Raising up Muskegon

Monday, September 17, 2007
By Karen Gentry
MiBiz

MUSKEGON – Downtown Muskegon business owners like Sidock Group Inc. President Bill Sidock are changing the landscape of downtown Muskegon.

The August groundbreaking for the Sidock Group building is just the latest splash of good news for downtown Muskegon. It followed on the heels of a similar event in July for the Hines Building, the new home of the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce. Plus, Muskegon city officials are recommending to the state that the city’s Renaissance Zone be extended to the former Comerica and Hackley bank building, a move that will pave the way for condominiums and retail in that 1918 structure.

Sidock said his architectural and engineering firm would occupy the entire second floor of the 16,000-square-foot building now under construction. He is looking for retail tenants for the first floor.

FYI
Sidock Group building Investment: $2.3 million Architect: Sidock Group Inc. Construction manager: Sidock Systems Expected completion: June 2008
Muskegon Parkland LLC Investment: $4 million+ Expected completion: Spring 2009
The Hines Building Investment: $2.4 million Architect: Hooker DeJong Architects and Engineers Developer: Capstone Real Estate L LC Contractor: Buck Construction Co. Inc. Expected completion: Summer 2008

Sidock’s 21 Muskegon employees will move from their offices on Terrace Street. He told MiBiz that he likes the high visibility of his new headquarters. "Getting in on the ground floor" of downtown redevelopment also attracted him to the site. The $2.3 million building site is at Third Street and West Western Avenue.

Sidock Group Senior Project Architect Don Spezia said the building’s design would fit in with the historical style of the downtown Muskegon area. The façade will be limestone and cast stone. The building will feature a translucent skylight in the two-story lobby atrium.

By Hook or by Rooks

Grand Rapids developer Jon Rooks’ first venture into the city of Muskegon will benefit from an extension of the city’s Renaissance Zone to cover the Hackley building, according to Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington. He said that Rooks also purchased two adjacent lots.

Rooks’ Parkland Muskegon LLC plans to convert the eight-story building into 24 condominiums. He also plans to construct a retail building on the vacant land near the Hackly building, putting 12 condominiums on the second and third floors.

"We know exactly what we want it to look like but we don’t have an architect yet," Rooks told MiBiz in early September.

There will be four units per floor in the existing structure with windows the size of a two-stall garage. The top of the new building will include a rooftop deck that condominium owners in the existing building will be able to access. The roof of the existing building will also include a deck with "amazing views of Muskegon Lake." The development’s 36 units will include garages and large balconies and sell for under $200,000.

Rooks successfully developed a similar project in the People’s Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids. He is currently developing condominiums in the Boardwalk building on Monroe Avenue NW in Grand Rapids and the Union Square condominiums in the former Union High School on Broadway Street NW in Grand Rapids.

Rooks had early career experience in Muskegon County. In the early 1990s, he developed marinas, condominiums and a retail center in Whitehall and Montague and he owns 25 acres of Lake Michigan property in Norton Shores. Rooks said it’s a formula that makes his projects successful.

"One of the biggest things we do is find cool old buildings and get a good architect and come up with really good spaces," Rooks said. "We’ll compete with price points. We’ll compete with Ren Zone status, we’ll compete with amenities, and we’ll allow customization."

Rooks believes the condominiums will sell quickly.

"I’m sure they will appeal to entry-level buyers, empty nesters, urban cottage buyers for use as a second home and people that want the Ren Zone tax benefits. It’s a small project. I think it will sell out in a short period. All of our projects have sold fast," Rooks said.

Chamber home

The 20,000-square-foot Hines Building is now under construction. The facility will be home to the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce and house Muskegon Area First, the Muskegon Area Labor Management Committee, SCORE, and the Muskegon offices of the Small Business Technology & Development Center and The Employers Association of West Michigan. Space is available for retail tenants on the first floor.

Ed. note: The Hines Building has taken on an international flavor. For more on that, see related story on page 8A.

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This article appeared in the September 17, 2007 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who do business in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz, visit www.mibiz.com.