[dtsd]

Please note I was disputing the claim that $1 billion dollars is considered a boom in any downtown. I’m not interested in getting into a semantical debate; obviously Grand Rapids is a smaller city. I will say that it’s disappointing that even with $1B, there are only a couple towers that are changing the skyline in a meaningful way.

Obviously a boom can impact any sector; the reason for the emphasis on residential is two fold: 1) the secret to a downtown that’s vibrant day and night is having people living there, and 2) the residential boom is what GR’s urban developers largely missed.

Urban developers all over have taken full advantage of two trends in recent years: 1) the return to the urban core, and 2) the national real estate boom. Yet GR’s timid developers seem to have missed the boat. If they rode the convergence of these two trends from the beginning (as others did), Grand Rapids could have easily put up several additional condo towers.