Developer praises work done on Western Avenue

August 29, 2007
By Robert C. Burns
Muskegon Chronicle

Although it took some juggling of federal money and construction schedules, Muskegon city officials held out for fancier sidewalks, lighting and landscaping in rebuilding Western Avenue, hoping it would attract investors to the "new" downtown.

There may be something to that strategy.

With four big projects under his belt in Grand Rapids, condominium developer Jonathan Rooks plans to convert the seven-story former Comerica Bank building on Western into commercial and residential uses.

In an appearance before the city commission Tuesday, Rooks mentioned those downtown street and lighting improvements, which he said were "among the best I've seen."

And he said he was just as impressed by various downtown real estate projects already in the works, both in existing and new buildings, and by the sense of "contagious optimism and enthusiasm" shown by local leaders in downtown redevelopment.

Rooks was among several developers attracted by the Downtown Muskegon Development Corp.'s search for prospective buyers of the vacant Comerica building last spring, which Rooks quickly noticed was "right in the heart of everything you've got going on here."

Peter Turner, president of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County and a DMDC board member, told commissioners that Rooks was by far the most qualified of the several developers that expressed interest.

He said he and Dan Rinsema-Sybenga of Muskegon Area First spent a day in Grand Rapids, looking over projects completed by Rooks' Parkland Properties. They were especially interested in the People's Building, which is similar to the Comerica building and is now known as City View Condos, but took time to see them all -- including his Boardwalk, Union Square and Monroe Terrace projects.

"I was vastly impressed by the quality of work he has done," Turner said.

Turner said he tracked down Susan Shannon, a former Grand Rapids economic development official now working in Seattle, to get her opinion.

"She said he (Rooks) was a pleasure to work with, and that he did what he said he would do," Turner said.

If they weren't convinced already, that was enough to persuade commissioners to grant Rooks a seven-year extension on his portion of the downtown low-tax Renaissance Zone.

Two weeks ago, mainly at Rooks' behest, commissioners adopted a policy of extending Renaissance Zone tax breaks on a case-by-case basis. Such extensions are allowed under an amendment enacted last year to the Michigan Renaissance Zone Act of 1996.

The city's action still must be approved by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., after which Rooks said he would hire an architectural firm to start putting his ideas on paper. Once the main building is finished, Rooks plans to build bilevel buildings on two lots directly east of the Comerica building.

At least one other extension request is likely to surface in the near future. Murray Swiftney of Spring Lake is looking to develop condominiums on the current site of the former Muskegon Hotel, and has a "tax free condos" sign emblazoned across the hotel facade.

© 2007 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission