go to support loan repayments for nurses in exchange for working in state-operated and non-state-operated facilities; grants to assist professionals with continuing education, exam fees, and supervision costs; and funding to public universities to expand of internships and scholarships for behavioral health courses.

The funding also would support further expansion of certified community behavioral health clinics in the state and align reimbursement rates for behavioral health practitioners with medical care providers.

Gov. Whitmer and state lawmakers continue to work out a budget for the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Budget negotiations typically go into the summer.

A proposal the Health and Human Services subcommittee for the House Appropriations Committee forwarded late last month includes $193.3 million to expand certified community behavioral health clinics to additional counties in the state that could serve 50,000 people.

Another $3.5 million would go to assist with exam and supervision costs for mental health care professionals, and $3 million would support internships and scholarships opportunities.

The subcommittee’s proposal also has $24.1 million in one-time funding for 24 mental health care providers, including $5 million for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in West Michigan.

Lawmakers and the governor in two previous budget years directed $279.7 million to expand the number of certified community behavioral health clinic sites, which serve anybody that seeks care for a mental health issue or substance use disorder, regardless of their ability to pay.

Past appropriations also included $10 million for loan assistance to attract and retain professionals, $5 million for college scholarships, $45 million to improve facilities for school-based health services and $28.9 million to continue schoolbased mental health services on campuses.

Another $38 million went for Pine Rest’s planned pediatric behavioral health center, while $32 million went to establish crisis stabilization units such as the new Trinity Health Grand Rapids and Network180 facility.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we’re seeing a positive economy and being able to invest in behavioral health,” Hertel said.

Recent community needs assessments illustrate a need for greater mental health care capacity.

In Kent County, the community needs assessment noted that nearly one in four adults have been diagnosed with depression, and that just 27% were receiving treatment. The Kent County report noted that “more options for non-faith-based mental health services, including emergency services” are needed,

including greater diversity among mental health providers and more bilingual providers.

Ottawa County’s new community needs assessment cited how one in six adult residents have depression, while 16.5% reported poor mental health.

Stakeholders involved in preparing the Ottawa County needs assessment reported that an increase in mental health issues “was happening pre-COVID-19 pandemic, but the stress and uncertainty of that time exacerbated mental health issues.”

Among Ottawa County adults surveyed or interviewed in 2023, 15.5% reported that “they had trouble receiving needed mental health treatment in the past year,” according to the report. The greatest barrier for them was cost.

“Legacy Trust – Congratulations on celebrating 20 years in business. Our father was an original supporter back in 2004 and would be so proud.

Families with multi-generational wealth management and estate planning needs are fortunate to have Legacy Trust serving West Michigan.” Legacy

Hank Meijer

The new Behavioral Health Crisis Center is housed in a medical office building on Trinity Health Grand Rapids’ main hospital campus on Lafayette Avenue SE and offers a 24-hour setting for people to seek care when in crisis. | MARK SAnCHeZ

CEOs want state to compete more with its neighbors

By Anna Fifelski

Sandy Pierce thinks the state of Michigan must do more to compete with the states around it in order to better shape its future. She’s not alone.

Pierce, former vice president of Huntington Bank and current corporate board executive and CEO Advisor for the Detroit Regional Chamber, was joined by Natalie King, founder and CEO of Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, Christina Keller, CEO and chair of Cascade Engineering, and Rachel Stewart, CEO of Gardner White, at a Mackinac Policy Conference panel.

The group discussed Michigan’s need to capitalize on the talent coming out of Michigan’s universities, as well as targeting issues in the public school systems and using the growing technological ecosystem to its advantage.

Pierce believes there are policy changes that would directly impact Michigan’s future, specifically in regard to attracting businesses.

“We do not have a research and development tax credit, we are one of only 13 states in this country without a tool for research and development,” Pierce said. “We do not have a payroll tax credit, we are one of eight without a payroll tax credit. We don’t have enough site-ready investments. One of the reasons Ohio got Intel and so many suppliers surrounding them is because they have a site ready with water in the middle of Columbus. And we do not really have the innovation and entrepreneurial support that we need.

The MEDC is working hard. We have to do more.”

One way the state could do more is to consider “boomerangs,” Keller said. The idea is that the state is trying to retain too many people, instead of letting some leave and trusting that they will come back when they are interested in starting a family or have more assets.

And people will come back if Michigan has the resources they

want, starting with better child care, good educational resources and affordable housing, Keller said.

Stewart said she thinks Michigan should differentiate its economic development strategy from other states that are focused on semiconductor and artificial intelligence research.

“Not all these things are necessarily Michigan’s core strength,” Stewart said. “So to me as we move forward, it really seems to be like what is going to happen here that’s unique and nowhere else … Michigan’s biggest export remains agriculture. This is a unique thing. There’s a ton of innovation happening there with climate change and water and that’s something, conveniently, we have, which seems like a core strength to me.”

Manufacturing has a long history of being one of Michigan’s strengths. As the founder and CEO of Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, an electric vehicle charger and lighting manufacturer, King said she has worked to capitalize on the top engineering talent in the state of Michigan that was going untapped.

“I never found that there was difficulty with respect to the workforce, I just found that there was difficulty in engagement and education so that we could have our community to understand that particularly in the industry that we’re in, in the EV sector, that these opportunities are there for them,” King said. “We just have to continue to create bridges with those communities so that they can understand that the skill sets and the talents that they have are transferable to this industry.”

There is no single answer to what will create a better future for Michigan, there are dozens, and those answers will depend on what the state values during its growth. Most important to securing Michigan’s future, Stewart said, is spreading the word.

“It’s America’s greatest state, tell everyone the story,” Stewart said. Anna Fifelski is a reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business

WDIV anchor Rhonda Walker (left) moderates a session with Natalie King (middle), founder and CEO of Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, and Christina Keller (right), CEO and chair of Cascade Engineering, at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference.

G. YOUNG

Investment firm eyes retiring baby boomers’ companies

By Mark Sanchez

The investment firm Brandon and Lindsay Buckingham formed two years ago in Grand Rapids targets a massive ongoing transition of business ownership as an aging generation of entrepreneurs sells and retires.

That was the case in JRA Ventures’ most recent deal for Dutton-based CigJan Products Ltd., a 50-year-old maker of whiteboards, marker and tack boards, and related products. JRA Ventures acquired the family-owned company, now known as VisComm Products LLC, on April 30. VisComm Products, short for visual communication, was JRA’s second acquisition. The investment firm in 2022 acquired Grand Rapids-based Bulman Products Inc., a 119-year-old company that also sold after the previous owner sought to exit the business and retire.

“It’s this idea that we’re in this sort of unbelievable pivot from the baby boomers that have owned businesses over the years to now needing a transition plan or a legacy plan,” said Brandon Buckingham, JRA Ventures’ CEO. “JRA is really an investment holding business to look for and acquire those businesses from that generation and others.”

JRA Ventures generally wants to acquire lower middle market companies in the Midwest, primarily in manufacturing and business services, with $5 million to $25 million in revenue and $1 million to $3 million in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

The private investment firm works through business brokers to identify acquisition prospects, and presently has a pipeline of more than five companies that are under a letter of intent or are in “early conversations” with JRA, said Buckingham, a former executive at Steelcase Inc. who previously worked at Whirlpool Corp. and Stryker Corp. Closing one to three acquisitions a year “would be ideal for us,” he said.

“We’re trying to do the right deal, the right way, with the right people,” Buckingham said. “That’s important and relationship is re-

ally important to us.”

In pursuing a deal, JRA Ventures aims to maintain and operate the acquired companies with respect to the legacies of the prior owners. As an investor and acquirer, “we want to have a high integrity, hightouch approach where we take care of employees and keep the owner legacy intact as much as possible,” Buckingham said.

“Those family businesses, whether first, second, on whatever generation, legacy matters, for sure. You want to maintain that,” he said. “A lot of times, in this industry in particular, you talk a lot about multiples and valuation and EBITDA and the more technical financial metrics, which we’re good at. But it’s more about looking at those with a holistic mentality for what’s the future of the employees, what’s the future of the community they serve, what’s the future of the team, and the culture. Hopefully, (it’s) being able to maintain the original founder’s approach that kept the business successful for a long time.”

JRA Ventures acquired VisComm after the previous owners, Jerry Jansen and Richard Tolan, crafted a succession plan for the business, which continues to operate at a facility in Dutton, southeast of Grand Rapids.

“We’re excited and confident in the new leadership and energy brought by the leadership team at VisComm and are in support of and excited about the future of the company, in their hands.”

Rich Tolan, VisComm’s previous vice president, said in a statement on the deal.

VisComm currently employs about 20 people, and JRA Ventures hopes to grow the workforce by 10 to 15 people, Buckingham said. Bulman Products, which makes paper cutters, dispensers and racks, employs 30 people, he said.

Buckingham describes the focus of acquiring businesses whose owners want to sell and retire as “sort of a once in a lifetime thing.”

“With the disproportionate scale and size of the boomer segment relative to every other segment of the population, there’s just tons and tons of businesses in transition,” he said.

COMMENTARY

Community colleges cultivate Michigan’s future talent

Higher education can take different paths and yet arrive at similar outcomes: a well-rounded education and a career that pays well. Many Michiganders find that their best fit is at one of Michigan’s 31 community and tribal colleges.

Community colleges have become an integral part of cultivating Michigan’s overall economic development strategy, showing innovation and agility in developing curriculums responsive to local economic needs. Just as the ‘dirty jobs’ of decades past are now well-paying, desirable careers, community college is no longer simply a steppingstone to other institutions.

They add value to the local economies in which they train and educate, tailoring academic and workforce training programs specific to the current needs of the economic climate and to qualify students for longterm jobs that pay living wages, a dire need in today’s labor market.

For example, Grand Rapids Community College offers a Craft Brewing, Packaging & Service Operations Certificate to meet the hiring needs of Beer City USA in the craft brewing arena, a growing part of Michigan’s agritourism sector.

In addition to nimbly shifting programming to meet emerging sectors of local economies, strong partnerships with em-

COMMENTARY

ployers offer educational programs built with the intent of closing the skills gap. The real-time responsiveness of our institutions is a unique asset, and Michigan employers large and small say that tailored community college offerings have helped fill some of their critical job vacancies.

One such example is the renowned line worker program offered at Alpena Community College, which is helping Consumers Energy and DTE fill a dire need for such talent across the state.

For Michigan’s community colleges to remain nimble and responsive, continued investment is necessary. As the state higher education budget moves through the legis-

lative process, lawmakers have demonstrated recognition of the challenges faced by community colleges due to increasing costs all around. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees both recommended an increase to operations grants — 3.3% in the House version and 2.5% in the Senate — that will be well-utilized by our colleges. The Senate included an additional 2.5% that can be earned by those colleges that meet best practices laid out by the Legislature, such as requiring students to receive academic mapping of their program and assessing and providing credit for prior learning.

Our colleges are continuing to identify

and address barriers to student achievement and new metrics released last month show improvement in educational outcomes. The Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) released data that shows a significant bump in successful outcomes for students after three years of community college — a 5% increase. This data reflects the cohort that enrolled during the pandemic, suggesting that boosted efforts to meet student needs outside of tuition — textbooks, transportation, technology, and other basic needs like food insecurity — have compelling results. It’s clear from the legislative budget recommendations that state policymakers recognize the valuable role Michigan’s community and tribal colleges play in student success and sustained economic growth.

We’ll work with them further on funding solutions that go beyond tuition support and help students with the cost of attendance to persist through to degree completion or successful transfer to a bachelor’s degree program.

Everyone in Michigan who wants to earn a degree or credential should be able to access high-value educational opportunities and receive support in pursuit of their achievements. State support for community colleges leads to better outcomes for our students, and they’re taking full advantage of it: Community college enrollment in Michigan increased last year, even surpassing the national average.

Continuation of this growth will lead to a more prosperous state overall.

Consider the economic impact of human investment

Community pride is a wonderful thing. It can spur great energy, collaboration and accomplishments. It can tangibly change the opinion of residents who live in a place teeming with pride and redefine the reputation of a region in the minds of visitors.

Our collective community pride was on full display earlier this spring after Forbes declared Grand Rapids the “Best Right Size City in America.” That came on the heels of a February survey by U.S. News and World Report that ranked Grand Rapids 14th in the country for quality of life.

Those of us who live in greater Grand Rapids are part of the reason it’s been tabbed as a terrific city. We work hard; we care deeply for our family and friends; we’re more philanthropic than other parts of the country; and we volunteer on community service projects because we actually enjoy the fellowship and the sense of purpose that come from it. Grand Rapids has definitely earned this national recognition.

At the same time, pressing challenges remain.

As the president of a leading human services nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids, I see the goodness beneath the accolades. The foundation of our city’s economic prosperity is less celebrated, and yet equally important to our success. It includes a commitment to meeting our community challenges such as a shortage of affordable housing, access to quality health care for all, addressing food insecurity for families and the elderly, reducing poverty and investing in workforce development.

The fact is, as our region grows so does the number of people needed to fill jobs that fuel our economic strength. And so does the number of people needing support to overcome a complex set of barriers.

At Mel Trotter Ministries, we strive to serve our neighbors in need in many of these areas in addition to meals and shelter. We’ve added transitional housing in order to provide a safe place to stay for individuals on their journey out of home-

lessness, and we’re in the final stages of building 10 affordable apartment units in the 49507 neighborhood. Our workforce development programs, in partnership with Next Step of West Michigan, help displaced workers find a new professional calling. Our collaboration with local businesses helps new workers gain in-demand skills and earn livable wages in this fast-growing region. Through our collaboration with Trinity Health, Corewell Health, and Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, we offer a free walk-in medical clinic for anyone experiencing homelessness. Similarly, we provide access to mental health services thanks to a partnership with Network180 and Catherine’s Health Center.

single year. The latest ALICE Report further illustrates the increasing hardship across Kent County, where one out of every three households is facing financial insecurity. That’s nearly 84,000 families struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their head, and afford the basic necessities as inflation persists. All of this is a cautionary reminder that our work matters, and the nonprofit sector is essential to our future economic stability and

We’ve added transitional housing in order to provide a safe place to stay for individuals on their journey out of homelessness.

We are proud of our role in the economic stability of the region and grateful to our donors and community partners for their support.

Still, the demand for our services has never been greater.

In 2023, over 5,500 people walked through our doors — the most ever in a

our compassion to people on the margins. We should all take pride in Grand Rapids’ growth and the collective efforts to make it a model for others to follow. But let’s remain mindful of the foundation that helps power our economic stability, while adding a sense of humanity to that prosperity.

Adrienne Goodstal is president of Mel Trotter Ministries in Grand Rapids.

Brandy Johnson is president of the Michigan Community College Association.

Judge Smolenski to retire after 34 years

By Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Staff

After serving for 34 years on the bench in 63rd District Court in Kent County, Judge Sara Smolenski plans to retire later this year.

Smolenski was first elected to the bench in 1990 and served as Chief Judge from 1996 to 2023. Her retirement will take effect July 15.

shown me throughout my career.”

“I have really enjoyed my career at the 63rd District Court but I believe the time is right to retire,” Smolenski said in a statement. “Judge Jeffrey O’Hara and the staff at the 63rd District Court are exceptional people, and I will miss them. I am grateful for all the support the community has

RATE HIKES

From Page 3

spent $1.4 billion more than the prior year on claims for medical care, especially for surgeries, drugs administered at hospitals, imaging and diagnostic services.

Outpatient surgery claims increased by 13%, or $360 million, from a combination of higher cost and intensity of procedures for cardiac care, cancer surgeries and treating musculoskeletal issues. Utilization rates in each of those areas have been steadily growing, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Claims for medical imaging — CT, MRI and PET scans and X-rays — also increased 10%.

On the pharmacy side, Blue Cross Blue Shield paid $1.8 billion more in claims in 2023. Specialty drugs for medical issues such as for autoimmune disease alone accounted for $750 million of the increase. Claims for three weight-loss drugs — Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic — known as GLP-1s that also are prescribed for Type 2 diabetes increased $320 million across Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Medicare and commercial business.

“People are getting the care that they need. So, in many ways it’s a good thing, and we’ve put a lot of effort around those programs to make sure that we have the right access,” Fester said. “But there’s a cost that’s associated with that, too. It’s not only an increase in the care, but it’s the cost of the care that goes with it.”

Steve Andrzejewski, Priority Health’s vice president of commercial sales and distribution, also attributes higher rates to the growing use of specialty and GLP1 drugs, higher care utilization, and “rather significant changes in both severity as well as the mix of services that are being used by our membership today.”

Utilization of mental health care particularly has been growing as “the stigma around that area is dramatically starting to drop, and that’s good news,” An-

Smolenski has been active in the community, having served in various board and volunteer roles at the American Cancer Society, Kent County Literacy Council, Resources Against Violent Encounters to Women, Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan, Kids’ Food Basket, YWCA, Hospice of Michigan, Michigan Women’s Foundation, Senior Neighbors and St. John’s Home for Children.

Her local accolades include the YWCA Tribute Award, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Award and the Salute to Women Award from Grand Rapids Community College.

drzejewski said. “Over the long term, what we see is we’re able then to get people to the right care at the right time once we’re better able to address those behavioral health challenges.”

However, “as increases in utilization go up, obviously, we see an increase in spend” that affects the rates that employers pay, he said.

Priority Health’s behavioral health utilization trends this year have been running at 21% annual increase. Trends for pharmacy drugs have been 15% for the year, with the use of GLP-1 increasing at 29%.

The 2025 rate proposals follow a period of several years where health insurers sought and received regulatory approval for comparatively moderate increases.

State regulators last year approved a 6.7% increase for Blue Cross Blue Shield small group policies and 5.8% for Blue Network. Priority Health received approval for a 6.7% increase as well, and Priority Health Insurance Co. got the OK for a 6.3% increase.

Statewide, small group health insurance rate increased an average of 7% in 2024 for the small group market for nearly 430,000 enrollees employed at small businesses across Michigan.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield and Priority Health rate requests also contrast what smaller competitors proposed for 2025 policy renewals after they implemented double-digit hikes for 2024.

Detroit-based Health Alliance Plan proposed a nearly 5.8% average rate increase for 2025. The rate plan for next year comes after state regulators last fall approved an 11.1% average rate increase for 2024 policy renewals for Health Alliance Plan.

East Lansing-based Physicians Health Plan seeks a nearly 4.9% average rate increase for next year for HMO policies after securing regulatory approval in the fall for a 10.4% increase for 2024. PHP Insurance Co. filed for a 6.18% rate increase for 2025 for PPO policies after a 10.6% hike for 2024.

Advertising Section

COMPANIES / PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/people-on-the-move/ or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

ADVERTISING, MARKETING & PR

Sabo PR

Sabo PR, an integrated communications firm based in Grand Rapids, has welcomed Arianna Farina as an associate. Farina joins with experience in social media, marketing and communications in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Prior to SPR, she was a marketing specialist at Health Net of West Michigan, managing social media and developing web copy as well as crafting and executing external communications projects. She also completed internships at Application Insight and Fenner Conservancy.

ENGINEERING

Spalding DeDecker

In our ongoing commitment to growth and fostering a collaborative environment, Spalding DeDecker has relocated its West Michigan office to a new address at 525 Ottawa Ave NW, within the emerging Monroe Business District in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1954, Spalding DeDecker is a leading civil engineering, planning, and surveying firm, and we will be celebrating our 70th anniversary later this year.

BANKING & FINANCE

Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust Chief Financial Officer

Steve McKiddy successfully completed an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Bowling Green Schmidthorst College of Business. Steve enrolled in the on-campus executive program with a specialized focus on global business dynamics and graduated at the top of the class with dual honors of membership in Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi, academic societies that recognize outstanding academic achievement in business studies.

EDUCATION

Hope College

ENGINEERING

Spalding DeDecker

Spalding DeDecker, a leading civil engineering, planning, and surveying firm, hires Lynnelle Berkenpas, PE as a Senior Project Manager. With 18 years in the industry, Lynnelle’s expertise in transportation system design and wastewater collection network analyses is complemented by her experience in water supply and distribution design, hydraulic analysis, and permitting. She is known for delivering innovative, resilient solutions that prioritize environmental responsibility and community needs.

Hope College in Holland has appointed an experienced leader with a passion for Christian higher education as its new vice president of philanthropy and engagement. Dr. Alexander Jones, who is currently vice president of institutional advancement at Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York, brings more than a decade of experience to his new role at Hope.

LAW

Fraser

Trebilock

Fraser Trebilcock is pleased to announce it has relocated its Grand Rapids office to 300 Ottawa NW Suite 810. This move is a testament to the firm’s continued ability in taking a proactive approach in providing comprehensive legal solutions across a wide range of practice areas, helping clients capitalize on potential opportunities. The office offers the full range of the firm’s legal services, including trusts and estates, elder law, litigation, business, tax, and other areas of specialty.

LAW

Millard,

Intellectual property attorney Gregory Lewis brings more than 16 years of experience in patent prosecution, litigation, and intellectual property counseling and work as an engineer and project manager with Lockheed Martin and Medtronic, where he specialized in nuclear reactor and medical device technologies. His transition to law has been marked by a successful career in patent law, where he has collaborated with inventors, managed complex litigation and negotiated numerous patent agreements.

Canfield, Paddock and Stone

Smolenski

From Page 3

because it offered the chance to be part of addressing the housing shortage by adding rentals and inlaw suites to the market.

“I think this is a really good solution,” he said. “It’s not going to be the right fit for everybody, but I think it just really allows us to offer a little solution to a much bigger problem. And even on a personal level, I can see my mother being in one of these one day. … I think everybody has their own story of why this potentially could work down the road.”

Kristin Turkelson, planning director for the city of Grand Rapids, said it’s gratifying to see such a quick response in the market to the city’s approximately yearlong journey to amend the portion of its zoning code that regulates ADUs.

She said the planning depart-

ROOSEVELT

From Page 1

Reggie Smith, who has served as the board president of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association since 1997. Smith credits Roosevelt Park’s progress to the neighborhood association’s hands-on approach to development, including the creation of an Area Specific Plan in 2017, and to the community’s “gritty, immigrant spirit.”

“We are just excited that people are trying to take a second look at Roosevelt Park and seeing it not only as a main connector for people living downtown, but as a main hub and a place to live,” Smith said.

Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, formerly known as Grandville Avenue, runs through the center of the neighborhood, which is bordered by U.S. 131 to the east, Godfrey and Clyde Park avenues to the west, Wealthy Street to the north and Griggs Street to the south.

Whether they plant roots in the community or stay for a short while, many immigrant families find the neighborhood as their first landing spot in the Grand Rapids area. Smith recalls realizing he needed to learn the Dutch language in his early days as a pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church because of the concentration of Dutch immigrants in the area.

“In its heyday, it was called Dutch Hill, filled with Dutch immigrants who came after World War II, and I pastored a few of them in my earlier years,” Smith said.

The neighborhood of 6,234 people (as of 2017) has since shifted to become majority Hispanic and Latino. U.S. Census data from 2010 showed Roosevelt Park is 73% Hispanic or Latino, which compares to 15.6% for Grand Rapids as a whole.

The Hispanic/Latino population in the neighborhood grew to 76% in 2017, according to American Community Survey data from the Johnson Center for Philanthropy.

Smith cites people from West Africa as the next wave of immigrants coming into the neighborhood, based on what he has witnessed in

ment heard similar stories during community sharing sessions in Portland, Ore., and Sonoma County in California. The communities said that changes to ADU policies enabled smaller builders to bolster their businesses by taking on jobs that weren’t as prevalent before and that were unprofitable for larger companies.

“It’s not really a surprise (to see it happening here), but I think it’s great anytime you can change a policy and that creates opportunity for businesses, especially for small businesses,” Turkelson said.

“I think that’s a huge win for the city, holistically.”

Ryan Kilpatrick, lead consultant for Housing Next who worked with the city of Grand Rapids on its housing policy amendments, said he sees it as an encouraging first step for a company to be entering the market that will help homeowners navigate the process of building an ADU.

“I think exactly what we need is

the community.

“It’s an immigrant’s first stop,” he said. “You should not be shocked if you see a woman wearing a burka down Cesar E. Chavez Avenue or a group of women in their African garb.”

Breathing new life

Guillermo Cisneros, CEO of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, called the investment in the city’s largest Hispanic community “pretty unprecedented.” The chamber plans to demolish a dilapidated building at 1101 Godfrey Ave. SW for the organization’s new headquarters, known as the Center for Latino Economic and Talent Advancement.

“This investment is going to bring new life for the neighborhood. My goal is to anchor the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce here, but I want to bring

a handful of companies that are willing to work with local homeowners and property owners to navigate the process,” he said.

“Even with the new zoning changes, it can still be daunting for an individual to go through the design and the permitting process and getting financing. Having an expert to help walk through all of those details, for some folks, can be really valuable.”

Earle said his franchise will do exactly that by providing a “white glove experience” from design to permitting to construction for homeowners who want to build ADUs, so that they don’t have to live out the common “horror stories” that can happen during building projects.

That will include a full analysis of each municipality’s zoning and lot requirements for ADUs on the front end, taking that heavy lift off the customer’s shoulders.

“(It will be) a very buttoned-up, smooth process … essentially in-

Olvera said. “I have seen the new Hispanic businesses popping up and also other businesses popping up here. With the new changes the city is making with the road and streetscape, it will help that area as well. More businesses will come in and it will be a more vibrant area.”

Stabilizing housing

When Smith first moved to the neighborhood 20 years ago, he said “very few people wanted to call Roosevelt Park their home,” given that it was and still is considered one of the poorest neighborhoods in Grand Rapids. As a result, it is still one of the cheapest areas to live and buy land to develop. However, that could be changing with pressure from Factory Yards and other housing projects, Smith said.

One of the neighborhood association’s main goals is pushing for more homeownership and affordable housing.

“In its heyday, it was called Dutch Hill, filled with Dutch immigrants who came after World War II, and I pastored a few of them in my earlier years.”

Reggie Smith, who has served as the board president of the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association for 27 years

more Latino businesses in (to surrounding properties),” Cisneros said. “That would be my dream: Instead of gentrifying, bring in inclusion of everyone.”

One of the major projects in the neighborhood is being led by a local Latino-owned company, Supermercado Mexico, which is set to build a new grocery store and corporate offices at 900 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. SW. The more than $6 million adaptive reuse project is expected to break ground in about three months and have about a 10-month construction period, said Javier Olvera, co-owner of Supermercado Mexico.

“I’ve been working in and around the area since 1990 and I have seen the changes and how things are improving, and I’m so happy for that,”

sulating them from all the BS that goes on behind the scenes if you’re trying to do those projects yourself,” Earle said.

He estimates that, depending on the municipality, the process of designing and building an ADU for a customer could take about five to six months for his Anchored Tiny Homes franchise.

In the Traverse City market, Earle estimates that with customization and construction costs, prices for the ADUs they build will range from $90,000 for a 300-square-foot studio up to the high $200,000s for a two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot model.

Housing Next’s Kilpatrick said that price point will work for some, but not all existing homeowners. He said the city of Grand Rapids is rolling out additional options by this summer, including free, permit-ready plan sets that will include ADUs, as Crain’s Grand Rapids Business previously reported. The plan sets will be paired

thing I’ve heard quite a bit, is for developments incorporating housing to make sure there are at least some units, if not the entire project, having a level of affordability, and making sure affordability is not confined to one area and that it’s a mixed-income living situation.”

Some progress has been made in recent years in adding affordable housing to the neighborhood, led by nonprofit housing developers including Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. Habitat Kent is in the early stages of planning a five-unit townhome building and duplex at and around the organization’s headquarters at 425 Pleasant Ave. SE, as well as 20 duplexes and child care in a future phase.

with information on financing options geared toward small and emerging developers.

The city also is working on another equitable development initiative that will be geared toward local property owners who want to do their first or second small-scale development, which should help with affordability, he said. That initiative is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Kilpatrick said it will take the creative vision of both public initiatives and private companies like Anchored Tiny Homes entering the market to fulfill the city’s ADU development potential.

“I think it’s all good,” he said. “I hope that we get a couple of additional companies as well, as competition in the marketplace always helps the consumer at the end of the day to have more choices. Hopefully this first company is really successful and encourages more local people to get into the business.”

for the project calls for about 94 of the units to be rented out at below-market rates.

“Being priced out of the neighborhood is a concern, so we want to make sure when new housing becomes available, it could be an opportunity for someone currently living in the neighborhood to upgrade or move out of a renting situation to an ownership situation,” Brower said.

Scott Magaluk, one of the partners at Heritage Development, said the company intentionally held some of its first meetings about the project with the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association and Brower.

“You can’t change a neighborhood until you look at the housing stock and at the same time, fight against gentrification,” Smith said.

The Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association’s main tools in this fight are its Area Specific Plan that was adopted as an amendment to the city of Grand Rapids’ master plan in April 2017, implemented by its development committee, said Amy Brower, executive director at RPNA.

Along those lines, the Area Specific Plan requires Grand Rapids city officials to notify the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association and the development committee about new projects and take its feedback.

“The (Area Specific Plan) is something the neighborhood association is really using because it’s a document the neighborhood spent over a year creating and we really wanted to honor the wisdom residents offer in the plan and utilize that to help guide our thoughts on projects as they come to us,” Brower said. “A high priority, and some-

As well, Habitat Kent partnered with Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids to complete Plaza Roosevelt in 2020, which includes 17 Habitat single-family homes and townhouses, 48 apartments, the new Southwest Community Campus middle/high school, a Trinity Health clinic and a plaza with greenspace.

Much of the development in the neighborhood over the past couple of decades — including the creation of Cesar E Chavez Elementary School and the Grandville branch of the Kent District Library, an art center and Hispanic center — has been instigated by the neighborhood association, Brower said.

“A lot of those projects were generated internally, and now we’re in a time of more private developers,” Brower said.

Growth mode

One of those private developers is Birmingham-based Heritage Development Partners LLC, the team behind the sprawling Factory Yards project. Both Smith and Brower noted that the developers have been intentional about providing regular updates about the project to the neighborhood.

The project spans about 15.5 acres at and around 655 Godfrey Ave. SW and is expected to include 467 apartments, as well as a food hall and other commercial space. An affordable housing agreement

“There was an understanding about what the community was looking for and the needs of the businesses and folks living in the neighborhood,” Magaluk said. Magaluk said it was important for all parties that Factory Yards include affordable housing and create opportunities for local vendors and businesses to be involved with the proposed food hall and other commercial spaces.

While Heritage has yet to start leasing out spaces for vendors, the company’s selection process will incorporate a “local approach,” Magaluk said. As well, the project will feature micro-retail units, spaces spanning 200 square feet to 400 square feet designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs, Magaluk said.

Factory Yards was the fourth project in Michigan to receive approval for a Transformational Brownfield Plan in October 2023. Abatement work on the site has been taking place over the past couple of months, and the development team is working with construction manager Wolverine Building on final budgets for the project, Magaluk said.

“We originally looked at Grand Rapids as a whole; it’s a great market that is continuing to grow,” Magaluk said. “It’s pretty rare to find such a large site near downtown. It’s a great opportunity to take a historic building and be able to redevelop it. We’re a 10-minute walk from Founders and close to the amphitheater project.”

BRIDGE STREET

properties along the corridor. “There’s always going to be challenges, but as my dad used to say, ‘These are good problems.’”

One of the challenges will likely be parking, which has been a key concern for neighborhood residents and some business owners. Indeed, the stadium project led by Grand Action 2.0 will rise on a 7.25acre site composed of several existing surface parking lots owned by the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority and the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, consuming 779 existing surface parking spaces. The stadium project site itself will not include onsite parking, although preliminary plans for an adjacent mixed-use retail, office and apartment development call for 350 spaces.

Maria Cannizzo, owner of Fratelli’s Kitchen and Bar at 443 Bridge St. NW and Fratelli’s Pizza at 435 Bridge St. NW, said she’s “excited and a little bit concerned too” when it comes to the stadium project. Her “big, big concern” hinges on the availability of affordable, accessible parking given that she’s received complaints from customers and delivery drivers who are ticketed while picking up to-go orders, or loading and unloading.

“The only thing that concerns us is parking,” Cannizzo said. “Bridge Street is an awful area to park.”

ACRISURE

From Page 1

reach $5 billion in revenue this year, Williams isn’t ready to make the declaration, but acknowledged that the company is actively pursuing the option.

“I think this is a public company — at some point in time,” he said. “Is the market ready? From a tim-

BANKRUPTCY

From Page 3

consolidate all the cases under the jurisdiction of the Texas court on May 21 and sought treatment as a complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy case given the more than $25 million in liabilities and more than 100 interested parties involved.

In the filings, Tommy’s Boats said it filed the case “to preserve and maximize value” while the company pursues a Section 363 bankruptcy sale through the court.

“We are excited to leverage the restructuring process to maximize value for all Tommy’s stakeholders and look forward to a bright future ahead,” Liz Boydston, a partner at Dallas, Texas-based Gutnicki LLP, the law firm representing Tommy’s in the case, wrote in an email to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

In the filing, Tommy’s listed the 30 largest unsecured claims totaling nearly $123.6 million. Buffalo, N.Y.-based M&T Bank is listed as the company’s largest creditor, with a total claim of more than $105 million, followed by Grand Rap-

Neighborhood organizations like the West Grand Neighborhood Organization and John Ball Area Neighbors hope to craft a community benefits agreement with Grand Action 2.0 that would require a certain level of facility maintenance and other amenities that would benefit surrounding neighborhoods. The West Grand Neighborhood Organization submitted a letter to Grand Action 2.0 with several conditions the group hopes are met before it offers full support of the project.

“The WGNO’s official position is that parking infrastructure should be fully evaluated, and that a traffic study also needs to be part of the conversation,” said Annette Vandenberg, executive director of the organization, noting that existing traffic patterns in the increasingly busy corridor — before the development even breaks ground — are “negatively impacting west side neighbors.”

‘All fired up’

Estimates peg the overall parking demand for an event held at the soccer stadium at around 2,400 spaces. The development team expects that need to be met by 16,042 surface and parking deck spaces located within a 15-minute walk of the proposed project site.

The developers also cite the availability of public transit and non-motorized travel, including the inclusion of 32 bicycle spaces

ing perspective, is the company ready? From an operational perspective, those things have to line up and be very, very aligned. You get one chance to do this, and only one chance to do this. But it’s got to be right on as many facets and factors that you possibly can be.

“I think we do go public, at some point, but I’m not making any declarations today … but I think it probably is sooner as opposed to later.

ids-based Mercantile Bank with a $4.7 million claim.

Other unsecured creditors listed in the filing include three local companies: Alma-based pontoon boat manufacturer Avalon & Tahoe Manufacturing Inc. ($145,994.04), Grand Rapids-based Orion Construction ($127,397.72), and an affiliate of Walker-based boat propeller manufacturer ACME Marine Group ($89,510.59).

The filing also lists approximately $5 million in unpaid sales taxes in several states.

The bankruptcy filing comes after Tommy’s Boats had been placed under receivership in April amid mounting financial and legal troubles.

M&T Bank filed a motion for a court-appointed receiver over Tommy’s assets on April 1 in Kent County’s 17th Circuit Court, alleging Tommy’s defaulted on nearly $118 million in debt principal and interest stemming from floor plan financing agreements executed in May 2023. Tommy’s was to use the financing to cover the cost of acquiring boats from its primary supplier, Loudon, Tenn.-based Malibu Boats Inc.

and a bicycle ride-share zone onsite.

The potential for more people living, working and visiting the corridor could further strain the existing parking availability in an area where many business owners say they already field complaints from customers who might have to walk a couple of blocks.

David Ringler, owner of Küsterer Brauhaus at 642 Bridge St. NW, occasionally hears from guests who are unhappy about not being able to park directly outside the business, despite being only a block away from more on-street parking.

“You can park there and it’s still not far, and they actually might walk by another shop that piques their interest,” he said.

Parking concerns aside, many business owners clustered along Bridge Street from U.S. 131 to near Stocking Avenue think the project will be a boon for the city’s west side, bringing in an influx of foot traffic and potential customers.

General Wood Shop owner Alberto Garza said he and the gay bar’s staff are “pretty excited” about the project.

“We’re just kind of looking forward to having more people down in the area,” Garza said. “For us, anything that brings folks down to downtown Grand Rapids is a positive just because it means more like livelihood for everybody. We’re very excited from that perspective.”

Ringler at Küsterer Brauhaus agreed.

We’ve got some work to do in order to be fully ready, but we are also headlong into that work. … We’re certainly trending in the right direction, and we’re on the right trajectory. No declarations, but don’t be surprised when that day comes. I do think this ends up being a public company at some point in time.”

Founded in 2005 by Williams and Ricky Norris, Acrisure has been growing rapidly in recent

Tommy’s Boats separately sued Malibu Boats on April 10, alleging that the manufacturer engaged in an inventory oversupply fraud scheme that left Tommy’s unable to generate enough sales revenue to pay its debts.

The litigation with Malibu remains ongoing. Kent County 17th Circuit Court issued a stay in the receivership case on May 22 while Tommy’s pursued the federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

In a declaration filed with the federal bankruptcy court May 23, Tommy’s Boats contends the bankruptcy was “necessitated by the culmination of challenges” including “the fraudulent and misleading actions of the debtors’ longtime business partners, discovery of a former member of management’s failure to properly account, and the receiver’s actions and inactions, all of which has had a devastating effect on the company, the company’s value, and … loyal customers.”

Monica Blacker, chief restructuring officer for Tommy’s Boats, said in court filings that the company filed the bankruptcy case “to minimize the disruption to and adverse

“We’re all fired up,” he said, noting that the Bavarian-style beer hall also serves as “the west side soccer bar.”

Küsterer Brauhaus sponsors a local soccer team and regularly shows Bundesliga and other international soccer league games for fans who gather at the bar.

Ringler anticipates the addition of the stadium will help boost local interest in the sport and in Küsterer Brauhaus, where fans could gather before or after games to celebrate.

“We have a lot of beautiful diversity on the west side, and I think soccer as an international game is only going to enhance the history and the culture of the west side,” Ringler said. “It has always been an immigrant neighborhood, going back two centuries, originally German and followed by Polish communities. Now it’s very diverse. I think (the stadium project) blends beautifully with that history and that tradition.”

‘We can figure it out’

The groundwork for the widespread revitalization along Bridge Street started a little over a decade ago when Rockford Construction scooped up nearly two dozen neighborhood properties. Rockford renovated a nearby property at 601 First Street NW for its headquarters and ultimately lured Meijer to open Bridge Street Market in a mixed-use project at the intersection with Stocking Avenue. As well, Rockford also built the Barley Flats

years, more than doubling revenues since 2021 with a valuation that neared $27 billion in late 2023. Bloomberg last year reported that Acrisure had been interviewing investment banks about a possible IPO in 2024, though Williams has never made a formal declaration. However, he said economic conditions are showing signs of light. The IPO market had a record year in 2021, when companies raised $286

effects the receivership has had on the Debtors’ business operations and to maximize the value of the Debtors’ business, assets, and estates so the Debtors can sell substantially all of their assets for the highest possible value through these Cases.”

mixed-use development on the north side of Bridge Street between Turner and Broadway avenues, which includes Maru Sushi and New Holland Brewing Co.’s The Knickerbocker brewpub.

Looking forward to Grand Action 2.0’s proposed soccer stadium, Gutowski hopes the project will drive growth along the corridor, including the addition of new restaurants and retail to boost foot traffic and retain visitors before and after dining at Bridge Street restaurants.

Gutowski owns parcels on both sides of Bridge Street, including properties like Fratelli’s Kitchen and Bar, Morning Belle, General Wood Shop and parking lots at 411 Broadway Ave. NW and 418 Bridge St. NW.

Forecasts estimate that the stadium will spur $408 million in net new economic activity in Grand Rapids over the next 30 years, boost annual wages by $5.2 million, and create 330 net new operation and construction jobs over the next 32 years.

While Bridge Street has evolved into an entertainment district with numerous bars and restaurants in recent years, even more projects are eying the popular corridor. They include Jenison restaurateur Robert Wahl’s proposed Bridge St. Bar at 600 Bridge St. NW, the former site of a real estate office, and revived plans for The Back Lot food truck court at 616 Bridge St. NW at the southeast corner with Stocking Street.

billion across more than 1,000 listings, which included a spike in special-purpose acquisition companies.

The IPO market is “certainly better than 2022 and 2023, but it also wasn’t 2021.”

“At the end of the day, it’s a better market, but I wouldn’t call it a great market by any stretch,” Williams said. “And that’s OK, because we’ve got work to do to get ready as a company anyway.”

Blacker alleges that the receiver undervalued the company’s inventory and began to wind down Tommy’s operations. In court documents, she said the bankruptcy filing will protect the value of Tommy’s assets so it can pursue a sale and pay back creditors “at the highest and best price.”

So far, the bankruptcy court has allowed Tommy’s to reopen its service and repair departments “and continue operating as usual,” Boydston said, noting that over the Memorial Day weekend, the company also finalized the sales of 10 boats and delivered seven vessels to customers who had already made deposits.

The court has set a June 27 hearing to consider several emergency motions Tommy’s Boats filed to help it meet ongoing financial obligations during bankruptcy proceedings.

Property management veteran looks to inspire a new generation to join the business

Anne Ficeli has been quietly building a career in property management for three decades, working and managing properties for some of the biggest names in Grand Rapids’ business community. However, she is concerned about the future of property management, a sector with a growing average age of certified professionals that needs an influx of younger people. Ficeli hopes a recent award for her and recognition of the industry can help turn the tide. Ficeli is president of Pure Real Estate Management, the division of Grand Rapids-based Wheeler Development Group that manages the firm’s commercial and residential properties. Ficeli won the inaugural Property Manager of the Year award from the Commercial Alliance of Realtors West Michigan on March 6. She spoke with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business about the challenges unique to property managers and how the industry has evolved during her career. | Rachel Watson

What does the recent Property Manager of the Year award mean to you?

Property managers are finally getting the recognition they deserve. It’s a tough business to be in, and it’s kind of a thankless job. What I’m hoping it will do is raise awareness of property management as a career path.

Is the labor shortage affecting property management as it is construction?

It is, especially if we’re looking for somebody who has experience, because people don’t think of going into property management. I hate to use this term, but we’re kind of a dying breed. The average age of a certified property manager, which is what I am, is 56 or 57. We really need to start encouraging more young people to take a look at this as an option. There’s so many different aspects of real estate that you get to learn about being in property management — the maintenance side, the financial side, the investment portion of it, the financing of properties and how that all works together, and it’s fascinating.

For young people, where is the best place to start?

Start by reaching out to property management companies and ask some questions and offer to shadow somebody. It’s one of those things where you’re never going to learn everything you need to learn through formal education. You have to do it. It’s baptism by fire.

How did you get into this line of work?

I was working for (the DeVos family office) RDV Corp. at the time, and I overheard the manager of the building we were in — 126 Ottawa, which was owned by Peter Cook (a noted local businessman and philanthropist) — talking about how he was looking for some help, and I was looking to make a change. So I reached out to him and asked him what he was looking for, and that’s how it all started.

I managed all of Peter Cook’s portfolio of real estate holdings. I worked my way up in that capacity for eight or nine years,

and that was a wonderful way to learn the business because I learned it from the owner’s side.

Peter Cook was a wonderful man and a great mentor because he liked to do things the right way. From there, I went to work for a developer, The Granger Group, and that was another side of it. Then from there, I went to work for Paramount Properties/Grubb & Ellis. So I went into the third-party world, and that was, again, the same industry, but a different take.

I worked for Grubb & Ellis on the commercial side, managing mostly office, retail and industrial properties. And then we got more into multifamily, when we developed a relationship with some of the folks (at Wheeler

Development Group). Mike Maier and Ryan Wheeler were actually clients of mine when I was at what turned from Grubb & Ellis into Colliers. So that’s how Pure came to be.

It sounds like this is a relationship business. It’s very much a relationship business. I can trace that back to when I first started with Peter Cook. He was very loyal to the relationships that he had with contractors, with tenants and with anybody he worked with. So I learned there how important it was to develop relationships. I know people today that I met way back then.

How did it feel to enter

startup mode at Pure?

It was exciting. It was a little bit scary. I had been doing this for so long, but had never started from scratch. I saw it as an opportunity to set things up the right way, developing processes, finding the software program that worked for us, setting up our accounting systems, hiring a team, all of that. It’ll be six years ago in June that we started with four of us, and we have 18 employees now.

What are some industry changes you’ve seen?

There used to be a lot more face-to-face interaction, and I think this is probably true of any industry, but there’s so much less of that now. A lot of people just prefer to email. And texting, even with commercial tenants, is becoming a more preferred way to communicate.

How much of your residential leasing right now is from people moving within the community versus from other locations?

It’s a good mix. We’re getting a lot of people who are moving here for jobs in the medical community, people who are selling their homes and don’t want to buy right now because the market is still tight, so they’re choosing to rent for a while, and a lot of empty-nesters who are selling their homes and want to downsize but don’t want to buy right now.

Wheeler Development Group is in a boom period for new housing development. What does that mean for you?

It’s exciting for us because right now we’re building a 96-unit townhome community on the East Beltline, and we’re starting the lease-up. We already have our first application, even though we’re not going to be moving people in until July.

We start the process pretty early. We’re involved even during the design phase of it. Every time we do a townhome community, we’ll tweak it a little bit based on feedback that we’ve gotten from residents. We’ve gotten to the point where we’re on the fourth or fifth generation of townhomes. So we get involved fairly early, and then we start the marketing and leasing process three, four, five months ahead of time.

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Anne Ficeli is president of Pure Real Estate Management, the division of Grand Rapids-based Wheeler Development Group that manages the firm’s commercial and residential properties.