Crain's Grand Rapids Business, January 27, 2025

JANUARY 27, 2025

Grand Action 2.0 seeks apartment tower developer Site of planned 475-unit building is just south of where Acrisure Amphitheatre is rising Grand Action 2.0 wants to identify partners interested in developing a portion of the 11acre site just south of where the 12,000-seat Acrisure Amphitheater is being built, near 201 Market Ave. SW. Responses were due Jan. 9, and Grand Action 2.0 began reviewing the letters of interest Jan. 16. Wood declined to disclose how many responses were submitted and by which developers.

She said depending on the quality of the submissions,

By Rachel Watson

Local advisers agree with the findings in Citizens Bank’s latest M&A outlook that 2025 is shaping up to be active for dealmaking across the spectrum of companies. | JOE BOOMGAARD, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS FILE PHOTO

Interest rate cuts could fuel strong M&A market

Grand Action 2.0 has started soliciting interested developers for a planned 21-story, 475-unit mixed-use residential tower that would rise south of Acrisure Amphitheater in the coming years.

The Grand Rapids-based private economic developer on Dec. 17 sent out a request for letters of interest (RFI) to an undisclosed group of developers both in the market and outside of it, according to documents provided by Grand Action 2.0 Executive Director Kara Wood.

See DEVELOPER on Page 18

Outlook puts buyers and sellers on fairly equal footing in this cycle

By Mark Sanchez

The M&A market should experience more activity in 2025, as interest rates fall and uncertainty over the economy, inflation and the presidential election fades after putting a damper on deal flow in 2024.

Citizens Bank’s annual survey found optimism for stronger

middle-market M&A in 2025 after slower activity the last few years.

The outlook cites a “favorable economic backdrop” as a “core reason for companies and sponsors to proceed with M&A” this year. It said those factors drove sentiment to a five-year high among dealmakers who answered the survey.

“What you’re seeing is that there’s all of these different variables out there that are leading to this idea that things should be better in 2025, especially because the economic outlook is considered to be stronger for this year and inflation seem to be stabilizing, and that’s a big part of See M&A MARKET on Page 17

Renderings of the Acrisure Amphitheater have included potential plans for adjacent developments. | PROGRESSIVE COMPANIES

Benedict family makes big splash with deals for bakery, retail sites

By Elizabeth Schanz

Derek and Lindsay Benedict, the new owners of Schnitz Bakery, aim to scale the business. | COURTESY PHOTO

A husband and wife have “big hopes and dreams” to scale up a recently acquired bakery on Grand Rapids’ east side, as an immediate relative acquires retail properties surrounding the business.

Derek and Lindsay Benedict,

who are each descendants of entrepreneurs involved with now household-name brands, closed on the acquisition of Schnitz Bakery on Dec. 30. The couple aims to maintain the core of the bakery and increase operations to have a regional, and possibly national, presence.

Meanwhile, an entity tied to

the development firm of Derek Benedict’s brother on the same day acquired five retail properties including and surrounding the bakery, which is located at 1305 E. Fulton St. The deal spans properties fronting Fulton Street for most of the block.

See BAKERY on Page 16

VOL. 42, NO. 2 l COPYRIGHT 2025 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LAW Community lender alleges soul food eatery is in default.

REAL ESTATE Developer buys Radisson Hotel along Grand River for $8.6 million.

FOOD & DRINK Mark Secchia’s Silva restaurant promises ‘something different.’

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Turkey farms taking ‘significant’ bird flu hit About a quarter of turkeys at commercial farms in Ottawa County affected

By Abby Poirier

More than 344,000 turkeys have died at Ottawa County farms in the latest and ongoing outbreak of bird flu.

Six flocks at commercial turkey meat farms in Ottawa County are among the eight cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, that were detected in the state between Dec. 23 and Jan. 8, according to data from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and

Rural Development.

In the most recent 2022 census from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ottawa County farms had approximately 1.3 million turkeys.

Assuming the flocks are comparable today, the most recent bird flu outbreak could have affected about a quarter of the turkeys at commercial farms in the county.

“We’re looking at some pretty significant hits to farms as they weather the effects of this virus,” MDARD Director Tim Boring told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Boring noted that since Nov. 1, 90 commercial operations across the country have been affected by HPAI, which has infected around 17 million birds.

The highly contagious virus can be spread through direct contact with infected wild birds and animals, as well as indirect contact with any item that has been exposed to the virus.

The virus causes severe illness in chickens and turkeys, including See BIRD FLU on Page 18

Bird flu has been detected in eight Michigan flocks, including six commercial flocks, all of which have been in Ottawa County. | COURTESY FILE PHOTO

Community lender alleges soul food eatery in default Northern Initiatives files $152,000 civil suit against Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, owners

By Abby Poirier

Caleb Herrygers is a fourth-generation farmer and operations manager at Herrygers Farms in Oceana County. | COURTESY PHOTO

Michigan farmers see drop in migrant farm labor wages But struggling farmers say the first decrease in 15 years, after steady increases, will have a nominal effect on operations | By Abby Poirier

T

he federally mandated minimum wage that Michigan farms pay to migrant workers has decreased year-over-year for the first time since 2010, but agricultural leaders think the modest savings will have little effect on struggling operations.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor set the 2025 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for Michigan at $18.15 per hour, a decrease of 35 cents, or 1.9%, from 2024. The new wages took effect Jan. 1. for all farmers using migrant farm labor in the country on H-2A visas.

Significant contributors to Michigan’s agricultural economy such as apples, asparagus and

“We welcome any relief . . . but the reality is that a $0.35 per hour cut isn’t going to move the needle on Michigan farms.”

— Caleb Herrygers, operations manager at Herrygers Farms blueberries require hand-picking to ensure quality, work largely performed by migrant workers on H-2A visas.

Last year, Michigan’s AEWR was the fifth highest in the U.S., trailing California ($19.75), Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

While this year’s decrease is a welcome shift from years of steadily rising wages, Michigan farmers doubt that it signals any long-lasting change.

“We welcome any relief and hope that this can be the beginning of a shift toward normalcy and a rate that is workable for everyone involved, but the reality is that a $0.35 per hour cut isn’t going to move the needle on Michigan farms,” said Caleb Herrygers, a fourth-generation farmer and opSee WAGES on Page 16

One of the only African American-owned full-service restaurants in the city of Grand Rapids says it could be forced to close its doors as a result of a loan dispute with a nonprofit community lender.

Marquette-based Northern Initiatives is seeking $152,000 in unpaid loans from Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, located at 1059 Wealthy St. SE, and co-owners Darel Ross and Lewis Williams, who are both named in the civil lawsuit filed earlier this month in the 17th Circuit Court in Kent County.

The community development financial institution (CDFI) alleges in court filings that 40 Acres Lifestyles LLC defaulted on three loans the restaurant and bar took out between 2018 and 2020.

In April 2018, Northern Initiatives issued Forty Acres loans for $200,000 and $50,000, followed by a loan in April 2020 for $10,250, according to the lawsuit.

Northern Initiatives claims in court filings that Forty Acres is in

default on all three loans and has “failed and refused to make payment.”

As of Jan. 3, Forty Acres has yet to repay $118,887.52 of the $200,000 loan, $30,714.77 of the $50,000 loan and $3,276.92 of the $10,250 loan from 2020, per court filings, which indicate that both Ross and Williams personally guaranteed the loans.

Ross, who also serves as a co-director of Grand Rapids startup incubator Start Garden, said the allegations are “unfortunate and confusing” given the restaurant’s ongoing negotiations with the lender and noted he is “confused about how we got here” in regard to the lawsuit.

He told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business that Forty Acres has repaid $207,000 of the approximately $260,000 in total loans and that the restaurant has remained stable, despite post-pandemic challenges.

“This is an organization that I meet regularly with, even their top leadership,” he said of Northern Initiatives. “(I’m) confused See DISPUTE on Page 17

Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, located at 1059 Wealthy St. SE in Grand Rapids, is in a loan dispute with community lender Northern Initiatives. | ABBY POIRIER, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS January 27, 2025 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 3

Developer seeks incentives for Muskegon project

By Kate Carlson

A West Michigan developer is seeking “transformational” brownfield incentives for the $221 million redevelopment of the former Shaw Walker Furniture Co. factory near Muskegon Lake.

Muskegon-based Parkland Properties hopes to start construction on the mostly blighted property as early as this summer, as it plans to add 538 housing units and 25,000 square feet of retail space.

Demolition work, lead abatement and asbestos removal is wrapping up in two of the five main buildings on the Shaw Walker site, Parkland Properties owner and President Jon Rooks said during a Jan. 13 Muskegon City Commission work session meeting. The goal is for the first residents to move into the project in phases starting in late 2026, Rooks added.

“It’s taken careful planning, but we feel like we’ve gotten a long way in the (past) two years,” Rooks said during the meeting. “(This is) arguably taking the largest blighted building in the city and one of the biggest in the state of Michigan into this vibrant, mixed-use community.”

The project and its proposed timeline is dependent on the approval of a Transformational Brownfield Plan, Rooks said.

The city of Muskegon is set to consider several local approvals for incentives for the project during meetings on Feb. 11. That includes a review of the project’s draft Transformational Brownfield Plan (TBP) application, which would be followed by consideration from the Michigan Strategic Fund board, which oversees the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Parkland Properties says it has not yet finalized the incentives amount it is seeking. “(The TBP) makes projects like this that are extra risky because they are extra large or extra expen-

sive to construct, more risk-free and doable and finance-able,” Rooks said.

If it secures TBP approval, the Shaw Walker project would be the sixth time the tool has been awarded, and the first time the funding tool would be used in Muskegon.

In West Michigan, TBP applications have been approved at the Factory Yards project and Grand Action 2.0’s plan for an amphitheater, soccer stadium and adjacent housing in Grand Rapids. The $148 million mixed-use Factory Yards project received $103 million in TBP incentives, while Grand Action 2.0’s $714 million plan secured $252 million worth of incentives.

Rooks said the tool is “critical” for his project.

“Interest rates have doubled, and construction costs have gone up 50%,” Rooks said. “This tool was designed by the state to attack that. … We are interested in moving this forward as fast as possible in order to keep the desired timeline moving.”

The Transformational Brownfield Plan program was created in 2017, allowing developers to keep income and withholding taxes from people who live and work on sites they are redeveloping, as well as sales taxes on construction materials and income taxes paid by construction workers on their projects.

The law enabling the incentive tool was expanded in 2023 to double the amount of the program’s funding caps. The whole TBP program is capped at tax exemptions up to $1.8 billion across all projects. Construction-period tax capture for the program is capped at $200 million and post-construction income, withholding, and sales/use tax capture is capped at $1.6 billion.

The remaining balance of the program for construction-period tax capture is currently at $150.7 million, and $640.4 million in post-construction tax capture, according to the Michigan Economic

A redevelopment plan for the former Shaw Walker Furniture Co. building in Muskegon calls for 538 new housing units as well as retail space. | PARKLAND PROPERTIES

“We are interested in moving this forward as fast as possible in order to keep the desired timeline moving.”

— Jon Rooks, owner and president of Parkland Properties Development Corp.

In addition to potential TBP funding, the Shaw Walker project previously secured an $18 million earmark in the state budget in 2023. Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed an additional $3 million earmark for the project, stating it hadn’t been part of budget negotiations with lawmakers. The city of Muskegon approved the project site plan in July 2024.

Parkland acquired the Shaw Walker building located at 930 Washington Ave. in December 2022, and has invested $5 million into the design, planning and

clean-up of the property, Rooks said.

Crews from Norton Shoresbased Melching Inc. are doing clean-up and abatement work on the property. Grand Rapids-based Ghafari Associates LLC is the architect on the project. Cleveland, Ohio-based Higley Construction is the general contractor, and The Concord Group, based in Grand Rapids, is acting as the owner’s representative.

Subcontractors are currently bidding on the project, and the plan is to allow subcontractors to bid on one or two buildings in the project to allow smaller companies to get involved, Rooks said.

Construction is expected to be completed in three to four years but it will open in phases, Rooks added.

Site plans call for a total of 591 residential units when the project is completed, including 69 condominiums, 37 townhomes and 432 apartments. The property already has 53 condos that were developed by the previous owner, 20 of which are not owned by Parkland.

The other 33 will be remodeled as part of the larger development.

The apartments would comprise 31 studios, 347 one-bedroom units, 44 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units. Parkland commissioned commercial real estate services firm CBRE on a market study to analyze demand in the community, Rooks said.

Muskegon Vice Mayor Rebecca St. Clair said during the meeting that she is intrigued about the possibilities of the TBP program and Parkland’s plans to add more studio apartments in the city.

“There are so few studio apartments in the community, and to have that kind of housing available with those types of amenities is something that will really help move us forward as a community,” she said.

The redevelopment plan also calls for 25,000 square feet of retail space that would accommodate eight or nine tenants. A restaurant, bar, fitness center, daycare center, pet care facility, hair salon and small grocer could be retail tenants in the project, Rooks said.

Developer acquires Radisson Riverfront for $8.6 million

By Kate Carlson

Developer Jack Hoedeman acquired the Radisson hotel along the Grand River in late 2024. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW

4 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

The Radisson Hotel Grand Rapids Riverfront along the Grand River sold for $8.6 million at the end of 2024 to a local developer.

Doing business as Ann Street Hotel LLC, Jack Hoedeman purchased the property at 270 Ann St. NW through a land contract on Dec. 27, according to property records.

Hoedeman acquired the hotel property from Suresh Patel’s Riverfront Hotel LLC. Patel is also chairman of West Michigan hotel management company GR Hospitality.

Hoedeman, who founded Compass Property Development, also plans a 44-unit apartment project on property he owns at 280 Ann St. NW, which is immediately south of the hotel. Though delayed since it was announced in 2022, the

project at 280 Ann is still in the works.

Hoedeman declined to comment on purchasing the hotel, citing a confidentiality provision in the land contract.

According to Compass Property Development’s website, Hoedeman has completed five development projects in Grand Rapids and South Haven along the lakeshore. He sold Compass Insurance Agency for $12 million in 2024 to Hub International.

Mark Zietlow, managing partner at Holland-based Innovative Law Group who represents Patel, also cited the confidentiality clause and said a “transitional phase” is underway, and that by the spring, “the parties will be in a better position to explain future development plans.”

Originally branded as a Holiday Inn, the seven-story, 62-room hotel was constructed in 1968, according to property records. Robert Sullivan and the late state Sen. Glenn Steil previously owned the hotel, having purchased the property for $4.58 million in 2003.

Sullivan sold the property to Patel in 2013 for $3.7 million, according to property records. After extensive renovations, the formerly branded Grand River Hotel reopened in 2017 with a redesigned lobby and front desk, a new pool area, outside fire pits and 2,500 square feet of meeting space.

Guest rooms also received new carpet, paint and wallpaper as well as new air conditioning and heating units. The hotel restaurant also was overhauled and rebranded as River Rock Dining and Lounge.

New eatery Silva has ‘something different’ in store

By Abby Poirier

Mark Secchia’s vision to serve up “something different” in the Grand Rapids restaurant scene is coming closer to reality.

Crews currently are putting the finishing touches on Silva, Secchia’s new restaurant that he’s been working to build out over the past two years at 975 Ottawa Ave. NW in Grand Rapids’ Monroe North neighborhood.

The 3,500-square-foot restaurant, which will include everything from a dessert bar to live entertainment, is slated to open by Feb. 15.

The son of late businessman, philanthropist and Italian ambassador Peter Secchia, Mark Secchia is drawing from the rich history of the 100-year-old, 50,000-squarefoot former furniture factory to create a dining experience that offers something new with each visit.

After two years of work and more than $12.5 million in investment in Silva so far, Secchia is eager to get the restaurant off the ground and serve his first customers.

“This is something that I’m really, really excited about,” Secchia said.

While Silva is his first restaurant, Secchia has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry from a food delivery service he operated in Shanghai, China, and his investment in a chain of Indian restaurants there that he’s leverag-

ing to guide his decisions.

“I’ve seen a lot of those pitfalls and the mistakes that they made,” he said. “I’m trying to learn from that.”

Secchia and Sarah Andro, director of operations for Silva, worked with interior designer Kathryn Chaplow LLC to create a unique dining area that combines elements of the original brick factory space with an eclectic mix of opulent details and historic elements.

Rockford Construction Co. Inc. served as the contractor on the project, which was designed by Integrated Architecture LLC. Silva drew inspiration from Secchia’s late father’s club, Tootsie Van Kelly’s at the Amway Grand Plaza, to create a colorful, fun environment. “(Silva is) bringing that kind of authenticity and fun back, getting people in their passionate places and bringing a lot of color,” Andro said.

Silva’s high ceilings and exposed brick walls surround an open dining room with four tops, booths and bar seating for around 170 guests.

Details like interior stained glass windows, hanging disco balls, rich floral fabrics and floor-to-ceiling windows give the space an eclectic feel. Overlooking the restaurant is a mural inspired by a sign for Berkey & Gay Furniture Co. that used to occupy the building.

“We don’t want people to look out the windows as much as we

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By K

Silva will open by mid-February at 975 Ottawa Ave. NW in Grand Rapids’ Monroe North neighborhood. | SETH THOMPSON

want them to look inside,” Secchia said.

Circus-inspired details, including custom-painted mirrors over the bar and a cart pulled by a paper-mâché horse in the lobby, will be added to the space in the coming weeks.

In addition to a 21-seat bar, Silva will feature a wheelchair-accessible dessert bar — reminiscent of an old-fashioned soda fountain — that will serve coffee and pastries made in-house.

“We want to make people feel better when they leave than they felt when they came in,” Andro said. “Because we have so many spaces, (Silva will) be a place where you can come three times a week and have three completely different experiences here.”

Silva’s menu will focus on a wide range of elevated classic dishes, from french onion soup to ribs.

“One of our taglines is ‘some-

thing different,’” Andro said. “Our menu falls under that category, too. Everything that’s on the menu is super intentional and fun.”

As well, Silva’s kitchen will focus on sourcing local ingredients when possible. For example, the restaurant’s fried mushroom sandwich will use mushrooms from Caledonia-based Pebble Creek Mushrooms.

“Our chefs are really ingredient-focused first and foremost,” Andro said.

Other menu highlights include a chicken sandwich, ramen deviled eggs, roasted vegetable salad and simple dessert items like basque cheesecake, cookies and milk, and limoncello ice cream.

The menu will change seasonally, and Silva plans to add features and tableside service over time.

At the bar, Silva’s drinks menu will be simple and classic, focusing on quick, efficient service in

the large dining space.

While the restaurant is almost finished, work on the rest of the dining and entertainment center remains a work in progress. When finished, Silva will include bocce courts, private dining and event spaces, as well as a retail shop with Silva merchandise and antiques. “(When you) get friends in from out of town, I want this to be the place you bring them,” Secchia said. “This (concept) doesn’t really exist anywhere else.”

Secchia has yet to set a grand opening date, but said he intends to open the doors to Silva by Feb. 15. The rest of the building’s event and athletic spaces will open in the coming months.

“As long as we stay true to being a destination, we’re going to be totally fine in the end, because (Silva) is a different spot,” Secchia said. “We are a very unique, different experience.”

U.S. 131 study to identify west side, river connections

By Elizabeth Schanz

A new $800,000 federal grant will help state and city officials examine better connections between Grand Rapids’ west side and the Grand River.

The grant supports an analysis of potential U.S. 131 rehab projects between 6th and Richmond streets to improve east-west connections, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. The Michigan Department of Transportation and the city of Grand Rapids more broadly aim to use the study to improve mobility options and connect people to the city’s assets.

The study builds on other, yearslong analyses of ways to improve U.S. 131 between 28th Street and I-96, including by redesigning exit ramps near downtown Grand Rapids to benefit pedestrians and other non-motorized transportation.

“We know that 131 is a significant barrier within the community, and there’s a tremendous need to restore east-west connectivity wherever we can,” said Tim Burkman,

city engineer for Grand Rapids.

Burkman noted that mobility improvements would allow people to better access community investments along the Grand River, such as a project to restore the river’s rapids, building out a riverside trail, and forthcoming destinations like the Acrisure Amphitheater and the Amway Stadium.

The study also comes as city leaders seek to stimulate density and housing development just east of U.S. 131 along the Grand River that’s now mostly occupied by industrial buildings.

The portion of U.S. 131 spanning 28th Street through downtown Grand Rapids to south of I-196, which includes the S-Curve, was constructed in 1961 and to this day maintains its original infrastructure, much of which needs to be updated, said John Richard, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Grand region.

“There’s a lot of interchanges that need to be updated,” Richard said. “Some of the ramps are small. Some of the bridges are too

6 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

“The whole town has grown up around us and 131, but it’s time to rebuild it and modernize.”

— John Richard, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Transportation narrow. Some of those ramps, you have to take out a bridge in order to lengthen the ramps.”

Additionally, the latest study will evaluate tunnels under U.S. 131 at Webster and 10th streets as well as improvements at 6th and Leonard streets. The idea is to improve accessibility and create a more comfortable environment for non-motorized users in that area, Burkman said.

Richard estimates the U.S. 131 projects would cost $600 million to $700 million. While funding sources are to be determined, the studies help MDOT know “exactly what we want to do and what we need to do when the funding be-

comes available,” he said.

Funding for the latest U.S. 131 study comes out of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The U.S. Department of Transportation administers funds to projects that support and advance community-centered transportation infrastructure improvements.

Studying future U.S. 131 improvements has been an ongoing effort. Initiated in 2019, a U.S. 131 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study looked at 28th Street to Cherry Street downtown, and examines environmental, community and economic goals to inform the transportation planning process.

Discussions around U.S. 131 have included ideas to redesign the S-Curve or modify it to put a stretch of U.S. 131 at grade, which could reroute freight traffic to I-196. As part of the PEL study, a 2022 MDOT survey was open to the community to address strategies for U.S. 131 between 28th and Wealthy streets, such as adding lanes, improving

the shoulder and enhancing or adding local street connections.

In one example, city leaders have previously backed a proposal to flip the Wealthy Street interchange to have U.S. 131 run over, instead of under, Wealthy Street.

The state previously approved a $10 million grant to fund a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental review, advance right-of-way acquisition and utilities relocation, and preliminary engineering and design work. The grant runs through December 2027.

Meanwhile, the latest federally funded study is meant to eliminate barriers that U.S. 131 poses to pedestrians as the city’s development continues.

“The whole town has grown up around us and 131, but it’s time to rebuild it and modernize,” Richard said, acknowledging that funding for construction projects will be a challenge. “The big issue is the ripple effect that it’ll have on those east-west connections … not just on 131 but the local connections as well.”

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Mecosta County evaluates development strategy

By Kate Carlson

Ongoing contention over a $2.4 billion battery plant near Big Rapids played at least a “small part” in a Mecosta County economic development organization suspending its contract with The Right Place Inc., which has shepherded the project for more than two years.

The Right Place’s contract with Mecosta County Development Corp. started on Jan. 1, 2022, about eight months before details emerged about Gotion Inc.’s sprawling battery plant planned in two townships in Mecosta County. The Right Place worked closely with Gotion’s successful effort to secure $715 million in incentives for the project from the state.

Recently, a wave of local opposition to the project led to the election of county and township officials who ran on the anti-Gotion sentiment.

More broadly, MCDC suspended the contract with The Right Place at the end of 2024 as it evaluates the county’s economic development needs in light of three key personnel vacancies.

“I think it’s fair to say that the Gotion project had a small part of it, but there are larger, more strategic discussions that need to happen as a county and community within Mecosta County,” said Tim Mroz, senior vice president of community development at The Right Place.

The pause came after the resignation of MCDC’s executive director, Kelly Wawsczyk, who now leads the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to the MCDC vacancy, leadership positions at the Mecosta County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce are also open.

The Right Place’s recommendation to the county was to take a step back and look at all three of the open positions and see if there could be efficiencies built around them or to share resources, Mroz said.

“It really was an open discussion between The Right Place and the (MCDC) board and honestly asking: What are we going to do next?” Mroz said. “We ultimately decided that we should hit the pause button right now and take a step back.”

The Right Place serves the greater Grand Rapids region and also contracts with Ionia, Lake, Mason, Montcalm, Newaygo and Oceana counties for economic development services. While the MCDC board has paused its contract with The Right Place, it can choose to reactivate it at any time, Mroz said.

“This approach of having a local economic development resource that gets up and lives and works in the local community, but also has a relationship and resources tied to a much larger regional economic development organization has proven very successful in six other counties for over 10 years,” Mroz

said. “So the system works, the model works, but as with everything, that model has to be tailored to the specific needs of the community.”

Despite the Gotion controversy, there are “larger, more strategic discussions that need to happen as a county and community,” Mroz said.

The nonprofit MCDC — which receives funding from local governments, including the city of Big Rapids — has not yet posted the executive director job, said MCDC Board Chair Dave Hamelund, who echoed Mroz’s comments about

“It is really just a regroup. We as a board thought it was best to step back and do a strategic review of what the community needs and who is going to do what.”

— Dave Hamelund, Mecosta County Development Corp. board chair the organization needing to assess the three open positions at the county.

“It is really just a regroup,” Hamelund said. “We as a board thought it was best to step back and do a strategic review of what

the community needs and who is going to do what.”

Hamelund said MCDC suspending its contract with The Right Place was unrelated to Gotion’s project.

“Gotion is part of this communi-

ty and there are folks against it and for it,” Hamelund said.

Meanwhile, the Mecosta County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 2 approved a resolution rescinding the county board’s support for Gotion’s project. The resolution passed during the board’s first meeting of the year after four of seven commissioners were replaced in the November election.

The resolution, which passed in a 5-2 vote, cited “new information and developments” related to Gotion’s ties to China as reason for rescinding the county board’s support.

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First new Michigan casino in nearly a decade now open

By Rachel Watson

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ small temporary casino within a government building it owns in Benzie County will be used to gauge the appetite for a larger gaming facility it hopes to build one day on the same site.

The tribe opened a new Class III gaming facility called Crystal Shores Casino on trust land at 7282 Hoadley Road in Benzonia Township on Jan. 22. It is the first new tribal casino to open in Michigan since 2016, when Odawa Casino Mackinaw opened in Mackinaw City.

The Crystal Shores Casino location is near the intersection of U.S. 31 and M-115, about 35 miles southwest of Traverse City and 10 miles east of Frankfort.

The casino is located in the former community center space within a tribal government building on the Hoadley Road property.

The tribe will continue to use part of the building for government offices while also operating the gaming floor, which will have a capacity of about 250 people.

Johnny Barrientoz came on board as CEO of the tribe’s gaming arm, Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos, on Sept. 30 and was

tasked with converting the community center to a casino by the end of this month. He said this arrangement will likely be temporary while the tribe evaluates the overall demand for gaming in the area.

“At some point down the road, once we get operations running and we can make plans to develop a new casino on that property somewhere, we will actually turn that original building back over to the government operations,” he said.

“We’ll probably give it a good year so that we can get accurate data, and kind of go from there as far as the scale that we will build, and how this will look going forward,” Barrientoz added.

Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos has hired about 40 people to staff the casino out of about 100 who applied for jobs. The average wage is expected to be about $27,000 per year, though tips will push that threshold much higher, Barrientoz said.

He said one of the tribe’s main goals with this project was to provide economic growth and job opportunities for its members and for the broader community in Benzie County.

“It really didn’t hit home until we started doing job fairs down

8 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

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Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians opened Crystal Shores Casino in Benzie County. The tribe also operates Turtle Creek Casino, shown here, and Leelanau Sands Casino. | COURTESY PHOTO

“(Job fair attendees said) this is just going to change their lives, change their future, and give them opportunities that they currently don’t have.”

— Johnny Barrientoz, CEO of Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos there recently, and people were talking to our HR personnel, and they were really expressing their gratitude because of the limited work (opportunities) down in that area,” Barrientoz said. “(They said)

this is just going to change their lives, change their future, and give them opportunities that they currently don’t have in that area of Benzie County. … That really hit home for us, to know we absolutely are doing the right thing for that community.”

The tribe also owns the Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge near tribal headquarters in Peshawbestown in Suttons Bay Township and Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel that straddles Acme and Whitewater townships near Williamsburg in Grand Traverse County. Leelanau Sands opened in 1991 and Turtle Creek opened in 1996.

Barrientoz said it has been all hands on deck to get the casino online. Shift managers have been hired to oversee its daily operations, and the leadership teams for Leelanau Sands and Turtle Creek will handle overall management.

The tribe hired Traverse Citybased Litten Development as the project’s contractor to update the building’s electrical, architecture, flooring and furnishings.

The tribe also is laying down a new parking lot that will add 90 spaces to the existing 45.

According to drawings filed with the county, the gaming floor will comprise a total of 3,213 square feet, including the cash counting cages, back office areas, high stakes tables and perimeter seating.

The main gaming floor will have an area of 2,794 square feet and will feature slot machines only, no table games. By comparison, Turtle Creek’s gaming floor is 56,000 square feet, and Leelanau Sands’ is 30,000 square feet.

The facility is located on an approximately 47-acre parcel that was placed into trust soon after the tribe received federal recognition in 1980. The parcel also contains 12 tribally owned homes.

Grand Traverse Band tribal attorney John Petoskey said in a Nov. 26 presentation to the Benzie County Board of Commissioners about Crystal Shores Casino that both the residents and the community center are served by public safety officers through a cross-deputization agreement between the tribe and the Benzie County Sheriff’s Department that also will extend to the new casino.

The tribe submitted a notice of intent to open a casino to the Na-

tional Indian Gaming Commission and the Office of Indian Gaming within the Bureau of Indian Affairs last summer and heard no objections during a 120-day review period. The Grand Traverse Band Gaming Commission then issued a license for the new casino on Nov. 21, Petoskey said.

The Grand Traverse Band’s state gaming compact from 1993 spells out how the tribe can license and regulate Class III gaming on trust lands. The state previously challenged the legality of the tribe’s Turtle Creek Casino based on wording in the compact, but the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan ruled, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed, that the tribe could operate a gaming facility at that location.

Petoskey told Traverse Citybased publication The Ticker that the tribe is “very confident” that the Benzie County location qualifies under the same legal argument.

The Grand Traverse Band has nearly 4,000 enrolled members, and a six-county service area in Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Manistee counties.

Under the terms of a 1993 consent judgment, Grand Traverse Band is one of seven Michigan tribes that makes twice-annual revenue sharing payments of 2% of its net gaming wins to the counties and local units of government in the vicinity of its gaming facilities.

Petoskey noted in his November presentation that the tribe has provided close to $4 million to Benzie County since the consent judgment, much of which goes to fund first responder services.

“We’re looking forward to seeing this get opened up,” Benzie County Commissioner Bob Roelofs said at the meeting.

The Crystal Shores Casino location is about 25 miles from the nearest tribal casino, Little River Casino Resort in Manistee Township.

Currently, 23 tribal casinos operate within the state of Michigan.

According to the American Gaming Association, Michigan’s tribal casinos contributed $3.05 billion in economic activity and supported more than 25,700 jobs as of 2023.

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Habitat Kent plans new housing near Roosevelt Park

By Rachel Watson

Habitat for Humanity of Kent County seeks to build a 27-unit multifamily condominium building in what would be the third phase of an ongoing neighborhood redevelopment at and around its headquarters.

The housing nonprofit proposes to demolish a construction warehouse at 539 New Ave. SW that it no longer needs and build in its place a five-story, 45,000-squarefoot building with a total of 27 twoand three-bedroom, for-sale condo units. The third phase of the Pleasant Hills project adds to 27 units planned under the first two phases.

Sixteen of the units would be marketed to buyers earning up to 80% of area median income, and 11 would be reserved for buyers earning up to 120% of AMI. That’s a range of up to $80,550 to $120,840 for a family of four in Kent County, per the latest U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines.

Sarah Hotchkiss, director of development and communications for Habitat Kent, said the nonprofit is excited to build a multifamily building with affordable homeownership, rather than rental units.

“We have never built this type of structure, and so we’re pretty excited to bring something new and innovative to the city,” Hotchkiss said.

Grand Rapids Planning Director Kristin Turkelson said while several multifamily for-sale condo units are in downtown Grand Rapids, such as in Studio Park Tower and River House, this is a building format that is relatively rare for Habitat for Humanity.

Hotchkiss said the homes would be geared toward working families who are being priced out of the single-family market.

“We are (going to be serving) … teachers and public servants, folks that can afford a mortgage, and they will pay a mortgage, but unfortunately especially in Grand Rapids right now, and across many cities in our country, they are competing and are having the most difficult time to find a home,” she said. “So that’s who we’re here to serve — those working families that honestly just need that hand up, not a handout.”

Hotchkiss said Habitat Kent is working with Grand Rapids-based general contractor Orion Construction and R&R Mechanical Services LLC to ensure the units will be all-electric powered in lieu of natural gas hookups and eligi-

ble for LEED certification.

This project would be the third phase of the Pleasant Hills project that the organization has been working on for more than a year at and around its current headquarters at 425 Pleasant St. SW in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood.

The city approved plans for the first two phases totaling 27 units last year, and they’re currently in the permitting process.

The first phase will include a five-unit townhome building and a duplex at 444 Pleasant St. SW. The second phase, spanning part of 425 Pleasant and all of 535 Church Place SW, is expected to include 10 duplexes, an office, shared green space, and potentially a child care center, though Habitat Kent has not yet secured an operator for the child care center, Hotchkiss said.

Habitat Kent no longer needs the warehouse at 539 New Ave., which was being used for storage, truck parking and office space, because it recently opened a new ReStore at 1739 Elizabeth St. NW, southeast of the intersection of Ann Street and Alpine Avenue NW in Grand Rapids. The new ReStore has capacity for those functions, Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss said Habitat Kent also is exploring potentially relocating

Habitat for Humanity of Kent County’s headquarters at 425 Pleasant St. SW in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood. | RACHEL WATSON, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS

its headquarters to the new northwest side ReStore as part of this redevelopment, provided it can find a tenant to take over its office space that would meet a need for the neighborhood.

“We’re looking just for a strategic partner that can help with community resources,” she said.

“As we’re building all these units around there, we would love to have a partner come alongside and provide something that the community is looking for.”

The nonprofit received an

$826,000 MI Neighborhood grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for phase one of Pleasant Hills and is exploring other potential public and private funding opportunities for phases two and three.

Habitat Kent hopes to begin construction on the first two phases of the Pleasant Hills project this spring, Hotchkiss said.

Pending approvals, the organization hopes to then start building phase three in spring 2026, she said.

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Big players power youth film nonprofit’s growth funds some of the initiatives that we wanted to do for some time, A Grand Rapids-based nonprof- but we needed just some extra it plans to grow to new heights horsepower to reach across that with a $100,000 gift from Sony kind of geography.”

Welch is the founder and princiElectronics and a partnership with the foundation formed by the late pal at Global Bridgebuilders, a Grand Rapids-based company actor Paul Newman.

Started by Skot Welch in 2012, that focuses on organizational deMosaic Film Experience will use velopment, cultural transformathe $50,000 in cash and $50,000 tion and inclusion. He also in equipment from Sony Elec- co-founded and serves as a mantronics to extend a program to aging partner at the New CommuMuskegon this summer that nity Transformation Fund, a venworks with underserved high ture capital fund that invests in school students. The program businesses owned by people of works with students to produce color.

Mosaic Film Experience curand edit short videos to teach them creative, critical and ana- rently works with the Grand Raplytical thinking, collaboration ids Public Schools and Kent Intermediate School and problem-solvDistrict through ing skills. year-round programMosaic Film Expeming. High school rience, which also students write, prowill work with the duce and edit a twoWest Michigan Cento three-minute vidter for Arts and Techeo using a mobile nology, was one of device. Videos are five recipients naentered into a comtionwide that Sony petition for students Electronics selected to showcase their in December via its skills. Students who Create Action Grant produce the top three Program for 2024-25. Skot Welch, founder of videos, as chosen by In partnership Mosaic Film Experience a jury of film industry with Westport, Conn.-based Newman’s Own experts, receive cash prizes at an Foundation, Mosaic Film Experi- annual award ceremony.

The 2024 competition involved ence will extend its programming to five cities across the U.S., giving middle school students at Grand the nonprofit a greater reach and Rapids University Preparatory visibility in new markets. The Academy, CA Frost Environmenfoundation also gave Mosaic a tal Science Middle School, and Southwest Middle High School, $125,000 grant.

The Sony support and the New- and extends this year to include man’s Own Foundation partner- Ottawa Hills High School.

Run by volunteers, Mosaic Film ship “really elevate the organization” and provide national Experience has received a range of visibility, said Welch, the presi- philanthropic funding, including support from the Wege Foundadent of Mosaic Film Experience.

“It legitimizes Mosaic on a na- tion, Steelcase Foundation, and tional stage now, and I think it also the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In working with students, Mosashows the efficacy of the concept.

We’re no longer a startup,” Welch ic Film Experience looks not to said. “What it also does is it shows create the next great American we can serve more students. We filmmaker, but to teach life skills can reach more students, and it such as problem-solving and criti-

By Mark Sanchez

Mosaic Film Experience started in Grand Rapids in 2012. New grant funding and partnerships will help expand the program to a “national stage.” | COURTESY PHOTOS

cal and analytical thinking that they can use in whatever profession they pursue.

“I tell folks it’s not so much about creating the next Spike Lee or the next (Steven) Spielberg as it is creating the next problem-solver, the next leader, the next gifted storyteller,” Welch said. “Whatever industry an individual lands in, they need to be able to solve problems and they need to be able to tell stories. (It’s about) the ability to articulate yourself and bring people in and communicate and build community and equipping that next person, the next student, with the ability to tell stories eloquently and solve problems. I just saw that film is a great way to bring those things together.”

The connection with the Newman’s Own Foundation started when Welch attended a conference on public health in Washington, D.C., two years ago. That’s where he met Emily Yu, chief partnerships and program officer for Newman’s Own Foundation.

The foundation supports programs focused on children and adolescents and is supported by

profits from the Newman’s Own food brands that the late actor started in 1982 with the late author A.E. Hotchner.

Mosaic Film Experience’s work fits well with the Newman’s Own Foundation mission to address issues such as food insecurity, chronic health conditions, and poverty affecting children and their families. Videos that students produce through the partnership will focus on the theme of food security and justice, their own experiences and their ideas for solutions, according to Yu and Welch.

The work with Mosaic Film Experience comes as the foundation prepares to mark what would have been Paul Newman’s 100th birthday on Jan. 26.

“The foundation’s mission is to nourish and transform the lives of children who face adversity, and as we were looking at 2025 and how to advance this mission, this opportunity came up to think about how we might honor the legacy of Paul Newman as a movie actor,” Yu said. “We thought there could be an opportunity to use this medium of film. We talked

with Scott and his team a little bit, and this idea blossomed with: How do we make an accessible, a creative, and an innovative way to amplify youth voices on this topic of food justice? He had this platform that was really inspiring, and we sort of put a twist on it.

“The fact that it can move people, it can change minds, and in two to three minutes help influence how people think or see things differently, I think that was very compelling as well. We’re just really excited to see the power and potential of what film can do in the hands of young changemakers on this topic of food justice.”

The partnership between Mosaic Film Experience and Newman’s Own Foundation runs for one year, although Yu sees the opportunity for it to continue further.

The foundation only offers oneyear grants, “so, technically speaking, I don’t know if we’ll continue further, but there are high hopes if this goes well that we’d love to see more of this,” she said. “We would love to see the potential for how this goes and take learnings from this first effort.”

Shops at CenterPoint mall sells to investor for $70M

By Kate Carlson

The Shops at CenterPoint mall in Grand Rapids has traded hands for the second time in a little more than two years, this time selling to a Seattle-based real estate investment firm for $70 million.

An affiliate of Bridge33 Capital acquired the open-air mall on Dec. 30 from Illinois-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty LLC, according to property records. The mall, which has tenants including TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Old Navy, is located at 3665 28th St. SE, near the intersection with East Beltline Avenue.

Pine Tree Commercial previously purchased the property in August 2022 for $63.5 million.

Bridge33 Capital’s portfolio of retail centers spans 24 states, but Shops at CenterPoint is its only

current holding in Michigan, according to the firm’s website. A leasing agent at Bridge33 did not respond to a request from Crain’s Grand Rapids Business to comment on the property transaction for Shops at CenterPoint.

The outdoor mall went through a $38 million de-malling process and renovation that was completed in 2013 to convert the shopping center into an open-air retail center. The combined TJ Maxx/HomeGoods store has the largest individual storefront in the mall, spanning 52,000 square feet. There are 37 different businesses and organizations located at Shops at CenterPoint, including the likes of Sierra Trading Post, DSW, Joann Fabrics, Nordstrom Rack and Ace Pickleball.

Bridge33’s leasing website lists two suites spanning 4,000 square

10 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

Shops at CenterPoint is located at the northeast corner of the 28th Street and East Beltline Avenue intersection in Grand Rapids. | COURTESY FILE PHOTO

feet as being “available.” A 3.5-acre outlot along Lake Eastbrook Boulevard where the former Orbit Room venue once stood also remains available for redevelop-

ment.

The sale of Shops at CenterPoint comes just weeks after RiverTown Crossings in Grandville sold to Memphis, Tenn.-based Poag De-

velopment Group for $97.4 million at the end of August 2024, according to property records. As of Dec. 10, the new owners had invested $1.3 million to improve the aging mall property since purchasing it, as Crain’s Grand Rapids Business recently reported.

Lease rates have experienced a slight increase in West Michigan’s retail market, but sales have been flat in the third quarter of 2024, according to Advantage Commercial Real Estate’s latest market trend report.

“With an overall lack of inventory, retail sales have been few and far between, with the sales that are available being hard to pencil,” according to the market trend report.

“Overall, the market has been moving forward with continued interest from both local and national tenants.”

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In our 85+ years of experience in construction, we’ve honed a straightforward strategy that consistently yields success. By stepping into our clients’ shoes and blending that perspective with our deep understanding of how design impacts construction, we help navigate our clients toward game-changing outcomes. By taking a holistic view of their business strategies, operations, and project proformas, we tailor our services to meet their specific needs, maximizing their business aspirations while executing projects efficiently.

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12 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

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Poag Development Group is set to demolish RiverTown Crossing’s two-story parking deck and replace it with surface parking and space for redevelopment. | GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Parking demolition paves way for mall redevelopment

By Kate Carlson

The new owners of the RiverTown Crossings mall in Grandville plan to demolish an aging, two-story parking structure on site to open more than 2.5 acres for redevelopment.

The city of Grandville Planning Commission approved Poag Development Group’s site plans at its Jan. 8 meeting to tear down the parking deck and replace it with surface parking. Two new parcels totaling 2.63 acres immediately north and facing Rivertown Parkway would also be established as part of Poag’s redevelopment plan for the property. “(The parking structure) will be replaced with a safe and efficient parking field for our guests,” Poag Development Group CEO Josh Poag told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business in an emailed statement.

“This renovation also includes adding two new parcels for future tenants as part of phase one of our redevelopment plans for RiverTown Crossings. The demolition is expected to begin this spring with an estimated completion by summer.”

The Memphis, Tenn.-based development group acquired the aging 1.3 million-square-foot mall in what Poag executives called a “complex transaction” for $97.4 million at the end of August 2024, according to property records. At the time, company officials expressed an interest in adding density to the property, potentially with more retail, hotel space or multifamily housing. Engineers first examined the two-story parking deck for both short- and longterm options, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business previously reported.

RiverTown Crossings, located at 3700 Rivertown Parkway, is surrounded by a sea of surface parking lots. Removing the parking deck at RiverTown Crossings would reduce the parking space count from 6,675 spaces to 5,297.

The surface lot proposed to replace the parking deck would have 279 spaces.

The demolition of the parking structure will take care of some longstanding issues on the mall property and create additional opportunities for future development, said Grandville City Manager Griffin Graham. Prior to the planning commission’s approval of the parking structure demolition site plans, Poag was examining possibly repairing the parking deck to ensure it was safe for customers.

“We’ve been working pretty closely with (Poag Development) and are excited about the energy and experience they bring into properties like this,” Graham said.

“We’ve been appreciative of the relationship we’ve been able to build over the last several months and hope to continue to have a seat at the table.”

In December, Poag officials told Crain’s Grand Rapids that they had already invested more than $1.3 million into upgrading and modernizing the property. Improvements include new landscaping, parking lot repairs and fixing the indoor merry-go-round.

No details have been given yet on future development that could take the place of the parking structure. Overall, Poag wants to create a community gathering spot that includes retail, restaurants, entertainment and potentially hotel and residential uses.

RiverTown Crossings opened in 1999 and currently has five anchor stores: Macy’s, Kohl’s, JCPenney, Celebration Cinema and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Commercial real estate experts previously said that the surface parking lots have the most value out of the whole property.

“There are other restaurants and retailers that want to be in this area, but there is no place for them to go and have their own building,” Mike Murray, retail adviser at Grand Rapids-based Advantage Commercial Real Estate, told Crain’s last year. “The parking lots have the most value to start with redevelopment and bringing in new uses while they tackle the mall.”

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Cybersecurity firm adds digital payment platform

By Rachel Watson

A fraud protection firm that serves the real estate industry has acquired a digital payment platform that will allow its customers to transfer funds all in one ecosystem.

Grand Rapids- and Austin, Texas-based CertifID announced Jan. 14 that it acquired New York-based Paymints.io, a platform launched in 2020 that enables digital money transfers by title companies, law firms and real estate brokerages.

This represents CertifID’s first acquisition since its formation in 2017, said Thomas Cronkright II, co-founder and executive chairman of CertifID. Terms of the deal, which closed on Nov. 25, 2024, were not disclosed.

Cronkright said the acquisition will allow CertifID to offer fund transfers for the first time in addition to identity verification and sharing of secure wiring instructions.

“You don’t have to go outside of our platform and our ecosystem to stay fully secure and insulated from fraud now that we have the capability that the Paymints acquisition brings,” Cronkright said.

“Now we have a comprehensive platform, starting with educating customers about wire fraud, en-

gaging them during the process and then actually helping or providing them an option to securely transfer their funds in one ecosystem that’s insured by our insurance partners. I think of it as almost like ‘black boxing’ this.”

Paymints.io was founded by brothers and real estate industry entrepreneurs Jason Doshi and

“We see this as kind of re-imagining and redefining how payments are going to be administered in commercial and residential real estate transactions.”

— Thomas Cronkright II, co-founder and executive chairman of CertifID Amit Doshi. The former founded a mortgage brokerage and the latter started a title agency before they teamed up to create a secure fund transfer platform for the real estate industry.

“Joining forces with CertifID allows us to accelerate our shared vision of modernizing real estate payments while ensuring unprec-

edented security,” Jason Doshi, CEO of Paymints.io, said in a statement on the deal. “Together, we’re creating a new standard for how funds move through real estate transactions — one that combines convenience with security.”

Both brothers will join CertifID as members of the senior leadership team and will bring along their team of seven technology and sales employees. CertifID’s team will have 102 employees, counting the new hires, Cronkright said.

The integration of Paymints.io into the CertifID platform is expected to be completed in stages in the first and second quarters of 2025. Existing Paymints.io customers will be able to continue using the platform while the integration into CertifID is in process.

Since its launch, Paymints.io has enabled more than 200,000 secure transactions valued at more than $1 billion. The firm estimates it has saved clients 101,000 working hours and $4 million in bank fees, Jason Doshi said.

Cronkright described the acquisition as a strategic and longplanned move for CertifID rather than an opportunistic one.

“We knew we had to go further into the workflow to enable the actual movement of money in a more secure way, so we see this as

CertifID co-founder and executive chairman Thomas Cronkright II. | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS FILE PHOTO

kind of re-imagining and redefining how payments are going to be administered in commercial and residential real estate transactions,” he said.

Cronkright said CertifID explored several options in its due diligence period.

“We looked at a series of payment providers, and between the founder story, the technology and how well their platform was built out, they rose to the top rather quickly as the one that matched our thesis around ease of use, security and how they approach the domain expertise in real estate,” Cronkright said. “You can’t fake that.”

Cronkright added that Pay-

mints’ origin story of creating a company to solve clients’ specific problems “felt similar to how we started CertifID.” “They felt real pain, and they turned that into an opportunity,” he said.

Cronkright and Lawrence Duthler, who are partners at Grand Rapids-based Sun Title Co., formed CertifID with CEO and co-founder Tyler Adams after they experienced a $180,000 wire fraud loss in 2015.

Since its formation as a cybersecurity software platform that verifies the identity of parties including title agents, law firms, lenders, real estate agents, buyers and sellers, Cronkright said the firm has protected “hundreds of billions” of dollars in real estate transactions.

The firm also closed funding rounds in 2022 and 2023 that together raised $32.5 million in private capital to support its growth.

Previous investors included the DeVos family’s Wakestream Ventures and Grand Angels, both based in Grand Rapids, and Detroit-based Invest Michigan.

Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP served as CertifID’s legal adviser, while New York-based Stinson LLP served as Paymint.io’s legal adviser.

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Libby Wines eyes opportunity in nonalcoholic products

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the spring of 2023 and dove into the nonalcoholic market.

“It was a tough decision to basically pivot the entirety of the business and all of the team’s attention and focus toward one effort, as opposed to diluting it across low-alcohol and nonalcohol,” Hemingway said.

Along with the decision to have Libby become a nonalcoholic wine brand, Hemingway and Green wanted to create products that offered the flavor they believed other products lacked.

“As we looked at the landscape of options in the nonalcoholic wine segment, we found that, frankly, they weren’t good. They didn’t taste good,” Green said. “We saw it as a huge opportunity to do something that no other winery has done.”

To create a nonalcoholic wine, producers have to remove approximately 12% to 14% of the product to eliminate the alcohol, which significantly affects its flavor.

“Really, what it boiled down to was a 360-degree approach to the entirety of a winemaking process that now has an additional filtration in the alcohol-removal process,” Hemingway said. “In the alcohol-removal process, you are losing aromatics. You are losing flavor profiles or varietal character, not just the alcohol. It was our intent to really bring that back into the final product.”

To reintroduce the flavor lost through the dealcoholization process, Libby Wines relies on natural

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By Abby Poirier

Two years after launching low-alcohol products, Libby Wines is shifting its entire focus to nonalcoholic beverages with the goal of becoming the Athletic Brewing of the wine industry.

After hitting the market this winter with nonalcoholic sparkling white wine and sparkling rosé, Libby Wines wants to build the brand in 2025 to capture consumers looking for flavorful, healthy choices.

The company came about in 2022 when West Michigan serial entrepreneur and investor John Green teamed up with Napa Valley winemaker Grant Hemingway.

Green, who previously served as chairman of Founders Brewing Co., is an active investor in the food and beverage industry with a diverse portfolio including Natterjack Irish Whiskey, Papa’s Pilar Rum, Hemingway Rye Whiskey and The Finnish Long Drink, which recently scored a Rising Star Award from trade publication Brewbound.

As nonalcoholic beverages continue to gain traction in the beer and wine industries, Libby Wines shifted its focus from a low-alcohol brand to entirely nonalcoholic wines, launching its first new zero-alcohol products in November.

“We had a ton of learnings from (Libby), but I think the major learning was retailers and even consumers alike coming back to us and really proving that non-alc

is actually the sizable category and where most people are headed,” Hemingway said. “It empowers self-moderation.”

In 2023, the nonalcoholic wine market was estimated to be worth around $2.26 billion, according to an analysis by Grand View Research, which anticipates a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% for the category between 2024 and 2030.

That growth is led largely by younger consumers looking to pri-

“As we looked at the landscape of options in the nonalcoholic wine segment, we found that, frankly, they weren’t good.”

— John Green, co-founder of Libby Wines oritize wellness. The rate of legal drinking age adults who reported consuming both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages nearly doubled from 7% in 2023 to 13% in 2024, according to a Brewbound report citing IWSR data.

As well, a recent survey by NCSolutions found that 61% of Gen Z consumers planned to cut back on their alcohol consumption in 2024, compared with 40% in 2023.

With those statistics in mind, Libby Wines discontinued production of its low-alcohol wine in

Libby Wines has debuted two new non-alcoholic wines, including a sparkling rosé. | COURTESY PHOTO

flavor additives to “deliver on the high expectation of a wine consumer,” Hemingway said.

Libby Wines aims to stand out in the nonalcoholic wine category by approaching the product as a wine first, focusing on high-quality grapes from reliable sources and appealing to customers’ “wine sensibilities,” Hemingway said.

Green hopes Libby Wines can potentially mimic the success that Connecticut-based Athletic Brewing Company found in the beer category.

The brand launched its nonalcoholic beers in 2017 and now holds more than a 19% market share within the category and is driving 32% of total category growth, according to a recent CNBC report citing NielsenIQ data.

“Athletic was really the first brewery to come out with a quality beer that met the needs of beer consumers who didn’t want alcohol,” Green said.

Libby Wine finished the first production run in California of its new nonalcoholic offerings in

September, with its second run taking place this month.

Currently, the wines are on shelves in Michigan, Illinois and Colorado, with plans to add Ohio, California and Texas distribution in January. At the moment, Libby is focused on selling in smaller independent retailers, such as Rishi’s International Beverage and Noco Provisions in Grand Rapids.

The products carry a suggested retail price of $17.99.

Libby Wine currently is distributed by Great Lakes Wine & Spirits in Michigan.

While the brand is in talks with the likes of SpartanNash and Meijer to break into grocery retailers, Green is focused on growing Libby Wine slowly and following target customers.

“We want to be very strategic about the way that we grow this brand, knowing that it’s a young category,” Hemingway said. “But quality is going to be the ultimate determinant of the winner in terms of loyalty and who’s coming back for Libby.”

Wyoming’s 3 Gatos Brewery to close doors next month

By Abby Poirier

Wyoming-based 3 Gatos Brewery will be closing its doors on Feb. 9 after three and a half years in business.

Located in a strip mall at 1760 44th St. SW, 3 Gatos offers a full lineup of year-round and seasonal beers and cider. The 3,000-squarefoot brewery seats around 75 guests and serves Brazilian food like dumplings and fried yuca alongside a menu of smashburgers.

Owner Linus De Paoli said the brewery’s lifespan has been “a roller coaster of highs and lows” as he fought to keep the company in business during a tough time for the hospitality industry.

The closure has been “hovering over my head” since June 2024, De Paoli said.

“I kept trying to do things to alleviate some of the debt and energize the business and bring people in, but that thought lingered (that) I’ll have to go through and make a call if I close or not,” he said. “I’ve been grieving the closure of 3 Gatos for quite some time now, and I guess it’s only now that I reached the acceptance part of the grieving

process.”

After moving to Grand Rapids from Germany in 2020, De Paoli opened 3 Gatos Brewery in July 2021 alongside Renata De Paoli, his wife at the time. The pair, originally from Brazil, worked for Ford Motor Co. prior to their move to the U.S. While taking brewing classes in Germany, De Paoli met Rommie Bailey, owner of the former Kitzingen Brewery, who was looking to retire. The De Paolis bought the restaurant after moving to Michigan.

The De Paolis changed the brewery from a German-inspired concept to 3 Gatos, a Brazilian brewery named after the De Paolis’ three cats, Charlotte, Chris and Chico.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process of purchasing the brewery — from securing a visa to licensing the operations — was more time-consuming and expensive than the De Paolis had anticipated, leaving them with “almost no cash reserves” by the time 3 Gatos opened.

“There was, of course, a lot of anxiety (about) whether this was going to work or not,” De Paoli said. “But it was really exciting and

14 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JANUARY 27, 2025

Wyoming-based 3 Gatos Brewery will be closing its doors on Feb. 9 after three and a half years in business. | COURTESY PHOTO

super cool to see people coming and enjoying the atmosphere, enjoying the experience, enjoying the beer and the food that we had.”

As his first foray into business ownership, De Paoli said that running 3 Gatos was “overwhelming” but he developed a “deep appreciation and respect for people who work in hospitality.” However, he thinks the brewery was unable to overcome the financial strain of bootstrapping the business from

the start.

Last year, De Paoli began rebranding 3 Gatos as a “boteco,” the Brazilian name for a restaurant that serves as a communal gathering space, to help the brewery stand out from its competitors.

“I think that was kind of successful, to establish the branding more clearly and try to dissociate (it) from myself,” De Paoli said. “At that time, I just felt like I needed more something that was independent of myself as a person to define what the business is.”

Following the rebranding, 3 Gatos changed its menu and added wine and cocktails in June 2024.

De Paoli was hoping the updates would generate more business, while helping to manage food costs by serving in smaller quantities and offering weekly specials. “(That change) was successful during July,’ De Paoli said. “But then August came and (the) slowdown started.”

Around the same time, De Paoli got divorced, which left him to run the business alone.

For the past six months, he said he tried unsuccessfully to find business partners to infuse capital

into 3 Gatos. The accumulation of debt, struggle to attract customers and the stress from running the business alone eventually led De Paoli to decide to close the brewery.

As he looks back at the experience of running 3 Gatos, De Paoli thinks his lack of experience as a business operator, the brewery’s outdoor mall location in Wyoming and its lack of cash reserves upon opening ultimately led to its demise.

3 Gatos “never returned a profit,” he said.

While De Paoli hopes to stay in Grand Rapids, he said he isn’t certain what’s next for him after the brewery closes.

“I’m kind of excited for what’s next (and) to move on and see what’s out there for me,” he said.

De Paoli brewed his last batch of beer in December and will be selling down the rest of his inventory until the doors close permanently.

3 Gatos’ last day in business will be Feb. 9.

“I promised a lot of my regulars that if the Lions make it to the Super Bowl, we will do a watch party here,” De Paoli said. “I still want to keep that promise.”

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Trinity Health building $18M power plant in Grand Rapids

By Andy Balaskovitz

Trinity Health Grand Rapids is investing $18 million to build an onsite power plant that will produce electricity and steam for six buildings on its Grand Rapids campus.

Health system officials say the plan for the system, known as a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, is designed to curb rising energy costs, improve reliability and reduce the health system’s carbon footprint.

The plant will produce up to 90% of the buildings’ electricity needs during certain months, and produce all of the facilities’ steam that is crucial for health care operations.

“Steam is an important resource for the hospital. It’s one we use for many purposes — heat, of course, but also in sterile processing,” Trinity Health President Dr. Matt Biersack said in a statement.

“Reducing our dependency on outside resources will help ensure patients get uninterrupted access to the care they need, while reducing our carbon footprint in the community.”

Trinity Health officials say the CHP plant will reduce the campus’ carbon emissions by 26% and be 50% more efficient than its current arrangement as a cus-

tomer of Vicinity Energy, the steam utility that serves more than 100 buildings in downtown Grand Rapids. Vicinity Energy also is investing millions of dollars to switch to electric boilers to reduce the carbon emissions of its operations, as Crain’s Grand Rapids Business previously reported.

Trinity Health also is a gas customer of DTE Energy and an electricity customer of Consumers Energy. During high demand summer months, the CHP plant should meet about 55% of Trinity Health Grand Rapids’ electric needs, and about 90% during winter months when demand is lower, according to Zach McIntosh, director of plant operations at Trinity Health Grand Rapids.

The $18 million project is being constructed on Trinity Health Grand Rapids’ Loretto building, and has qualified for $4 million in incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act as well as a $1 million rebate from Consumers Energy.

DHEngineering is the designer and Granger is leading construction on the project. The two-year project is expected to be done by the end of 2026.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls CHP plants a “superior energy resource” for hospitals for their ability to re-

duce costs and provide continuous energy even in the event of electric grid outages. More than 200 hospitals across the country, including four in Michigan, have installed CHP systems, according to the Department of Energy.

However, some health systems have raised concerns about powering hospitals with natural gas.

Detroit-based Henry Ford Health plans to build what would be just the second all-electric hospital in the country. The $235 million, four-story “Central Energy Hub” will use an electric-powered water pump system to provide heating and cooling to three buildings, including a 1.2 million-square-foot hospital tower under development, Crain’s Detroit Business reported last year.

Health system officials behind the project raised concerns about the continued use of natural gas to power operations.

“Natural gas has been shown to contribute to pollution and asthma, so by limiting and eventually eliminating the need for natural gas in the new hospital facilities, Henry Ford Health will make a positive impact on the environment as well as set an example for other health systems looking to make an impact in sustainability,” Henry Ford Health said in a prior statement.

Electric transmission owner sells minority interest for $2.8 billion

By Andy Balaskovitz

The owner of more than 900 miles of electric transmission lines in Southwest Michigan has sold a minority interest in its utility for $2.82 billion, the proceeds of which will help fund grid upgrades as power demand grows from manufacturing and “digitalization.”

Executives with Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power announced Jan. 9 the sale of a 19.9% non-controlling equity interest in two transmission subsidiaries to a consortium involving global investment firm KKR and the Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board, one of Canada’s largest pension investors.

The deal involved AEP’s Ohio and Indiana Michigan transmission subsidiaries. AEP Indiana Michigan Transmission Co. owns 934 circuit miles of transmission lines and 5,423 circuit miles of electric distribution lines in Southwest Michigan, according to a company presentation in November 2024.

Proceeds from the sale will support AEP’s five-year, $58 billion capital plan and “eliminate a significant portion of forecasted equity needs” through 2029, ac-

cording to a company presentation on the deal.

The capital plan calls for nearly $2.2 billion in grid upgrades in the transmission utility’s service territory in northeastern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.

The company is leading 10 transmission construction and improvement projects across Southwest Michigan, including in Benton Harbor, New Buffalo and Hartford. AEP is the largest transmission provider in the U.S. with more than 40,000 line miles across 11 states.

“We are delighted to form this partnership with AEP to support its ambitious growth plan to build much needed transmission infrastructure in a region that is undergoing significant tailwinds from digitalization and reshoring of critical manufacturing,” Michael Rosenfeld, PSP Investments’ managing director of infrastructure investments, said in a statement on the deal.

The deal comes amid major manufacturing and data center investments across AEP’s service territories in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Utility officials in Michigan have cited manufacturing growth as a key driver of new power demand, while tech giants

are pursuing tens of billions of dollars in data center investments in Ohio and Indiana.

In Michigan, energy regulators expect both generation and transmission investments to support an anticipated buildout of hyper-scale data centers, but have warned about overbuilding such infrastructure to protect utility ratepayers from rising costs, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business recently reported.

The deal with KKR and PSP Investments “allows AEP to efficiently finance a growing segment of our business and enhances our ability to serve growing customer demand and provide reliable service to our customers,” AEP President and CEO Bill Fehrman said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025, pending approval from federal regulators and clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. AEP would maintain majority ownership and continue as the owner and operator of the transmission assets.

Moelis and Morgan Stanley served as financial advisers and Simpson Thacher served as legal adviser to KKR and PSP Investments.

DTE Energy’s Lapeer solar project. | DTE ENERGY CO.

Consumers, DTE land $14 billion in federal loan guarantees

By Andy Balaskovitz

Michigan’s two largest investor-owned utilities have received more than $14 billion in conditional loan guarantees from the Biden administration to invest in renewable energy, battery storage and natural gas modernization projects.

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy will receive most of the total $22.92 billion in loan financing announced Jan. 16 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office for eight utilities serving millions of customers across the country.

The loans, which provide more favorable interest rates for utilities compared to the commercial market, will support both Consumers’ and DTE’s electric and gas operations. DOE officials say savings from the lower-cost financing would be passed on to ratepayers.

The $5.23 billion for Jackson-based Consumers, which applied for the loan in December 2023, will support proposed investments through 2031 in solar, wind and battery storage projects as well as replacing 1,000 miles of legacy gas pipelines.

“Consumers Energy is making investments to strengthen Michigan’s electric grid and provide reliable, affordable and clean electric and natural gas service to our state’s residents. The conditional commitment from the Department of Energy, if completed, could lower costs for the customers we serve through lower-interest federal loans,” the utility said in a statement.

Detroit-based DTE’s electric utility was selected for a $7.17 billion conditional loan to “help finance significant generation and battery storage,” including a $460 million battery-storage project at its former Trenton Channel coal plant. DTE’s gas utility will use the $1.64 billion loan to accelerate upgrades to gas main and distribution lines and to move gas meters outdoors.

“These loan guarantees could lower financing costs for future gas and electric projects, which we would pass on to customers in support of our mission to provide safe, affordable and cleaner ener-

gy to millions of Michiganders,” DTE spokesperson Dan Miner said in a statement.

The batch of conditional loans could mark the Biden administration’s last attempt to push out funding from the Inflation Reduction Act before President-elect Trump took office Jan. 20.

As well, questions remain about whether the conditional loans would be finalized after Trump takes office. A DOE official reportedly said that conditional loans are a binding agreement and the conditional commitment means funds are obligated.

“The Department of Energy is suggesting that it’s certain and that it’s a binding agreement,” said Consumers spokesperson Brian Wheeler. “There are still procedural steps to go through, and we’ll work with the new administration as far as working to finalize the offer.”

Since Trump’s election in November, the DOE’s Loan Programs Office has come under fire from some GOP members of Congress who want to scale back the office and claim it puts public money at risk. The Loan Programs Office under Biden issued nearly $55 billion in loans across 32 deals, and more recently rushed to finalize loans before Trump took office, Canary Media reported. However, the office’s future role remains unclear, as Republicans could tailor it to support their favored sources of energy, such as nuclear or fossil fuels. A report last year from Politico also found Loan Programs Office-backed projects are mostly in Republican districts.

As of Dec. 31, 2024, the Loan Programs Office had issued $69 billion in loans and loan guarantees and $41.2 billion in loan commitments, with $40.5 billion dispersed, according to the department. Recipients had repaid $20.8 billion in principal and interest. The office said its actual and estimated losses totaled $1.03 billion since it was created in 2005.

In Michigan, the Loan Programs Office has finalized nearly $4.5 billion in loans, including $1.5 billion to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Southwest Michigan and $2.5 billion for Ultium Cell LLC’s battery plant outside Lansing.

JANUARY 27, 2025 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 15

BAKERY From Page 1

The Benedicts say they have no plans to transform either the bakery or the retail properties.

“We’re not here to change what the people already love about Schnitz Bakery,” Derek Benedict told Crain’s. “We’re just looking to build it and introduce some new ideas and make it even better and bigger.”

The shift comes as Brian DeVries, the former owner of the bakery, retires. DeVries’ partner in the bakery, Ron Merton, will stay on as the master baker.

DeVries built up Schnitz Bakery to supply his delis at the time — Schnitz Deli and Ada Deli — with consistent, handmade and fresh bread. DeVries owned the bakery for 25 years. He sold Schnitz Deli, located nearby at 1315 E. Fulton St., two and half years ago to Dan Rios after 25 years of ownership.

DeVries and affiliated entities sold the five retail properties to the affiliate of Third Coast Development, where Derek Benedict’s brother Max Benedict serves as a principal.

“This block has a unique historic charm, characterized by its brick, single-story facade,” said Max Benedict. “I don’t see it ever being a redevelopment project for a mixed-use development with apartments on top or anything like that. However, I do believe there are opportunities along the Fulton Avenue corridor. There are some underutilized buildings and spaces where, if we could be involved, we’d love to contribute.”

WAGES From Page 3

rations manager at Herrygers Farms near Hart in Oceana County.

Herrygers Farms has employed H-2A workers since 2016. The farm usually hires about 70 migrant workers in the spring to harvest asparagus and in the fall to harvest apples at the 1,000-acre farm.

Herrygers noted that the wage has increased 51% since his farm began using the program.

“During that time, our sales prices have been stagnant or declined due to foreign market pressure from cheap imports,” he said.

Herrygers noted that his farm last year paid $400,000 more for the same amount of hourly labor compared to eight years ago.

“It’s still too high,” Jamie Clover Adams, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Association, said of the federal wage mandates, noting that farmers currently pay around $30 an hour overall for H2-A labor after accounting for transportation, housing and administrative costs for the program.

Clover Adams formerly served as director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“If we didn’t get the (wage) freeze and if it had gone up, I think that would have put the nail in the coffin for some folks,” she said. “At least this buys us a little more time.”

The four retail properties along Fulton Street that were also acquired, in addition to the bakery property, currently house Grand Rapids Bicycle Co., Schnitz Deli and Common Ground coffee shop. | ANDY BALASKOVITZ, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS

The Grand Rapids-based Third Coast put in an offer eight months ago for the five properties. They include the roughly 1,200-squarefoot bakery at 1305 E. Fulton St.; 1311 Fulton, which includes Grand Rapids Bicycle Co.; and 1315, 1317 and 1319 Fulton that span Schnitz Deli and Common Ground coffee shop.

Third Coast acquired the retail properties for $1.5 million and the bakery operations for $250,000, Max Benedict said, before transferring ownership.

Doing business as SBC Acquisition LLC, Derek and Lindsay Benedict own an 80% stake in the bakery, while Third Coast holds a 20% stake. As co-owners, Derek Benedict will operate as the president and Lindsay will cover community relations. “(The Benedicts) would like to make it a bigger and more pros-

perous place,” DeVries said of the Schnitz Bakery deal. “I think they have all the tools to be able to do that.”

Attorney Dan Parmeter from Rhoades McKee PC served as legal adviser for Derek and Lindsay Benedict. Adam Petrick and Marcel Burgler of Prime Development Co. served as the broker on the seller’s side. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bloodlines Both Derek and Lindsay Benedict are the grandchildren of entrepreneurs at companies that grew into household names.

Derek Benedict, who grew up in Grand Rapids, is the grandson of Charlie Tyke, who was the designer and founding partner of Little Tikes toys, though family members say he is unfairly uncredited

for his role in starting the company in the late 1960s. The Hudson, Ohio-based Little Tikes has grown into a multinational toy producer, famous for its Cozy Coupe Car and Easy Score Basketball Set. Tyke also designed pioneering wayfinding signs through a company he founded that later became known as 2/90 Sign Systems, which continues to operate south of Grand Rapids.

Most recently, Derek Benedict ran 2/90 Sign Systems’ factory for 14 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Derek Benedict took a step back from the business to raise his three daughters. Schnitz Bakery became an opportunity to enter into an ownership role and lead operations, he said.

For Lindsay Benedict, taking over Schnitz Bakery is something of a full-circle moment. Lindsay Benedict is the grandchild of Wes Devon, who is credited with inventing frozen garlic bread while an employee at Cole’s Quality Foods Inc. Devon went on to acquire the Muskegon-based company in 1979.

Cole’s was acquired by Canada-based garlic bread maker Furlani Foods in December 2024, as the opportunity to buy Schnitz Bakery fell into their laps, said Lindsay Benedict, who also previously worked at Cole’s for 10 years.

“For me, it’s emotional. I grew up in baking … . I think my granddad would be proud, and it’s almost like history repeating itself,” she said. “There’s nobody better suited to do what we’re doing than us. I think that fast forward a few years, we’re going to make this

Why did wages drop?

Zachariah Rutledge, an assistant professor at Michigan State University and a campus-based extension specialist in the school’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, remains uncertain what caused the wage to decrease this year, pointing out that “nobody really knows how the numbers are calculated.”

Rutledge currently is researching the link between U.S. farm labor issues and the resilience of the U.S. agricultural supply chain.

“It could just be that the demand in the local region is tapering off as wages get higher,” he said. “It’s really hard to say. Nobody really knows why it’s gone down this year.”

According to a report by Michigan Farm News citing U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services data, while labor positions certified for the use of H-2A visas grew during the 2024 fiscal year, Michigan recorded a drop of 79 positions from the prior year.

The state ranked sixth for use of the H-2A program nationwide.

Last year, 16 states reduced their use of the H-2A program, including Florida, California and Michigan, three of the top 10 states using migrant farm labor.

Herrygers anticipates more farms will shift away from hand-harvested crops in the coming years, noting that “staggering labor costs will cripple the specialty crop industry in the state and

16 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | January 27, 2025

Migrant worker wages have increased 51% since 2016, when Herrygers Farms began employing them. | ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

hold hostage any plans for growth.”

2025 will “one of the first” years that apple grower Joe Rasch Orchards near Sparta will forgo planting new trees, said Katie Vargas, the farm’s business manager.

“We couldn’t budget in that expense and we are struggling to figure out which varieties will provide enough of a return to cover our costs,” she said.

Joe Rasch Orchards has focused on tracking its costs and returns by orchard section and variety. “(We) will need to be prepared to choose which apples we can afford to harvest and which to leave,” said Vargas, noting that with higher costs for production, the orchard is also tightening its quality standards to ensure time and money is not wasted on low-

er-quality apples.

“We always watch our quality closely but even more so now with such high costs of production and labor,” she said.

Farmers contacted for this report say they doubt the wage will continue to hold steady or decline next year, a sentiment Rutledge echoed.

“I’d be very surprised if it went down again next year, but who knows,” he said. “We have a new administration coming in. They may make some changes to the H-2A program.”

Clover Adams also noted that anticipated tariffs on foreign goods pose new concerns for farmers this year.

President Donald Trump has promised tariffs of 25% on Mexi-

thing bigger and better, bring more jobs here and expand.”

The couple has “big hopes and dreams” for Schnitz Bakery, Lindsay Benedict added, noting that Schnitz is at a similar stage and size that Cole’s started at before evolving into a company with $100 million in annual sales.

Schnitz Bakery has seven employees, which the Benedicts plan to increase as demand allows.

Those growth plans could take place over the next 18 months.

DeVries said Schnitz Bakery had “opportunities to do more business, but just didn’t have the bodies to do it.”

Schnitz Bakery does cash-andcarry with Gordon Food Service, which asked for a greater regional supply that DeVries had to turn down — alongside other business opportunities — because the bakery lacked the capacity.

To meet this demand and further Schnitz Bakery’s capabilities, the Benedicts plan to optimize its footprint and increase output.

From there, the owners plan to “double the business” by adding new spaces and expanding its geographic reach.

Aside from the expansion, Derek and Lindsay Benedict hope to build experience for their three daughters by carrying on the traditions of being part of a family owned and operated business.

“What I’m most looking forward to is imprinting on our three young daughters that they, too, can buy and run a business,” Lindsay Benedict said, “and they’ll be better equipped to know how to do that as they grow up.”

can and Canadian imports, and blanket tariffs of 10% to 20% on goods from other countries, according to recent reports.

“I think about my own commodity (asparagus), and I’m thinking maybe a tariff would be a good thing,” Clover Adams said. “But we know that has negative consequences for other parts of agriculture. My growers don’t just grow asparagus, they grow lots of other things, too. It’s kind of a mixed bag.”

Clover Adams last year launched Protect our Produce, a coalition of Michigan agricultural leaders whose goal is to spread awareness of the rising wage rate and its effect on Michigan’s agricultural economy.

Looking forward, Protect our Produce is focusing on bringing the issue to lawmakers’ attention, and forging new relationships with growers in other states who face a similar situation.

Clover Adams anticipates working with the likes of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina to elevate the issue on a national level.

Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota were the only states where the federally mandated wages for migrant farm labor decreased this year. Meanwhile, the wage increased 9.9% in Florida and 9.5% in Georgia.

“There is a groundswell happening,” Clover Adams said. “We can all document people leaving the industry or not replanting, and show that this really is having a negative effect.”

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been clear to M&A attorney Tracy Larsen, co-leader of Honigman LLP’s mergers and acquisitions group and vice-chair of the firm’s corporate department who started to see the market strengthen “a little bit” in the third quarter and pick up further in the final three months of 2024 to end the year strong.

Larsen expects M&A activity in 2025 “to be even higher.”

“It’s going to be a wonderful year” for M&A, said Larsen, who works on middle-market deals nationally and is “very bullish” for 2025.

“The market by all appearances is going to have a very strong 2025,” he said. “I hear from investment bankers around the country — and I have reason to stay close to them on a pretty frequent basis, and everybody seemed to be singing the same tune — that they’re buckling down for a very busy and good 2025.”

The election and President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory put an end to worries about tax changes that could adversely affect the market, Larsen said. Declining interest rates, even with the Federal Reserve now signaling that it expects few-

er cuts in 2025, also will contribute to activity.

PNC Bank expects the Federal Open Market Committee to cut the federal funds rate by a quarter point each in March and June, “and then hold the rate steady in a range between 3.75% and 4% in the second half of this year and into 2026.”

“The current rate structure will accommodate M&A very nicely, and when that improves, and I think everyone thinks it’s going to improve, hold your breath. It’s just going to pour more gas on the fire.

We just have so much (private equity) dry powder sitting on the sidelines; it has to get spent,” Larsen said.

S&P Global estimated the capital private equity firms have on hand to invest totaled $2.61 trillion as of July 2024.

Among private equity firms answering the Citizens Bank survey, 64% expect increased deal flow in 2025, versus 46% for 2024 and 34% in 2023. Nearly three-quarters of responding companies said they were open to buying or selling this year, up from 63% in 2024 and 61% in 2023.

In Michigan, Citizens Bank has noticed “quite a bit more” re-

quests for financing for deals involving private equity firms that are playing a bigger role in transactions for mid-sized companies, Jasey said.

“We expect that private equity is going to play an increasingly important role in M&A as the market activity picks up,” Jasey said. “We know that private equity is sitting on a lot of liquidity and has a lot of money to invest and has been itching to do something with it.”

Respondents to the Citizens Bank survey cited U.S. economic growth, easing inflation, the election, Federal Reserve policy, and regulatory, trade and tariff policies as the top five reasons driving their optimism for 2025.

The Citizens Bank outlook noted that “buyers and sellers are perceived to be on fairly equal footing in the current market, another factor that could reinforce confidence in dealmaking.” Both private equity and midsize companies view the M&A market “as fairly balanced overall,” after a few years of it being a seller’s market.

Max Friar, managing partner

and co-founder at Calder Capital LLC in Grand Rapids, expects more balance in 2025, although the market will still somewhat favor sellers.

“Any seller that goes to market in Q1 or Q2 is going to be hammered with buyer interest. I think that will largely be the same for the latter half of the year, but things should start to tip toe toward equilibrium,” Friar said in an email to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “It will not get to equilibrium and will remain a seller’s market in 2025 for quality businesses.”

Friar agrees with the Citizens Bank outlook for a stronger market this year, driven in part by pent-up demand. He cites an International Business Brokers Association report that shows through the third quarter of last year, 38% of lower middle market sellers and 48% of “Main Street” business owners seeking to sell planned to put off decisions until after the November election.

Among buyers, 35% of owners for Main Street businesses and 28% in the lower middle market had the same “election jitters,” according to the IBBA. Calder Capital has been noticing an uptick in activity from both sellers and buyers, Friar said.

“Activity will be stronger this year. Clearly, as the evidence shows, there is pent-up desire on both sides. The rubber band has to snap back,” he said.

Even with increased seller moves to the market, Friar believes buyers will still outnumber sellers.

“The issue is timing, and I think buyers are going to suffer for the first half of 2025,” he wrote. “Historically, May to October are hot sell-side engagement months. I believe we will see an uptick in Q1 this year versus past years, but it will not meet buyer demand.”

en times since then, and then, to my surprise and confusion, I got a letter from their attorneys and they’re pressing suit.

“I’ve always approached them in good faith. I thought they were approaching in good faith.”

Ross noted that the high failure rate of restaurants made working with a CDFI an advantage for the company when it was starting out, giving Forty Acres the ability to work with its lender.

Northern Initiatives President and CEO Elissa Sangalli, who formerly led Grand Rapids-based Local First, did not respond to requests to comment for this report, but a spokesperson emailed Crain’s Grand Rapids Business a statement from the organization.

“Northern Initiatives provides loans and business services to Michigan entrepreneurs and small business owners who add jobs and help their communities thrive. We are saddened that we have reached the point of needing to take legal action, because our goal is always to see small business owners succeed. As we continue conversations with the management at Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, our hope is to find a sustainable path forward for the business,” the CDFI said in a state-

“As we continue conversations with the management at Forty Acres Soul Kitchen, our hope is to find a sustainable path forward for the business.”

the case.

Ross hopes to convince Northern Initiatives to rescind the lawsuit and keep Forty Acres in business, but he worries for the future of the restaurant.

“We’ve lasted seven years, and we intend to be around for many more, but the reality of it is, if Northern Initiatives sticks by this demand, we’re not liquid enough to satisfy this without closing our doors permanently,” he said, noting the business lacks the “$150,000 to satisfy the claim.”

In 2018, Ross and Williams opened Forty Acres, serving classic soul food alongside a full cocktail and cognac menu.

Forty Acres drew its name from

the U.S. government’s promise of 40 acres and a mule to formerly enslaved African Americans following the Civil War as a form of reparation.

The restaurant opened as a celebration of Black America, the founders said at the time.

“I think the community is better off with Forty Acres in it, and I think the community is better off with nonprofit lenders, quite honestly,” said Ross, who’s also a co-owner of Noxx Cannabis. “(I) really hope that we can continue to work this out in good faith, and that we can come up with a solution that satisfies their financial desires and (Forty Acres’) ability to exist.”

From Page 1

it,” Yasmeen Jasey, Michigan Market president for Citizens Bank, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

“Right now, everything seems to be pointing in the direction of improved conditions overall from an M&A perspective,” Jasey said. “It’s just a shift in several different areas that’s going to lead to more activity in this space, whether it’s PE or larger mid-sized companies looking to acquire, but also the sentiment from smaller (businesses) is also very strong.”

Of the 400 CEOs, CFOs and private equity professionals the bank polled, 54% said they expect the M&A market to gain strength this year. That’s a five-year high for the annual outlook and compares to 47% going into 2024 and 29% in 2023.

Rising business valuations, fading worries over inflation and increasing economic growth were the most-cited factors driving optimism, according to results of the Citizens Bank survey.

Economic uncertainty, inflation and high interest rates combined in recent months to dampen the M&A market. The uncertainty of the presidential election also contributed to curtailing activity last year.

The survey determined that the M&A environment has been improving now that the election is in the past, inflation is better, and interest rates are coming down with three cuts since September.

“Headwinds and uncertainties from the last several years have receded, and valuations are expected to be stable or higher,” according to the Citizens Bank outlook.

‘A wonderful year’ The market improvement has

DISPUTE From Page 3

because we actually went to Northern Initiatives with an offer to repay them.”

Last spring, Forty Acres offered $43,000 to repay the loan in full “which we thought was very consistent with their charter and mission as a CDFI,” Ross said.

He said Northern Initiatives refused the offer, and informed him that it also required an additional $107,000 in fees and interest, which it was unwilling to negotiate.

“After a couple years of paying interest only and so forth, we wanted to work with them in good faith to pay them and make sure they were whole,” Ross said. “From our standpoint, our goal has always been to make sure that they were whole.”

At that point, Ross made an agreement with Northern Initiatives to liquidate other assets within the Forty Acres portfolio to satisfy the remaining balance of the loan.

“We were cordial, and I thought everything was good from there,” Ross said. “On different matters, (I’ve) met with them at least a doz-

— Northern Initiatives statement ment.

Northern Initiatives is asking the court for repayment of the debt, as well as interest and attorney fees and “for such other and further relief this Court deems just and appropriate under the circumstances.”

As well, Northern Initiatives is seeking possession of Forty Acres’ assets, including the restaurant’s inventory and Class C liquor license, which were pledged as collateral for the initial loan in 2018.

The case was assigned to Kent County Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson.

Traverse City-based Pezzetti, Vermetten & Popovits P.C. is representing Northern Initiatives in

Top 5 reasons

January 27, 2025 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 17

DEVELOPER From Page 1

Grand Action 2.0 hopes to announce a developer or developers for the site by late winter or early spring.

Under the terms of the $252 million Transformational Brownfield Plan incentives package the state approved for Acrisure Amphitheater and Amway Stadium in August 2024, the developer would be able to access up to $137.5 million in financial incentives for the amphitheater housing project.

“As the amphitheater begins to take shape and is serving as that catalytic project on the riverfront, and there are plans in place to get the riverfront improvements in place, it’s now time for us to identify a private developer to deliver on the added density and completion of the 201 Market site,” Wood said. “With the incentives in place and the public approvals, we believe that we’re positioned well to attract development interest, and so that’s what we’re interested in doing now, is advancing the plans to build out the remainder of the site based on the development potential that it has.”

Per the RFI, respondents should have a development plan that would complement the riverfront amphitheater while fulfilling the vision spelled out in the TBP. That includes a 21-story mixed-use building with 475 rental apartments and 3,660 square feet of ground floor retail and a parking deck.

“We’re looking for development partners willing to construct something consistent with that development approval,”

BIRD FLU From Page 3

symptoms such as sudden death, coughing, sneezing and declined egg production.

While the virus is able to decimate entire flocks of birds in a matter of days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has deemed HPAI a low risk to public health.

Boring said his “top concern” surrounding the virus is its potential “to change in a way that impacts human health,” noting the importance of isolating commercial flocks from wild birds, pasteurization, hand washing and disinfecting equipment that comes into contact with birds.

Nancy Barr, executive director of Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, noted that the death of so many birds has far-reaching effects, both to farmers who suffer the loss of their flocks and food processors that experience a shortened supply of birds.

“It can take three to six months before a turkey farmer is ready to have a product to sell (after the death of a flock),” Barr said.

“There’s a lot of loss in production during that time. … It has a lot of domino effects.”

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Grand Action 2.0 is soliciting developer interest for a mixed-use housing project near Acrisure Amphitheater. | GRAND ACTION 2.0

Wood said. “Housing is part of that, and has always been part of the development potential on that site, so absolutely, density and housing are a priority.”

The site includes five available parcels. Grand Action 2.0 plans to give priority to proposals that commit to developing all of them, per the RFI. Wood said Grand Action 2.0 could opt to work with multiple developers, but wanted to solicit interest “holistically” to gauge the appetite for developing the entire property.

Two of the parcels near the railroad tracks are owned by the city of Grand Rapids, which has a truck garage currently on the site but plans to vacate it in the third quarter of 2025.

The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) is in the process of exercising an option agreement to acquire those parcels. They would require remediation to remove historic contamination, per a restrictive covenant with the Michigan Department of Environment,

(APHIS) provides indemnity for the euthanasia of birds, their disposal and the disinfection of an infected barn or farm, but does not cover the cost of the birds lost or the replacement of birds.

Biosecurity audit Per a Dec. 30 update to the APHIS indemnity program, farmers are now required to undergo a biosecurity audit before restocking their poultry following the detection of HPAI, and before receiving future indemnity payments.

Michigan is still feeling the effects of last year’s HPAI outbreak, which Barr said is contributing to the currently high egg prices caused by the loss of millions of hens due to the virus.

“This virus is what’s primarily impacting egg prices right now,” she said, noting that the outbreak last year was “a big hit to the supply.”

In 2024, egg prices increased 37% on a year-over-year basis, from an average of $2.14 per dozen in November 2023 to $3.65 per dozen in November 2024, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Prices in Michigan were further affected by laws that took effect Jan. 1 that required all egg laying hens to be kept in cage-free environments, as Crain’s Grand Rap-

18 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | January 27, 2025

Great Lakes and Energy included with the RFI documents.

Kate Berens, deputy city manager, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business the city is still working out details of those parcel boundaries and the option price, but is eager to sell it to facilitate quicker development.

“We think it is a good idea to have a single entity that is pursuing housing development,” she said. “Hopefully, it also signals to the development community we’re serious about it, and it’ll be more streamlined … in that they just need to work with one owner instead of two owners.”

Grand Action 2.0 noted affordable housing may be constructed on-site as part of this development proposal, or the developer could make a donation to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund in lieu of incorporating affordable housing in the project, according to the terms of an agreement with the city.

The RFI also includes the potential to more than double the capacity of the parking ramp under construction south of the am-

ids Business previously reported.

“There will be a delay in the supply until repopulation can happen across the board,” Barr said. “Lord willing, we don’t have any additional flocks affected (by HPAI), the prices will come down by next year, but I don’t have a crystal ball.”

MDARD’s Boring noted that price increases as a result of the avian flu both in Michigan and across the country pose a real concern.

“We’ll see exactly how that gets borne out in the weeks and months to come, and what the true extent of what the current surge looks like,” he said. “I would say that some of those impacts might be mitigated if we see tailing off here in the number of positive cases across the country. But if we continue to see the current expansion of the disease in a lot of different regions of the country, price impacts might very well be something we see here in Michigan.”

According to the CDC, HPAI has caused the death of more than 133 million wild aquatic birds and commercial and backyard poultry in the U.S. since January 2022.

Prior to this ongoing outbreak, HPAI had last been detected in Michigan in May. At the time, more than 6.5 mil-

phitheater. The ramp is being constructed to accommodate future expansion.

Developers were asked to include details about how their project adds “appropriate scale urban density” compatible with the downtown surroundings and a plan for phasing the development of the parcels, according to the RFI. Grand Action 2.0 also expects the development plans to provide green space consistent with the anticipated river’s edge improvements, including a designated landing area on the east bank for a future pedestrian bridge over the Grand River and easements for existing underground utilities.

The proposed pedestrian bridge would connect Williams Street on the east side of the river to Front Avenue on the west side of the river.

Wood said the CAA and Grand Action 2.0 have not yet worked out details for whether the CAA would retain ownership of the land and the apartment tower or transfer it to the property developer.

According to the approved Transformational Brownfield Plan, the amphitheater apartments project is expected to require an investment of nearly $219 million.

Construction on the apartments was initially expected to begin this summer and wrap up by 2027, but Wood said that timeline likely will need to be extended to allow additional time for the design and development process.

“It’s exciting to be able to embark on finding a partner to deliver on the added density and development of the site to complement the amphitheater and riverfront improvements that are well underway,” Wood said.

lion of the state’s 15 million egg-laying hens died either as a result of the virus or euthanasia to prevent suffering and mitigate the spread of the avian flu.

As well, the flu moved from birds to cattle for the first time in 16 states in 2024. So far, 29 Michigan herds have been affected by the virus, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

While the strain of HPAI that decimated millions of Michigan hens last year was associated with dairy cattle, this winter the bird flu has originated from wild birds.

“This is sort of more typical of what we tend to expect,” Barr said. “When the wild bird migration happens, there can be spillover, and right now they happen to be carrying a pretty hot viral strain.”

State and industry officials are hoping the USDA provides a vaccination to protect birds from the virus given that biosecurity measures, while helpful, aren’t 100% effective in preventing HPAI. “This is a time that the poultry industry specifically is looking at how we take some long-term steps to mitigate the impacts of this disease and ensure that we do have some greater predictability around what long-term viability and success of the industry is,” Boring said. “I have no doubt we’ll get there.”

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