Tag Archives: granger group

Wyoming starts off 2022 with an expansion in manufacturing, new housing development opens

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Local Business, Our Cities, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The start of 2022 has the City of Wyoming seeing growth in both the manufacturing and residential fronts.

Padnos plans to expand into recycling of ocean-bound plastics. (pxhere.com)

Earlier this month, industrial recycling and scrap management company Padnos announced it would expand its operations in the City of Wyoming, creating up to 50 jobs. The company operates a plant at 500 44th St. SW, in Wyoming.

The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $6.6 million. It i supported by a $250,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant, according to a press release from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with focus on Michigan’s economy. Also supporting the project is The Right Place, which has offered staff time and resources for the project.

 

“Padnos is proud to further our investment in the community while increasing our process capabilities to meet market demands. We are seeing an increase in demand for recycled material and we are committed to working with our partners to get these materials back into new products and keeping them out of our landfills and oceans,” said Jonathan Padnos President and CEO Jonathan Padnos in a written release.

 

Padnos, founded in 1905 in the City of Holland, has been transforming scrap into reusable resources for more than 100 years. The company recycles metals, paper, plastics, and electronics and currently has more than 725 team members in facilities located in Michigan and Indiana.

 

The expansion at the Wyoming facility will focus on the company’s effort to increase its capabilities into recycling ocean-bound plastics. Padnos will add new loading docks, a laboratory, and a maintenance garage to the Wyoming facility. It will also invest in electrical and infrastructure upgrades.

 

The project will bring immediate jobs to residents in the area and cement the 100-year-old company’s presence in Michigan. Padnos is committed to work with underserved communities and provides training to individuals returning from incarceration, providing them with the skills needed to be successful in the workforce.

For information on careers with PADNOS, visit https://padnos.com/theres-a-great-future-in-sustainablity/. 

Meeting the housing deficit

Orion Construction plans to complete The Reserve Flats project by the fall of this year. (supplied)

Construction continues in the City of Wyoming with The Granger Group announcing it has welcomed its first tenets to the multifamily development, The Reserve Flats.

 

Located on Wilson Avenue, half-mile north of M-6, the 138-unit community is being built by Grand Rapids-based contractor Orion Constriction and features 26 condo-style apartments ranging from three- to eight-unit buildings. Spread over 22 acres, the project is being constructed in three phases, the first phase delivering 15 units with two- and three-bedroom floor plans.

“Granger is focused on building strong, vibrant communities and The Reserve is another example of the level of quality we expect to deliver in the communities we invest in together,” said Jason Granger, who oversees strategic investment initiatives for Granger, in a written release.

 

While referencing Kent County’s 2021 study that projects a nearly 9,000-unit deficit to be filled by 2025, Granger said, “We set out to build a development that provides quality housing options for the City of Wyoming while also serving a greater Grand Rapids area that desperately needs additional housing now more than ever.”

Units at The Flats range from 1,400 to 1,700 square feet. Each unit has a two-car attached garage along with a dedicated driveway and a covered porch at the main entrance.

 

Orion Construction broke ground on the projects first phase in August 2021. The company has seven buildings and 32 units enclosed as they continue to work through the winter elements. The project is scheduled to be completed by fall of this year. 

Granger Group moves toward adding finishing pieces in Metro Health Village

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, , , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org


CEO Gray Granger jokingly admits that his company, The Granger Group, is kind of getting evicted from its current location at 2221 Health Dr. SW.

“[Metro Health-University of Michigan Health] is expanding and growing so much that they really just need this space,” Granger said of his company’s current home during a recent interview. “It is really exciting to see that and to see the hospital continuing to grow and meeting the needs of the residents.”

It is an exciting time at the Metro Health Village, which has been rebranded to The Village, according to Granger. If you have driven by the site located near the corner of 54th Street and Byron Center Avenue, you can not help but notice all the work that has been taking place there. 

Site plan for the Village Life Marketplace. The Village Market Place is located on the corner of Byron Center Avenue and Health Drive. (Supplied)

The Granger Group is currently constructing the Village Life Marketplace, located on the northwest corner of Health Drive and Byron Center Avenue, across from the current structure that contains the Starbucks, Posh Nails, and Marcos Pizza. 

“We are very focused on health and wellness,” Granger said. “Everything ties together here. There are open site lines. People can see where they want to go to. They know that can get from one point to another point in the village without getting into a car.”

One of the goals of The Granger Group has been to create a sustainable and walkable community, Granger said. The marketplace is about half of the 190-acre Village, totaling 80 acres. Being that Metro Health is the center point to the entire Village, Granger said the company wanted to incorporate as much healthy lifestyle options as possible. 

“What we are going to see is just a lot of activity that will build on some neat amenities like the village green,” Granger said. “It is just a fun place.”

The Granger Group has built the first two buildings, totaling about 20 square feet of retail. Last summer, the group broke ground on the construction of four more buildings.

The current project includes a two-story, 20,000-square-foot mixed-use building with first-floor retail and second floor office space, which will be the new home of The Granger Group. The project also includes two single-story retail totaling 10,000 square feet. With that, the project will add more housing to Granger’s First & Main, an assisted-living retirement community. This will be a four-story, 65-unit independent living complex that will face toward Health Drive.

The Granger Group is negotiations with several financial services companies and restaurants. (WKTV)

The Granger Group is currently in negotiations with several financial services companies and restaurants with Granger noting they are hoping to have a restaurant facing out on the current waterfall area at the Village.

“I happen to think this is one of the projects that is going to make a major difference within the city we live and its gonna to be a great addition for those who live within the City of Wyoming,” Granger said.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall. It is estimated that the entire Village project is around $2 billion. The project is a partnership between The Granger Group, Metro Health-University of Michigan Health and the City of Wyoming.

Wyoming ‘reimagines’ itself as it begins master plan process

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The City of Wyoming is starting the process for a new master place, called Wyoming [re]Imagined.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

There is an undercurrent of excitement building in the City of Wyoming as new developments get underway within the city.

With that in mind, the city has announced that it has formerly launched a new master plan process, called Wyoming [re]Imagined.

“The City of Wyoming is growing and changing at an accelerated rate, and it’s important that we take the time to develop an updated plan,” said City Planner Nicole Hofert. “Wyoming [re]Imagined will provide the city with a new land use plan, updated housing studies, goals for economic development, and a framework to guide strategic investments over the next 20 years.”

And the city is going to start this process next week with a community workshop set for Thursday, May 2, at the KDL Wyoming Branch, 3350 Michael Ave. SW. The workshop will be from 6 – 8 p.m. 

The first public workshop on the new master plan will be at the KDL Wyoming Branch on May 2 starting at 6 p.m.

Residents, visitors, business owners, and anyone with an interest in the City of Wyoming may attend the workshop. At the event, participants will learn about the process as well as provide insight on local concerns that the master plan should address. According to Assistant City Manager Megan Sall, community leaders believe that resident feedback is critical as they identify important issues, opportunities and projects for the future. 

The city’s current master plan is about 13 years old and was revised about seven years ago in 2012. Since the revision, the city has implemented the first phase of its 28 West project, which included the redevelopment of the Wyoming Village Mall, now called 28 West Place. This project also has brought in a new apartment development.

City leaders and the council approved a new form-based code for the Division Avenue and 28th Street corridors. There also has been several housing developments underway, including the Granger Group’s The Reserve, which broke ground last fall and development continues at The Metro Health Village.

Sall said the city does have some green space. A vision for the city’s future growth and development will help in planning how that green space is used, she said.

“My fellow council members and I are proud to serve this community, and we are excited for what the future holds,” Mayor Jack Poll said. “The master plan will provide a platform to integrate plans from across the City and region, and it will unite us under a common vision and set of goals. It is my sincere hope that all Wyoming residents will lend their voices to this important work.”

The Wyoming City Council contracted with planning firm House Lavigne Associates who will carry out the work on the master plan with city staff.

In addition to the community workshop on May 2, the public engagement process includes the following:

·       Two additional community workshops

·       Pop-up meetings at locations across Wyoming

·       Student/youth workshops

·       Focus groups

·       Interactive website

·       Surveys, including innovative digital mapping tools


For more information visit www.wyomingreimagined.com.

Walkability, healthier lifestyles focus of new development at Metro Health Village

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , , , , ,

Members of the Granger Group and city leaders turn the first soil for the new $3.5 million Village Life Marketplace in the Metro Health Village.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Dan Burrill admitted that at first, he didn’t think he was going to like all this retail and all the traffic.

 

“I love it,” said the Wyoming City councilmember at a recent groundbreaking ceremony for a new shoping center in the Metro Health Village. “I love the closeness of everything. I love being able to go to Family Fare and pick up a gallon of ice cream every time I get the urge to mix myself a smoothie or a sundae.”

 

But mostly, Burrill, who lives in the panhandle area, said he enjoys the walkability of the Metro Health Village community.

 

Walkability has been a key aspect for the development of the Metro Health Village, which is the first LEED certified medical campus in the United States, according to Ryan Granger, project manager for the Wyoming-based Granger Group.

 

Granger Group Project Manager Ryan Granger during the ground breaking ceremony for the new Village Life Marketplace

Granger credits his dad, Gary Ganger, for having the vision 15 years ago to partner with the hospital to create a healthy, walkable community and Master Planner James Sharba, who is with a Granger subsidiary SpaceWerks, for bringing “a creative approach to master planning to the remainder of the development.

 

“The intent is to create walkability so we are going to be creating more dense areas essentially to park more people and then create that walkability approach to couple with the health and wellness of the sustainability approach of the development.”

 

This past Monday, Granger Group broke ground on the first of several new developments over the next 12 months — a new $3.5 million shopping center in the front of the Metro Health Village, near the waterfall entrance off of Health Drive. The center, which faces Byron Center Avenue,  is just south from the Granger Group shopping area that has Starbucks and Great Clips. The general contractor is Caledonia’s FCC Construction, which just completed the ReMax offices located across the street of Byron Center Avenue near Monelli’s. Ann Arbor-based OX Studio is the architect.

 

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The new Village Life Marketplace project, which is expected to take about 10 months to complete, is a mixed use development with 11,000 square feet on both floors. The bottom floor will have several retail tenants that include a national TexMex chain, a sub shop and a place that offers smoothies with the top floor to be the home of the Granger Group corporate offices with an additional 2,500 square feet of available office space.

 

The development is part of the overall concept of offering healthy lifestyle options and creating a sense of community within the Metro Village Health.

 

“As we have seen 2008 bring its struggles with the housing crash and the market crash, what we are seeing now is the emergence of micro markets or micro economies.” Granger said. “RiverTown Crossings is a wonderful place for the big box retailers and we also have Tanger Outlets, but what we have here is a very unique approach.

 

“We are kind of in the middle between Tanger and RiverTown Crossings and what this will bring is an opportunity to bring slightly elevated users maybe retailers or clothiers that are looking for a very niche market.”

 

Granger estimated that Granger Group has about 16 acres in the Metro Health Village to develop, which, according to press matierals, are designed to inspire healthier lifestyles.

 

“We are excited to participate in some living options as well that will bring a closer community feel that once they live on campus here they have all their needs meet with a grocery store, with Starbucks, with all these different needs meet through the partnerships we create through retail options,” Granger said.

56th Street, Wilson Avenue rezoning proposal pulled from Wyoming City Council agenda

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The rezoning request for the proposed Reserve at Rivertown PUD has been pulled from the Nov. 6 meeting.

Per the request of the developer, a proposed rezoning for the 56th Street and Wilson Avenue area has been taken off the Wyoming City Council’s agenda for the upcoming Monday night meeting.

 

The Granger Group had been seeking a rezoning of an an additional 98 acres to a development on Wilson Avenue and 56th Street. The additional acreage would have been combined with an approved 2001 current planned unit development (PUD) for that area bringing the PUD to a total of 211.2 acres.

 

Granger spokesperson David Jackiewicz, with First & Main Corporate, confirmed last week that Granger was requesting the city council postpone the hearing on the rezoning so as “to allow the Planning Commission to review an updated PUD plan we recently submitted…” Jackiewicz confirmed that on Oct. 19, Granger Group did submit an amendment to its original 2001 PUD that would include a mix of condominiums, townhouses, and single family homes.

 

Granger started the rezoning process in August. In that proposal of the 211.2 acres, there would have been zero office space but about 3.57 acres of retail space and 686 total housing units. Those units would be 316 single family lots and 370 apartments with no multi-family housing. The Planning Commission had recommended denial of the rezoning request to the Wyoming City Council, which has the final decision on rezoning.

 

The rezoning request had meet with much opposition from residents currently living in and around the development. At a Sept. 5 City Council meeting, at the Granger Group’s request, the council decided to delay a decision until its Nov. 6 meeting. Company officials stated at the meeting that it was their desire to work through the issues and come up with a plan that would have a mutually satisfying conclusion.

 

Some of the concerns expressed by residents were:

  • decrease value to existing homes
  • density too high in one spot
  • increase traffic along 56th Street
  • violation of current property owners’ rights
  • developer does not need to max out the density on the PUD
  • residents should have input on changes
  • growth assumptions of 1 percent are too low
  • putting a strain on local police and fire services
  • there already are lots of other options for luxury apartments
  • other developments such as The Haven have not open and the full impact of those on school and community resources remain an unknown

 

“It [was] higher right now with M-6, I get that,” said Wyoming resident Jason Gillette, who was discussing the traffic on 56th Street. “Even without that, it is very high traffic in the area. In the evening, I’ll be coming and have to wait 20 minutes…depending on what time you come through.”

 

Gordon VanMeulen, who is with the Wyoming Citizens for Planned Progress, said everyone understands that there will be development in the area, but it needs to be sensible and balance.

 

“The 2020 Land Use Plan and Wilson Corridor Report recommended multi-family housing on the northland as a buffer to the RiverTown Crossing and single family homes on the southend,” VanMeulen said. He stated his group is not in favor of the rezoning because of current issues with the Granger Group’s Rivertown Valley, density and number of multi-family units and the failure to follow the 2020 Land Use Plan and the Wilson Corridor Report.

 

In a staff report presented to city officials, staff said that the proposed rezoning does comply with the 2020 Land Use Plan falling under the 4 units per acre overall density. The proposal called for 3.66 units per acre.

 

“When you buy some property next to some vacant land you should really understand can and might be done there,” said 3rd Ward Council Member Robert Postema at the Sept. 5 City Council meeting. “And when we have a PUD in place that is exactly what has been done. Those homeowners have a right to expect what was going to be built behind them. It was all planned out in the PUD. The exact nature of the building may not have been built as it was but the idea that they would have some condominiums behind them, some open space, and then apartments way up by Wilson that was pretty well established.”

 

Granger Group changes plans after Wyoming planning commission decision, public opposition

3-bottom, City of Wyoming, Hard News, Local Business,

A city map showing area in question in the southeast corner of 56th Street and Wilson Avenue.

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Following a contentious meeting, attended by about 100 persons in opposition to a development plan proposed by the Granger Group for the city’s southwest side, the Wyoming City Planning Commission recommended that the Wyoming City Council deny a rezoning request associated with the development.

 

The vote Tuesday, Aug. 15, was 4-3 with two commissioners absent. The City Council is currently scheduled to take up the issue at its Sept. 5 meeting.

 

The issue may be a moot point, however, as after the meeting, the Granger Group announced it will change its plans in response to community mood.

 

“We respect the neighbors, we respect the City of Wyoming … we thought we had a better plan,” Gary Granger, President and CEO of Granger Group said to WKTV on Thursday, Aug. 17. “The neighbors said ‘No’ and so we have to stick with our original plan.

 

“We have an original PUD (Planned Unit Development) … a clear PUD that was approved in 2000,” he said. “We will go back to that plan. We still have additional land that we will be dealing with in the future.”

 

City Planner Tim Cochran said Thursday that Granger had not yet withdrawn the rezoning proposal.

 

The specific rezoning request, according to the agenda report of the planning commission meeting, was to rezone 98.4 acres from currently approved zoning status to low density planned unit development status. The properties include 66.9 acres zoned estate residential, 9.5 acres of general business, 15.7 of local business and 6.3 of restricted office.

 

The properties, generally located in the southeast corner of 56th Street and Wilson Avenue, are 3928 56th Street, 3952 56th Street, 5700 Wilson Avenue, 5850 Wilson Avenue, 5950 Wilson Avenue, 5972 Wilson Avenue, 5988 Wilson Avenue, 6002 Wilson Avenue, 6010 Wilson Avenue, and 6030 Wilson Avenue.

 

According to a city planning department rezoning synopsis given to the planning commission, the “proposed rezoning area is primarily agricultural fields” and if rezoned would “accommodate a mixed use development. The rezoning covers eleven separate properties. The rezoning would combine these properties with the adjoining Rivertown Valley Planned Unit Development to create a total PUD of 211.2 acres to be rebranded as The Reserve.”

 

According to the city planning department report, there are currently 131 single family lots within a Rivertown Valley development. The Reserve at Rivertown development, if approved, would add 185 additional single family lots, 370 apartments and about 3.5 acres of commercial area.

 

It is the combination of an existing PUD with a proposed PUD — and the possibility of as many as 370 rental apartments being created — which has led local single-family homeowner to oppose Granger’s plans, according to a press release from a citizens group.

 

According to the citizens group’s press release, the residents are concerned about “370 apartments being constructed in their backyards … (being) forced into a home owners association with no disclosure in purchase agreements … the impact that 370 new rental units would have on the local schools (this part of Wyoming the school district is the City of Grandville) … (and) Granger’s plan to use an old traffic study from 2014. We believe that the study is outdated and a new study by the City of Wyoming needs to be conducted.”

 

The community group also said in the press release that it has hired a lawyer, Kevin Keenan of Wheeler Upham, to represent them.

 

First & Main of Metro Health Village: A Groundbreaking Concept that Caters to Seniors

Senior Living, , , , , ,

First and MainBy Victoria Mullen

Getting old can really suck if you’re not in the greatest shape. Aching, stiff joints. Decreased mobility. And moving from one’s beloved, long-time home into a retirement community or assisted living facility isn’t a pleasant thought either. For some, this transition is especially traumatic. My mom’s experience was no different: It’s an understatement to say that she wasn’t too keen on moving to a retirement community.

“I don’t want to live around a bunch of old people,” she repeatedly said. At the time, she was 80 years old, but I knew what she meant. Mom is very young at heart. After months of persuasion, though, she finally acquiesced, and we found a fabulous community for her. Now she wishes that she would have moved there sooner. On the day she moved in, she met the love of her life, and these days she reassures me often with, “It’s never too late to find a man.”

Uh, thanks, but I’m fine. Really.

Granted, people normally don’t transition to a senior community and find their true love; my mother’s experience is the exception. But it serves to illustrate that life is full of surprises and one should approach this huge milestone with an open mind.

Back in 2006, when I was searching for a retirement community suitable for my mother’s needs, First & Main, 5812 Village Drive SW, Wyoming, Mich.–the upscale residential component of Metro Health Village–was still being developed. Gary Granger, president and CEO of Granger Group, had been planning the community since 2003 and this past September 23, the Wyoming senior community welcomed its first resident.

“Care is a very important piece of every assisted living community because that is the foundation of what makes this so necessary,” said Granger in a press release. “We try to do that maybe in a little bit different way. … Even though the average age is in the mid-80s, people still want to feel valued and feel like they are tied into the community. The wellness component of our program is probably going to be the biggest area of emphasis for us, because the two most important things for wellness and health are diet and exercise.”The entryway into a First & Main development is designed to have a community feel and features an open atrium and café bookstore. Courtesy Granger Group

First & Main is a 102-unit senior living community with a 170-resident capacity. It is designed with a marketplace atmosphere that is evocative of a town center. The first two floors provide assisted-living options and the third floor is for memory care.

The 180-acre healthcare village is not only home to the first suburban hospital in the region, it’s an entire community of support services, retail shops, a grocery store, restaurants and more with Metro Health Hospital at its core. There are also an in-house chapel, theater, salon, bistro and patio, fitness center, and a courtyard with a putting green and raised gardens.

I had noticed components of Metro Health Village slowly appearing over the years—doctors’ offices, the Pain Clinic, Metro Health Hospital, and now the most recent addition, the residential community. There’s also Family Fare grocery store, which I thought had been an odd placement, but now it all makes sense.

Every building in Metro Health Village is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, focusing on energy conservation, recycling and storm water management. The village also integrates the natural environment to provide a healthy, calm, healing setting to serve patients, families and neighbors nearby.

First & Main boasts some newfangled technology that makes life easier for its residents. Instead of door keys, residents use digitally encoded, radio-frequency wristbands to unlock their suites. Also featured is interactive engagement software called ‘It’s Never Too Late,’ which can be used for a variety of activities such as trivia games, vintage radio shows, and using Street View to tour a resident’s hometown.

“The wellness program, hospitality and community engagement are part of the goal to support residents’ lifestyles,” according to Granger. “Several of the programs and services offered in the new development will incorporate third-party providers, such as hair stylists in the salon, bringing in health experts for diet and exercise training classes, and yoga and fitness instructors.”

Other amenities include 24-hour staffing, transportation to physician appointments, housekeeping, activities and wellness, chef-prepared meals, apartment and suite maintenance, assistance with digital communication and reminders and assistance to dinner.

First and Main 2Some features may take getting used to, especially for people who are used to being self-sufficient. For example, ‘Point of Care Solution,’ a handheld mobile device, provides real-time documentation for staff so that more time can be spent with residents; ‘Quiet Care’ determines residents’ nighttime behavior patterns and alerts staff when that pattern changes; ‘Real Time Location Service Pendants’ alert staff to a resident’s location if assistance is needed; LG CNS Electronic Health Records and Medication Management Systems provide a detailed electronic record for each resident; and special spectrum lighting helps reset the natural Circadian rhythms for memory care.

Metro Health Village is a groundbreaking concept and the first of its kind in the nation. Granger has plans to build similar villages in other areas of Michigan as well as in Ohio. We can thank the Baby Boomer generation for this trend as more and more cohorts from that population transition to retirement communities.

For more information, call 616.622.2420 or visit the website.

Images courtesy of Granger Group