Posted Jul 9, 2014, 2:38 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: London
Posts: 364
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I posted a few articles about these buildings on the last page. It seems that everyone has reached the consensus that the buildings need to be torn down. Also, engineers believe that the inner building cannot be saved if the outer building is taken down; they have become too reliant on each other. Nevertheless, Rockford Construction is a fairly reliable group of developers. The property might sit empty for a little while, but I'm sure it won't be long.
Quote:
Demolition sought for slumping buildings in downtown Grand Rapids
Garret Ellison | July 8, 2014
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Engineers and prospective buyers say there’s no practical way to salvage a pair of slumping downtown buildings along South Division Avenue that city officials placed barricades around earlier this year.
Rockford Construction is seeking permission from the city to demolish both 35 and 41 S. Division Ave., a pair of structurally unsound, century-old commercial buildings that have significantly deteriorated in recent years.
The company, along with a real estate firm owned by Peter Secchia’s family, is under contract to purchase the properties from their longtime owners and hopes to raze both structures to make way for new construction.
The city’s Historic Preservation Commission will hear the application on July 16.
Mike VanGessel, Rockford Construction CEO, said contracted third-party engineers have determined the buildings are too far gone to rehabilitate, and attempting to do so would pose serious safety hazards.
“We really don’t think its wise to put workers in there,” said VanGessel.
Rockford and Secchia’s SIBSCO LLC have a purchase agreement with current building owners Richard and William M. VanGessel, and Jim Heeringa. William M. VanGessel is Mike VanGessel’s cousin.
VanGessel said Rockford and SIBSCO plan to finalize the sale upon approval, if they get it, from the HPC, which must sign-off on the demolition permit application because both structures are within the Heartside Historic District. After that, the city Planning Department would review site plans and zoning.
The lot would be seeded with grass in anticipation of new development, said VanGessel. The companies hope to begin demolition on Aug. 20. There are no plans to convert the lots to surface parking.
“We’re looking to create a project here,” said VanGessel, who believes new construction could benefit the surrounding streetscape.
“We’re doing this as much to help the city and local businesses around us out.”
“We’d like to take care of this as quickly as possible.”
In March, the city blocked the sidewalk in front of both buildings and later installed concrete dividers in the right lane of Division Ave. for pedestrians to get around the structures, located on the southwest corner of Division and Weston Street.
The city issued a notice of repair or demolish on June 13, citing “extensive” violations of the city’s property maintenance and building codes.
Uncertainty around the future of the two buildings and the pending sale forced the closure of Pub 43, a bar located at 43 S. Division, on June 23.
The two buildings, a block south of Fulton Street, have escaped the significant reinvestment around the Heartside district since the mid-1990s, when the Van Andel Arena sparked revitalization of a once-blighted area.
The buildings have been noticeably crooked for years. Officials said the renewed scrutiny was due in part to a lack of regular structural reports that have been requested by city staff since 2004.
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http://www.mlive.com/business/west-m...ldings_ar.html
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