American Seating Park draws yet another business downtown

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Next month Joe Horak and his fiancée Stephanie Silverman will move their new family counseling practice to a two-bedroom residential space at Clark Place in Grand Rapids’ American Seating Park, a renovated furniture warehouse at 801 Broadway NW.

Dr. Horak will relocate his practice, Horak Family and Psychological Services, PC from 1179 East Paris in Cascade Township. Silverman will be leaving her job at BRAINS on the East Beltline.

The move follows on the heels of Alexander Marketing’s relocation from Forest Hills last week.

“I love the East Paris office I’m in, it’s really cool,” says Dr. Horak. “But I think the urban warehouse feel is really neat, and the apartment feels homey with the kitchen and living room. It’s very welcoming. I think for the kids we counsel it will be less scary, less clinical.”

The doctors will convert the bedroom spaces into two offices where they will privately counsel adults, teens and children. Eighteen-foot-high ceilings and large windows in each room let in lots of daylight and provide views of Saint Adalbert’s Basilica and downtown.

The living room will be a waiting area with a casual, relaxed atmosphere.

Dr. Andrew Atwood moved his business counseling practice from Heritage Hill into a similar apartment in Clark Place several months ago. Atwood, a friend of Horak’s, recommended the location, partly because the residential atmosphere has such a relaxing effect on clients.

“I work with family-owned businesses,” says Dr. Atwood. “It makes sense to do my work in an atmosphere that looks and feels like home. It’s such an inviting environment; it’s helped convey an image of friendly professionalism.”

“I like being more centrally located,” Dr. Horak says. “I have patients that drive a distance and this is conveniently located off 131 and 196, and has free parking which is really hard to find downtown.”

Chris Beckering of Grubb & Ellis Paramount Commerce brokered the transaction.

Source: Dr. Joe Horak, Horak Family and Psychological Services, PC; Dr. Andrew Atwood, AtwoodPlus

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].

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