GRAND RAPIDS — Real Seafood Co. is opening its first West Michigan restaurant in downtown Grand Rapids and will serve as the anchor tenant at CWD Real Estate Investment’s 111 Lyon Street development.

WALKER — The Walker City Commission will consider final approval for rezoning the former Lincoln Country Club property on Monday along with a tax abatement request from Irwin Seating Co. to expand its facility in Walker.

GRAND RAPIDS — D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s broke ground today on what will be a $10 million multipurpose facility near the organization’s 25-acre Knapp Campus on the northeast side of Grand Rapids.

MUSKEGON — Luxury condos, a marina, restaurant, event space and expanded public trails are part of a $250 million vision to transform 30 acres of Muskegon waterfront property.

GRAND RAPIDS — Business owners in the Monroe North neighborhood near downtown are anticipating an influx in activity when about 1,200 employees are expected to work from Spectrum Health’s planned eight-story office development.

Housing nonprofits are scrambling to distribute unprecedented amounts of federal funding to renters at risk of becoming homeless as a scaled-back national eviction moratorium is temporarily extended.

West Michigan commercial real estate experts see slowly improving activity in retail and office markets that were particularly harmed by remote work and talent shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The widespread shift to remote working has caused many small dry cleaning businesses to shut down or adapt to stay afloat.

Al Vanderberg is leaving his role as Ottawa County administrator, which he has held since 2003, after recently accepting a position as Kent County administrator/controller.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Planning Commission has approved final site plans for the second building that will be constructed as part of the Boston Square Together development along Kalamazoo Avenue SE on the city’s south side.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy recently awarded $4.6 million in brownfield grants and loans to five redevelopment projects on contaminated properties in West and Southwest Michigan. 

BENTON HARBOR — Whirlpool Corp. has broken ground on a $22 million multifamily housing development near downtown Benton Harbor that officials say will help fill gaps in workforce housing availability.

Congress will inevitably relax decades-old federal restrictions on cannabis, West Michigan industry experts say, but how and when lawmakers will act are key unanswered questions that could determine who gains access to the market.

Michigan’s State Land Bank Authority seeks to redevelop state and county land bank properties quicker through a new process that allows developers to submit their credentials in advance.

PLAINFIELD TWP. — Funding the construction of a 52,000-square-foot community center with a 20-year millage will be up to township voters to decide during the Nov. 2 election. 

KENTWOOD — Phoenix Theatres LLC plans to invest $4 million to refurbish the Woodland Mall’s movie theater space formerly occupied by Celebration! Cinema. 

Alison Freas saw the opportunity to lead a Grand Rapids nonprofit focused on career development as a broader platform for her longtime work in the private sector. Freas, who begins her new role as executive director of Grand Rapids-based The SOURCE on July 26, has a decade’s worth of experience in various human resources roles at Herman Miller Inc., most recently as manager of career development. Formed in 2003, The SOURCE now partners with roughly 20 area companies to promote employee retention and advancement through specific job training, personal growth classes and other support services to help employees overcome workforce barriers. Freas spoke with MiBiz about her goal to expand The SOURCE’s partnerships in the region and lessons learned from the pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist was in Grand Rapids Monday touting the Whitmer administration’s Economic Jumpstart Plan for small businesses as billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funding comes into Michigan.

The short-term outlook of city officials and commercial real estate experts is improving as office workers gradually return to in-person work, and they share an optimism as downtowns reawaken from the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOLLAND — City officials are in the final stages of what has been a three-year process to overhaul Holland’s zoning codes into a model that encourages housing density while balancing neighborhood concerns. 

PLAINFIELD TWP. — A broad vision to redesign the concrete jungle that is Plainfield Avenue north of Grand Rapids is meeting resistance as local planning officials debate the individual zoning changes that would make the vision a reality.

Several West Michigan housing projects were among 25 developments statewide to receive the latest round of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

WALKER — The city’s Planning Commission will consider plans next week for an industrial speculative building as well as a rezoning and site plan review request for a planned mixed-use development at the former Lincoln Country Club.

GRAND RAPIDS — Logistics and data security company MCPc Inc. broke ground today on its $2.8 million facility that’s expected to bring at least 75 new and existing jobs to the city’s Madison Square neighborhood. 

Six Michigan communities are no longer at risk of losing a key U.S. Census designation that determines crucial federal funding for services, a federal agency announced Tuesday.

GRAND RAPIDS — Eligible small businesses located on the west and south sides of Grand Rapids can soon apply for grants of up to $10,000 to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

GRAND RAPIDS — The owners of Eastern Kille Distillery have sold their Grand Rapids manufacturing and tasting room property to Spectrum Health, generating a major return on the craft spirit makers’ real estate investment as they seek to maintain operations within the city.

WALKER — The Walker Planning Commission will consider a site plan Wednesday for a 21,350-square-foot speculative industrial building north of I-96.

Developers and contractors see some light at the end of the tunnel as sky-high prices for lumber and other construction commodities begin to decrease from peaks during the pandemic. 

GRAND RAPIDS — As city officials and private developers structure a property deal to advance plans for a downtown amphitheater, Kent County commissioners are seeking more involvement in a process on which they will ultimately vote.