Mid Towne Village

Friday, June 25, 2004 By Jim Harger

Wrecking crews will start knocking down houses along Michigan Street NE this summer after Grand Rapids city planners approved the first phase of the $30 million Mid Towne Village project Thursday.

By a 4-2 vote, the city's Planning Commission gave developers permission to demolish two houses along Michigan Street west of Dudley Place NE and another house at 408 Paris Avenue NE.

The three houses will be replaced by a building that will house a restaurant, offices and perhaps apartments, said Tom Nemitz, the project's architect.

Eventually, the project will include five new commercial, office and residential buildings and a neighborhood pocket park in a three-block area along Union, Dudley and Paris avenues north of Michigan Street.

Nemitz said the project developers gained control of 42 of the 43 properties they wanted to acquire for the $30 million complex.

Nemitz said they would seek approval to demolish more of the vacant houses as their plans progress. He said they hoped to start construction as early as September.

Negotiations for a home at Paris Avenue NE and Michigan Street fell through and will not be part of the project, Nemitz said. As a result, the first building in the project will be slightly smaller than originally designed, he said.

Planning commissioners Gabriel Works and Peter Carlberg voted against the project, asking for stronger assurances the project would include housing as well as offices and restaurants.

Works was upset when Nemitz told them their development agreement with the city promised they would include housing "as the market dictates."

" Is that what we said? I'm ashamed of us," Works said. "I think we need to be careful and hold their feet to the fire to make sure they meet the promises."

Nemitz said one of the project's buildings would be devoted almost exclusively to residential uses, while other buildings would be designed to accommodate housing if there is a demand.

The project's first building will include a yet-to-be-named restaurant and eye doctor's office on the ground floor and office space on the second floor, Nemitz said. The third floor could be developed as offices or apartments, he said.