GRAND RAPIDS — A local development firm plans to build a two-story, mixed-use project on a vacant lot in Grand Rapids’ East Hills neighborhood where a historic structure burned down last year.

5 dispensaries close in city within last 12 months

MUSKEGON — Parkland Properties President Jon Rooks felt a sense of obligation to purchase the former Shaw Walker Furniture Co. building in Muskegon, where the company now plans a $220 million redevelopment.

GRAND RAPIDS — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a roundtable event Thursday with roughly a dozen seniors in Grand Rapids, highlighting her administration’s efforts to combat the rising cost of living through various tax cuts.

GRAND RAPIDS — The founder of public relations and investor relations firm Lambert & Co. has acquired a downtown Grand Rapids building to accommodate growth as well as the formation of a tech and marketing hub.

CASCADE TWP. — Architecture and engineering firm Fishbeck is growing its environmental practice with the acquisition of Southwest Michigan’s Envirologic Technologies Inc.

Charles Lepper started this week as the 11th president of Grand Rapids Community College, succeeding Bill Pink, who took a job in July 2022 as the president of Ferris State University.

CHARLEVOIX — Charlevoix County is exploring accessory dwelling units as a pathway to expand housing options, and will offer homeowners a step-by-step guide to consider creating such units on their property.

GRAND RAPIDS — A large mixed-use development in Grand Rapids’ active Monroe North business district, along with an adjacent parcel and nearby parking lot open for future development, sold for $22.6 million at the end of 2022.

West Michigan’s few cannabis microbusinesses are taking a page out of the craft brewery handbook with a clear focus on customer experience and an emphasis on locally produced products. 

Housing projects in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Traverse City, Spring Lake and Three Rivers received nearly $6.1 million in the latest round of Low Income Housing Tax Credits administered by the state. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Moonshine and canned cocktail marketer Sip Shine LLC plans to bring a new nightlife experience to Grand Rapids’ west side this spring at the former Harmony Hall building.

GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan Turkey Producers Co-Op Inc. has received $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bolster its meat processing capacity.

GRAND RAPIDS — Nonprofit housing developer Dwelling Place plans to break ground this spring on a years-long project to build 42 homes in Grand Rapids’ Garfield Park Neighborhood. 

GRAND RAPIDS — A 10-story, mixed-use building with 140 residential units would replace two mostly vacant office buildings along the Grand River as part of a developer’s plan to add housing and public river access to a former industrial part of the city.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Detroit-based company proposing a massive redevelopment of the former Sligh Furniture factory in Grand Rapids wants to cut more than 300 housing units from the original proposal and add a self-storage component, among other changes.

GRAND RAPIDS — Restaurant operator Essence Restaurant Group LLC, which owns The Green Well, Bistro Bella Vita and Grove in Grand Rapids, is now taking over Lucy’s, a breakfast, brunch and coffee bar concept in the Creston neighborhood. 

WEST OLIVE — A recently elected slate of Ottawa County commissioners used their first day at the dais to oust the county administrator and public health director, appoint a conservative legal firm as its general counsel, and eliminate the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion department. 

Executives from 120 companies in Allegan and Ottawa counties overwhelmingly reported positive growth in 2022, despite continuing challenges they face when it comes to attracting talent and supply chain disruptions. 

Michigan cannabis prices have plummeted as more competition saturates the market, leaving industry operators eyeing new pathways like consumption lounges to grow their businesses in 2023. 

Michigan’s minimum and tipped minimum wages are both set to increase in 2023, while pending litigation could cause even more significant changes for the hospitality industry that proponents say are overdue and some operators fear.

GRAND RAPIDS — Multifamily investment and property management firm Trillium Investments LLC recently purchased 62 student housing units from Calvin Theological Seminary for $5.6 million.

Commercial real estate executives largely share the view that more answers about the future of the West Michigan office market will emerge in the next year or two as more office leases come up for renewal.

GRAND RAPIDS — The mixologists behind a non-alcoholic beverage shop in Grand Rapids’ Downtown Market recently opened a retail storefront with a wide selection of zero-proof cocktail mixers, spirits, beer and wines.

Four West Michigan housing nonprofits will receive $4.2 million in state grant funding to construct or upgrade 71 homes and rental units.

Roger Bergman and Doug Zylstra are preparing for a new term on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners unlike any other.

CASCADE TWP. — Gerald R. Ford International Airport officials expect to complete a $110 million concourse expansion in June 2023, followed by renovation work on the existing concourse that’s set to finish in early 2024.