Urban Grand Rapids

Topic: Housing

Time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Where

Recent data (up through September 2025) demonstrates a softening of rent growths. Rents increased 3% in 2024 - 2025 after a growth of 4% in 2023 - 2024 and a growth of 3% in 2022 - 2023; this is significant decline in growth from the inflationary years of 2020 - 2022 with growth rates of 12% and 10% respectively.

% Change

Rents

There has been a lot happening on the mobility front, ranging from a plethora of bike land and trail projects to a new state budget (public transportation).

The Towers

Addresses: 3, 17, 21, 37, 41, 45, 47, 53, and 63 Market Avenue SW, 216 Fulton Street W

Site: 6.9 acres / 10 parcels

Total Square/Footage: 1,241,834sq/ft; 106,628sq/ft residential for-sale, 476,350sq/ft residential for-rent, 420,000sq/ft office, 137,006 hotel, 37,880sq/ft retail

Total Residential Units: 671 (595 rental, 76 condominium). This is +6.1% towards downtown's goal of 11,000 residential units.

Total Parking Spaces: 2,510

Total Estimated Cost: $738,000,000

Completion of entire project expected to be in the summer of 2029. ... provided it begins.

At the beginning of the 2025-10-09 Planning Commission meeting Ryan Kilpatrick of Housing NEXT presented on the most recent housing needs update.

Note: The summary provided is my summary, not a quotation of Mr. Kilpatrick's presentation.

Norm Van Eeden Petersman, the Director of Membership for Strong Towns, will be presenting on October 28th at the DGRi conference room (29 Pearl St NW Suite 1). The night's conversation will focus on safe and productive streets, multi-modal transportation, and how we can achieve positive incremental changes in Grand Rapids.

2025-10-28 6:30pm @ 29 Pearl St NW Suite 1

The municipal agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on 2025-10-09 is 👉here👈

735 Ritzema Ct. SW

The is a request for a Special Land Use (SLU) for the operation of a childcare and social services facility which is a use which requires special dispensation with the properties LDR (Low-Density Residential) zone district.