Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Planning Manager Tim Kelly emails a weekly GR Forward update to the project Steering Committee. Here's this week's communication:

Happy Friday Everyone:

I hope you are all finishing up a tremendously productive and fun-filled week.

For the 11th time since May 2014, both the Downtown and River Corridor Steering Committees met this week. The meeting included an overview of content that will be included in the draft plan, as well as a discussion on implementation.

We also spent some time going over our upcoming schedule, which will include presentations of the draft plan to the Downtown Development Authority Board on July 8, and the Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. Board of Advisors on July 9. Additional presentations to the City Planning Commission and the City Commission are also being scheduled, and we will share those dates with you as soon as they are confirmed. In advance of the July 8 meeting we will have a draft plan available and look forward to sharing that with all of you and the rest of the community.

Web Numbers

The latest web and social media numbers are below. Be sure to continue to share the links below in your network so everyone can stay up to date with GR Forward activities.

Resources

This article about reviving the dead spaces under elevated structures in New York City is really interesting.

Building off the momentum of the High Line and the treasured public space it has become, the Design Trust For Public Space recently issued a report exploring the opportunities to enhance the areas below the elevated transportation infrastructure around the city.

As the article and report describe, these spaces represent millions of square feet of opportunity, and given the current conditions of many of these spaces, they can no longer be ignored.

In a dense city like New York, the residual space beneath the nearly 700 miles of elevated transportation infrastructure can no longer be an afterthought. The millions of square feet of these sites, nearly four times the size of Central Park, arguably encompass one of the most blighting influences on the city’s neighborhoods, yet also constitute one of the last development frontiers. This substantial inventory—cataloged for the first time by the Under the Elevated study—represents an untapped public asset that has the potential to radically transform New York’s urban fabric.

Proposed transformations for these “untapped public assets”, several of which have already been installed, include LED lighting, a “Boogie Down Booth” showcasing music by local artists, and improved green spaces.

While the City and DGRI have initiated projects to enhance the experience under some of our elevated infrastructure on Bridge, Cherry and Pearl Streets, there are clearly additional opportunities. Looking at the approach from New York and other cities may help provide inspiration to realize those opportunities.

As always, let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, have a great weekend.