By: Deborah Johnson Wood
The rubble is gone from the lot at 1500 Wealthy SE, where, on February 26, 2008, a building was suddenly leveled when a gas line exploded, injuring seven. Today, work is underway on an infill development aptly named Phoenix after the mythical bird that rises from the ashes of its own nest to live again.
“The new building has been warmly received by everyone,” says Nate Gillette, architect at
Bazzani Associates, the firm developing the project. “There hasn’t been a lot of new construction in Eastown and I think people are excited to see a new injection of life over there. Everybody’s happy to see that lot get filled in and erase some of the tragedy.”
Gillette designed the exterior of the building to fit in with surrounding buildings. On the main floor, two commercial spaces totaling 7,000 square feet provide new opportunities to attract business to the district. The second level will have three two-bedroom apartments that will lease at market rate.
The new building uses the same footprint as the original structure and takes up the entire lot, inspiring some creativity to find a way to comply with the City of Grand Rapids green space requirements.
“We came up with a vertical green wall,” Gillette notes. “It’s a trellis system to train plants to grow up the wall and make it more visually attractive than just a brick wall there.”
Developers will pursue LEED for Homes certification due to the amount of residential space in the building.
Bazzani Associates will construct the new building and purchase it and the entire property, which includes the adjacent Eastown Cafe building to the south, when the project wraps up.
Source: Nate Gillette, Bazzani Associates
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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