KALAMAZOO — Officials in Kalamazoo hope that a shift in structure for its Downtown Development Authority will spur new projects and encourage continued investment in placemaking initiatives.

Immigrants play an outsized role in Michigan’s small business economy, according to a new research from the Michigan League for Public Policy.

New-to-market retailers continue to focus on the vicinity of the 28th Street-East Beltline Avenue intersection for store locations.

GRAND RAPIDS — A change in policy implemented earlier this month by the City of Grand Rapids could boost inventory for affordable housing organizations.

Grand Rapids City Commissioners on Tuesday night unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance for medical marijuana businesses in the city.

SpartanNash Co. will not meet the original employment projections included in a 2013 state incentive package.

MILWAUKEE — As a wide variety of stakeholders push forward with revitalizing the Grand River corridor through downtown Grand Rapids, they have no shortage of other cities they can look to for best practices.

In anticipation of a multifaceted effort to restore the Grand River through downtown Grand Rapids, numerous public and private partners are coming together to activate a number of key sites along the riverbanks.

City planners and other stakeholders are refocusing on revitalizing the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids. However, that focus isn’t entirely new. An analysis done by MiBiz finds the Grand River corridor in and around downtown has received around three quarters of a billion dollars in public and private investment since the mid 1980s. Projects like the DeVos Place Convention Center, River House Condominiums and The Homes at River’s Edge have embraced the proximity to the river as an asset, even given its largely passive state. Here’s a look at some of the major projects. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Efforts to restore the rapids in the Grand River might be a year or more away from launching, but stakeholders already have started thinking about opportunities the project will create throughout downtown.

West Michigan commercial real estate industry insiders see signs of a genuinely healthy market, albeit one that’s likely plateaued. 

A decision handed down this week by the Michigan Court of Appeals could offer some clarity for the state’s municipalities as they evaluate land use and zoning policies for the medical marijuana industry.

Under a new agreement with Airbnb Inc., visitors to Kent County who use the vacation rental webite will pay the municipality’s 5 percent lodging excise tax.

GRAND RAPIDS — Two Grand Rapids City Commissioners have signaled their support for more liberal zoning regulations for businesses in the medical marijuana industry.

The emergence of PFAS contamination in Kent County’s Plainfield Township and at other sites in Michigan and around the world has environmental consulting firms racing to catch up. Grand Rapids-based Fishbeck Thompson Carr & Huber Inc. (FTC&H) recently opened a new division aimed at addressing PFAS issues. Dr. Fernanda Wilson, the practice’s environmental engineering lead, spoke with MiBiz about the widespread issues with the chemicals, which for decades were used for industrial purposes, fire-fighting foam and consumer goods.

A struggle to find dedicated staff willing to work for minimum wage has one Grand Rapids pizza shop shifting to a focus on technology. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Advocates looking to alleviate the city’s affordable housing issues increasingly are turning to modular, pre-manufactured housing as one option. 

Grand Rapids officials contend they’re open to bringing the medical marijuana industry to the city, but the zoning proposed for businesses in the new sector seems to suggest otherwise. 

A long-stalled development proposal in the Creston neighborhood north of downtown Grand Rapids is on the hunt for new owners.

A tightening apartment market in and around downtown Grand Rapids hasn’t deterred a New York City developer from moving forward with a more than $50 million project in the city’s North Monroe neighborhood.

Grand Rapids is one of three cities nationally to be selected for a pilot program from Ford Motor Co. aimed at addressing the transportation needs of today and in the future.

New Jersey native Diana Schad is now leading the Grand Rapids-based Family Business Alliance as its CEO. The former Washington, D.C. lawyer — whose husband, Matt Schad, runs the family-owned Nucraft Furniture Co. — believes that family-owned businesses tend to operate very differently from other companies and therefore require specialized advocacy and research. Schad spoke with MiBiz on these topics, as well as her desire to diversify the Family Business Alliance’s membership. 

New issues have become top of mind for West Michigan economic developers and economists.

News that The Hinman Co. plans to move forward with its long-planned tower in downtown Grand Rapids — albeit without 29 floors of residential units — indicated to many observers that the bottom has fallen out of the city’s apartment market.

 GRAND RAPIDS — A proposed ordinance would limit businesses operating in the medical marijuana industry to approximately 40 sites across the city.

GRAND RAPIDS — Amid Grand Rapids’ ongoing apartment-building boom, commercial real estate developers also are noticing demand for urban condominiums. 

Thursday’s Supreme Court decision granting states greater ability to collect sales tax from online purchases marks a win for Michigan’s retail community and state coffers, according to real estate executives and business groups.

Amazon.com Inc. has made its first official announcement regarding the ecommerce giant’s long-planned distribution center in southeastern Kent County.

A Portage developer is scaling back plans for a 42-story tower in the middle of downtown Grand Rapids that it first announced two years ago.

Gordon Food Service Inc. plans to open a retail store along the burgeoning Michigan Street corridor, MiBiz has learned.