Grand Rapids officials had been working with the U.S. General Services Administration to acquire the former U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in the 1800 block of Monroe Avenue Northwest. Economic Development Director for the city, Sarah Rainero, says the GSA called the city last summer to offer first right of refusal.
“At that time, we entered into an agreement with them, an option agreement that just allowed us some time to put forward an offer, so we’ve been negotiating with them since that time.”
And while the city was able to negotiate the GSA’s asking price from $4.9 million down to $4.5 million, the price still proved too high for the four developers who showed interest in redeveloping the property.
“All were putting forward mixed-use housing, so adding density, willing to work with us along river amenities and also considered the neighborhood input.”
The Creston neighborhood property has since been put up for public auction online. Rainero says the city hopes whoever purchases the site will work with the city on best uses.
“We’re hoping that would definitely be a partner with the city in activating that site, especially adjacent to the neighborhood, and the river amenities that we were hoping to see come to fruition there.”
The two-story reserve center was built in 1948 and is part of four buildings that sit on nearly 3.5 acres.
For a weekly dose of news right to your inbox, sign up for the WGVU newsletter.
