Mark Sanchez: It's that time year where we kind of look forward to what's ahead in the new year instead of looking backward. We tend to look forward. And one of the stories we did here in the last few days was by my coworker here at Crain's Grand Rapids Business, Kate Carlson, looking at what are the major developments going on in and around Grand Rapids. And of course you have the big project with the waterfront transformations. You have the Amway Stadium, the soccer stadium going up. And in the last month we've seen that steelwork going up along the southbound lanes of U.S. 131. And then a little bit south, you see the Acrisure Amphitheater coming along and that's going to open here this spring with the first concert.
But also, here just before the holiday, you had a major movement on these projects along the waterfront. These three towers that DeVos and Van Andel families have proposed. And it's a big, big project, $796 million Fulton and Market project along the Grand River. And just before the holiday, it got some state tax incentives that will allow the developers to move forward and advance the conversations. And then of course, you know, the two projects, the amphitheater, the riverfront stadium, and those are going forward.
And then if you look around the region, you see other projects going up. You have down in Kalamazoo a $515 million Kalamazoo Event Center that's under construction down there by Catalyst Development Company.
Then elsewhere you see this residence at 111 Lyon. That project is proceeding to convert that office building into residential units. So, there's a lot of activity going on. And the other one I'll mention is the old Shaw Walker Furniture Company factory near downtown Muskegon. It's just under 75,000 square feet and it's been vacant for years. And Ghafari Associates is the designer in that, and Parkland Properties is the developer. It's a $213 million project. So that could be done in about a year. And it'll be nice to really see that property back up and operating and put to good use and really help maybe spur some more investment in and around downtown Muskegon. So those are just a few of the projects that are coming and are ongoing and you'll see really advance in 2026.
Patrick Center: Yeah, you also have the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber headquarters that's being constructed, the Kent County Administration building, that expansion of the campus over there on Fuller. So yeah, there's a lot that's taking place and I'm sure there will be plenty more to come in the new year. Also in the new year, we have all the forecasts. What are we looking forward to when it comes to business and manufacturing in West Michigan?
Mark Sanchez: Yeah, again, it’s that time of year we, you know, people wonder what's the new year going to bring? You know, economically, a lot of the outlooks are saying probably a little more of the same for 2026 that we saw in 2025.
If you're a manufacturer, obviously you're dealing with tariffs, the uncertainty that tariffs created. Remember last spring when the president started rolling out these tariffs, it caused a lot of disruption, a lot of uncertainty. Manufacturers had to scramble, especially if you've got a foreign supply chain, a global supply chain. So, you had to start adjusting your business plan. A lot of that has come through, but there's still some uncertainty on what's going to happen with tariffs in 2026, what's going to happen with this trade agreement with the U.S., Mexico and Canada. And we'll see.
The auto industry, and we have a lot of auto suppliers here in this region. The auto industry is going to be a little softer. Some of the projections are for still a decent year, but the number of auto sales and production in North America is projected to decrease a little bit. So that's just some of the groundwork that we have right now going on here through the early days of 2026.
The University of Michigan outlook that came out maybe about a month and a half ago has about a 2.4% real GDP for the U.S. in 2026. That's actually an uptick from about 2% expansion in 2025. So, the economy is going to, you know, if you believe the outlooks, the forecasts, the economy is going to plug along. It's just, again, what's going to happen with some of the uncertainties out there that could affect things.
Patrick Center: You mentioned in your article about the auto forecast and of course, signs of softening. You also have a section that you title ‘The Talent Equation.’ Can you dive a little deeper into that?
Mark Sanchez: Absolutely, you know, coming out of the situation five years ago, everybody navigated through with the pandemic and talent was already an issue going into that five years ago. Coming out of it, that worsened, then we had to work from home and then hybrid models. And what you saw for a couple of years, maybe two, three or more years was what's called the ‘talent hoarding’, where companies were kind of reluctant if things got a little soft to trim their staff because you didn't want to lose that talent.
That may not be the case anymore as the economy is, you know, again, plugging along, doing okay. We're seeing more layoffs. We saw more in 2025 than we did in the previous few years. So, what's that the sign that the employers, that idea of talent hoarding might be coming to an end. That they're going to be a little quicker to pull that trigger now when they need to make some adjustments in their workforce.
Patrick Center: We're talking with Crain's Grand Rapids Business staff writer, Mark Sanchez. You're also taking a look at some deals that have taken place. Priority Health has completed a deal in Wisconsin, and it looks as though we're seeing that regional growth.
Mark Sanchez: Yeah, this was a deal announced back in August. Priority Health, the big health plan, the second largest health plan here in Michigan was becoming the sole governing member of a cooperative known as the Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire. If I pronounced that property, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It’s got about 61,000 members in central and western Wisconsin. And this deal closed January 1. It was finalized. Priority Health now owns this Wisconsin health plan. And what this does is really extend Priority Health into a fourth state.
A couple of years ago, Priority Health made a deal down in Indiana, buying the health plan down there that does business in Indiana and Ohio. That expanded Priority Health's footprint. And now we've seen this deal come to a close and finalized in Wisconsin that brings Priority Health, this homegrown Grand Rapids-based health plan has now expanded into a fourth state.
And when I spoke with Nick Gates, the president there, he just said, we just want to extend our products and services to as many people as possible. And it creates expansion and some scale for Priority Health that can better optimize those costs and who knows, maybe bring a little bit of a better cost structure to the health plans out there.
Patrick Center: Through that conversation, do you see a growth formula beyond Wisconsin? Is there a bigger growth plan?
Mark Sanchez: Yeah, that's a question I asked Nick Gates when we spoke the other day. And he said, basically there's not a plan, there's no active conversation. They're not actively seeking to make another acquisition. However, in most cases, and this is really typical when you talk to CEOs about M &A, after they do a deal, they say, we're not actively looking for another deal. However, if an opportunity comes along, if the right opportunity arises, that's a cultural fit, that's a business fit, we'll look at it.
So bottom line, they don't necessarily have an appetite for doing more acquisitions at Priority Health, but you never know what the future will bring. Any CEO, any director will tell you, boy, if a good opportunity arises, we'll take a look at it. Doesn't mean they'll do it, but I always say conversations are free, and they'll at least have a conversation if they see the right opportunity that aligns with what they do.
Patrick Center: Crain’s Grand Rapids Business staff writer Mark Sanchez, thank you so much.
Mark Sanchez: Thank you, Patrick.