Deborah Johnson WoodGrand Rapids' Madison Square Church is in the throes of renovating a $1.3 million former caster factory into a space where its youth group can give musical and dramatic performances and spend time socializing in a casual, Christian environment.The building at 1401 Madison Ave. SE, dubbed Madison Place, is just a few doors north of the church. Communications Manager Bill Wiarda says the undertaking is in answer to God's call for the church community to take the gospel to the city. "Our pastor David Beelen took a sabbatical in 2006 to do some planning, and when he came back, we developed this idea we call Making Room – New Faces, New Places to meet people where they are. There was a lot of redevelopment and revitalization in the neighborhood at that time, so we bought the building."Volunteers from the congregation worked together to demolish parts of the interior. Wiarda says that once construction is finished, the 8,500-square-foot main level will feature a multipurpose room complete with a stage, sound system, lighting and projection for the youth group; a game room; offices for the youth department; and a kitchen that will supplement the full service kitchen in the church, when needed. A food pantry, currently housed at Restorers, Inc., 1413 Madison Ave. SE, will have a dedicated space with greater food storage capacity, freezers and refrigerators and direct access from outside. One surprising feature is a planned woodworking shop for the church's Cadets group of fourth through sixth grade boys. "They meet once a week to do woodworking projects," Wiarda says. "Right now they meet in the church office basement, which is really cramped. The new space will have equipment and improved ventilation."Source: Bill Wiarda, Madison Square ChurchDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

A Muskegon Chronicle report indicates that after years of controversy, the push by Muskegon County leaders for a more extensive environmental cleanup of the former Whitehall Leather Co. tannery site draws closer to victory. According to excerpts from the story:An environmental cleanup plan for one of Muskegon County's most contaminated sites is on the verge of being finalized, potentially bringing to end years of negotiations. It also would signify a victory for local leaders and residents who pushed for a more extensive cleanup than the site's owner had earlier proposed. Genesco, the former owner of the Whitehall Leather Co. tannery, has proposed a consent judgment outlining the scope of a cleanup of the 33-acre site, including removal of contaminated sediments in the site's former lagoons. The company is being held financially responsible for cleanup of the White Lake shoreline site contaminated by more than a century of leather-tanning operations.Read the complete story here.

Grand Valley State University will offer a master's program starting in August in biomedical engineering, a welcome addition that supports efforts to grow the Medical Mile along Michigan Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.

 

Professional and amateur photographers in metro Grand Rapids have until June 1 to submit photos that showcase Michigan's architectural heritage in a new photo contest called "Old is the New Green." Eight regional winners will be awarded several things, including a getaway to an historical Michigan destination.

Deborah Johnson WoodSeventeen years ago Grand Rapids-based Dwelling Place, Inc. purchased and renovated The Goodrich Apartments – 14 affordable apartments on S. Division Ave. just south of the Avenue for the Arts. A $3.1 million project to update the units and buildings broke ground this week. The apartments are in two circa 1890 structures constructed side by side at 333 and 339 South Division Ave. – the DelaMater Building and the Schuchardt Building, respectively. "This is not a gut rehab, but the apartments will have new appliances, new cupboards and hardwood floors throughout," says Jarrett DeWyse, director of housing development for Dwelling Place. "The buildings are long and narrow and some of the apartments are kind of dark. We're reconfiguring those apartments to have lower interior walls so natural light from the windows can travel deeper into those apartments." The apartments will get complete overhauls, including new bathrooms and some skylights. The shared spaces, such as hallways and stairwells, will be repainted and carpeted. The residents in the five occupied apartments at 339 S. Division agreed to a temporary "apartment swap" to the building next door. Once their apartments are renovated, the residents will move back in and work will begin on 333 S. Division. Dwelling Place waited for months for approval of historic preservation tax credits from the state of Michigan and the federal government. DeWyse says the approvals came through recently for nearly $2 million in tax credits. Dwelling Place has to prove that it fulfilled its promise to keep certain renovations historically accurate once the project is completed at the end of the year. "We can't remove the wood staircases, we have to replace windows with windows of similar construction, and we'll restore all the exterior cornices and window ledges," DeWyse says. The project also received $700,000 from the city of Grand Rapids, which Dwelling Place will repay after a 15-year compliance period, provided there is enough cash flow. Source: Jarrett DeWyse, Dwelling Place, Inc.Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodGrand Rapids artist Nathan Goddard says the daylight streaming through the east windows of his new studio space casts is just right for working with the earth-friendly materials he creates for his paintings. The studio and gallery space, nrg studio, occupies some 1,300 square feet of a former furniture factory at 445 Century Ave. SW. Goddard moved his work there in January because his home studio was no longer big enough to accommodate the larger pieces he wanted to create. "This is a space where I could work large and could have (art) workshops," Goddard says. He also needed more room for mixing his own materials for what he calls his Earth Paintings. "I make my own clay slips using clay earth I gather from places like the Grand River, West Virginia and Utah," he says. "I create my own pigment using soy resin as my binder, not using anything oil based. West Virginia and Utah clays have unique colors I haven't found elsewhere."Those colors include a particular red from Utah and a bright yellow-gold from West Virginia. The Grand River yields "dark brown, almost black, clay that fires to orange," Goddard says. Goddard's focus is on painting and landscapes, but he also does graphics design and 3-D work, such as the trophy design selected by ArtServe Michigan for the Guvvy Award, the Governor's Awards for Arts and Culture. In 2009, the Creston Public Art Project selected Goddard's mural Should Be Culture as one of two new public art murals in the Creston business district. nrg studio's grand opening is Friday, May 21 at 6 p.m. Goddard will showcase his work and work by his wife, Elizabeth Goddard. Source: Nathan Goddard, nrg studio Related Articles New murals mark Creston Neighborhood's commitment to public artDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

As reported by Examiner.com, Grand Rapids has some 45 community gardens sprouting up around the city, and the longest-running of those has a record number of gardeners on a waiting list this year. That trend coincides with a national greening movement taking root in urban areas across the country. According to excerpts from the story:It was 9:00 p.m. before Norma Jansma, the volunteer coordinator for Hillcrest Community Gardens, had a moment to sit down and talk about the gardens this week. She and a handful of others from the garden committee had just finished the tedious job of marking 100+ garden plots with stakes and string. And, did I mention, she has a full-time day job too? Jansma, has played a key role in the year-to-year operations of the volunteer-based community garden for the past 8+ years. "It has become a lot more popular, says Jansma, "and Grand Rapids has taken an interest in organics and the environment. We have fifty people on the waiting list this year. Last year it was thirty. Three or four years ago you could have called me now and still gotten a plot."Read the complete story here.