Women’s Health Center gains in height, Mid Towne Village set for construction  Karen Gentry, MiBizWest , January 23, 2006

The Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved a taller 85-foot structure for the Women’s Health Center — one of the first buildings that will be constructed as part of the Mid Towne Village development.

Developers increased plans for the size of the building from 55 to 85 feet so that it can include five levels of parking and three levels of medical office buildings. Construction of the $25 million health center will begin this spring — the first facility of its kind in the region to have a village-type feel. The Women’s Health Center and five other buildings will make up Mid Towne Village located along Michigan Street just south of I-196.

The health center will be a place for everything catering to women, from plastic surgery, physiotherapy, psychiatric help and mammograms to a day spa and pharmacy, according to Greg Petroelje, project manager for Pinnacle Construction Inc., one of the building owners.

“It’s a pretty exciting project. It goes hand-in-hand with the rest of what’s going on in the Michigan corridor there, ” Petroelje told MiBiz.

Three OB-GYN groups and one infertility specialist are collectively working with Pinnacle Construction and will be one of the main tenants on one of three floors of medical offices.

The 100,000-square-foot Women’s Health Center will incorporate 15,000 square feet of retail and additional medical space in the front third of all the parking levels. Keystone Pharmacy already has agreed to open for business in the new center.

“We have just started public marketing of the building in the last 30 days. We’re already at 55 percent occupancy,” said Petroelje on Jan. 9. The “very feminine looking” building will be made of masonry and glass.

Suzanne Schulz, acting planning director with the city of Grand Rapids noted that the Women’s Health Center project will include the first privately developed parking ramp on the fringe of downtown.  

“It’s a testament to how everything’s expanding,” said Schulz about the ballooning of traditional downtown boundaries.

Once the ground softens this spring, construction will begin on the health center as well as another mixed-use, 30,000-square-foot facility as part of Mid Towne Village, according to Brad Rosely, vice president of S.J. Wisinski & Co., Mid Towne developers.

That building will house doctors and professional offices above first floor retail as well as two locally owned restaurants, a bank and financial consultant. Cornerstone Architecture is also designing residential brownstones that will be part of the development. Rosely said preliminary plans call for seven high-end brownstones with two to three units apiece.

S.J. Wisinski started acquiring property three years ago on Michigan Street and beyond for the Mid Towne Village project. Forty-eight homes have been torn down, paving the way for the $45 million development. Pinnacle Construction is building the Women’s Health Center and Pioneer Construction is constructing the rest of the buildings.

Although the Michigan Street site currently looks desolate with only a construction trailer located there, once the “steel is up in the air” the project will generate a lot of excitement, Rosely said. The concept for the village is to develop an area where people can live, work, eat and play.

City of Grand Rapids Economic Development Director Susan Shannon commended the new urbanist project for replacing lost housing and adding green space, sidewalks and a restaurant. She said developers had initially planned a couple of tower buildings on the property but changed their minds after meeting with city planning officials.

“They (developers) were very open to suggestions from our planning staff,” Shannon told MiBiz. The city’s master plan calls for incorporating mixed use — first floor retail with offices or housing above — and more pedestrian-friendly developments.

“It’s a big one and good for the city of Grand Rapids, ” said Shannon about the Mid Towne project.

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This article appeared in the 1/23/06 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com