Project
'Ideal' For Med School
By Anne Bond Emrich
GRAND RAPIDS — Developers of the planned Mid Towne Village development
on Michigan Street hill have finalized the purchase of 42 properties
in the project area and are ready to move ahead.
The mixed-use development, which covers a six-acre parcel bounded by
Michigan Street, I-196, Paris Avenue and Union Avenue, will feature
182,000 square feet of retail, office, medical office and residential
space across five buildings.
The first stage of development is set to begin in July and
will involve demolition of about 35 homes. Demolition is
expected to take 30 to
45 days to complete, said Brad Rosely, vice president of S.J. Wisinski & Co.
and a representative for the development group.
Construction of the new buildings could begin as early as
August. Wisinski & Co.
will handle all Mid Towne’s lease agreements.
Rosely recently floated the idea that the Mid Towne location
would be ideal for Michigan State University’s medical
school should MSU decide to move much of its College of Human
Medicine to Grand Rapids,
as has been proposed.
He believes it’s “ideal” because of the Mid Towne
project’s close proximity to Spectrum Health, GVSU’s Cook-DeVos
Center for Health Sciences, the Van Andel Institute and Saint Mary’s
Mercy Medical Center.
But Rosely said neither he nor the developers, Mid Towne Village LLC,
have approached MSU about that possibility as yet.
In a draft financial analysis released last month, MSU estimated the
capital building cost of the medical school at between $45 million
and $75 million.
According to the university, the numbers are based on rough estimates
and no detailed facility plan has been completed to date.
As stated in the analysis, MSU expects to rent space in fiscal 2004
and fiscal 2005, but build a permanent home for the medical school
and have it occupied no later than the arrival of students in Grand
Rapids, which is projected to occur in fiscal 2007.
The Mid Towne project will start with Building D, a 25,000-square-foot,
three-story building that will offer a mix of retail, office residential
and “live-work” space.
Building A, a 60,000-square-foot, three-story building, will be positioned
directly behind Building D and will be devoted to medical offices,
with some retail space planned for the first floor.
After Buildings A and D are completed, construction will commence on
Buildings F, C and B, in that order, Rosely said.
Brownstones and townhouses are planned for the two-story, 20,600-square-foot
Building F on the east end of the site.
Building C, to be located in the center of the campus, will have three
floors and 29,000 square feet of space for retail, office, live-work
and residential tenants.
A four-story, 48,000-square-foot Building B on the north side of the
campus will offer medical office space on the top three floors and
a combination of retail and office space on the first.
Lease rates are listed at $18.95 per square foot for buildings A and
B, and at $15.95 per square foot for buildings C and D.
“ If it goes like it looks like it’s going to go, they might go up
quicker than anticipated. It will be a lease-in-progress type of situation,” Rosely
said.
Cornerstone Architects designed the buildings and Pioneer
Construction is the general contractor. Other partners on
the Mid Towne project
are Van Tol, Magennis & Lang Inc., Driesenga & Associates Inc.
and National City Bank. BJX
GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL EXPRESS
549 Ottawa Ave. NW Suite 201
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503-1444
