It may be too early for
Evergreen Companies owner Kris Elliott to discuss any concrete details on the redevelopment of the two large Heartside neighborhood buildings at 250 and 300 Ionia Ave. SW, but he knows one thing is for certain.
"Those buildings are in the heart of a very rapidly growing neighborhood and we're looking to increase the volume of that site," says Elliott, who is also owner of Tavern on the Square and The Grand Woods Lounge. "There's just so much going on in that particular neighborhood that we don't want to rule out any options."
Purple East is currently the sole tenant of the 18,000-square-foot building, which Evergreen Companies purchased last spring for $1.5 million, according to city records. He says his company hopes to solidify a large, first floor retailer as soon as this fall, and hopes to begin moving forward on plans to convert the second floor into around 20 new loft-style apartment units.
He says he has been "devoted to the neighborhood since the early 2000s," with his Lansing-based Evergreen Companies taking part in the redevelopment of 33 Commerce Ave., which converted the old warehouse space into the 34-unit
Loose Leaf Lofts apartment complex.
Elliott says he has been working with architects on new schematics for 250 Ionia Ave. SW that would include the construction of a new, second mixed-use building that would be built over the existing parking lot. He's hoping it will be utilized as "either a mix of for-rent lofts, a boutique hotel and/or Class A office space," he says, adding that Evergreen Companies has not formally submitted any concrete plans to the Grand Rapids Historic Preservation Commission or Planning Commission for approval quite yet.
He says his company is also looking to complement redevelopment at 250 Ionia Ave. SW with neighboring space at 300 Ionia Ave. SW, located just a bit to the south.
"It's a two-story, beautiful sandstone, historic brick building and that is currently a Class A office building, and we're looking to find a single tenant for that building to make it into corporate offices," Elliott says.
Written by Anya Zentmeyer
Renderings courtesy of Evergreen Companies
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