Billionaire families announce new development project in GR, wants $544 million in public funding

MASSIVE news for GR! Check out this article highlighting a historic development project that will transform our skyline and enhance our community. 

The above comment is what the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce posted on their Facebook page over the weekend, a comment that was attached to a post from MLive about the new DeVos/Van Andel development plan.

Such a comment is no surprise coming from the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, especially considering ht close relationship that that organization has had with the DeVos and Van Andel families over the years. The GR Chamber has endorsed every DeVos and Van Andel development project ever since the DeVos family decided to purchase the Pantlind Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids and re-named it the Amway Grand Plaza. 

This symbiotic relationship with the GR Chamber at the co-founding Amway families has also been seen in the Chamber’s unconditional support in the history of Grand Action 2.0 (which began with using millions in public dollars to build the Van Andel Arena) and every project since then, leading up to the 12,000 seat outdoor Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium. The DeVos/Van Andel relationship has also been central to the creation of the West Michigan Policy Forum, which was an outgrowth of the GR Chamber of Commerce in 2008, and has been pushing neoliberal capitalist policies ever since.

Local News coverage of DeVos/Van Andel development announcement

It is also not surprising how the local news had reported on the announcement about the new development venture involving the Amway co-founding families. In fact, the coverage once again demonstrates the subservience of both MLive and WOODTV8 to the DeVos and Van Andel families. To be frank, I believe that the local news agencies are essentially lapdogs to power, especially when it comes to the DeVos and Van Andel families.

The MLive headline read, DeVos, Van Andel families plan massive ‘skyline defining’ project in Grand Rapids, while the channel 8 online headline stated, Plan for old Charley’s Crab site would be ‘skyline-defining,’ firm says. 

The idea that such a project will be “skyline defining” is based solely on the words of the firm that has been hired by the DeVos/Van Andel families, specifically Progressive Companies, known by most as Progressive AE. The CEO and President of Progressive Companies was quoted in both news sources, which confirms the subservience of the local news to these two families. 

According to MLive, the DeVos/Van Andel project is being handled by:

The Fulmar Property Holdings, a company comprised of members of the DeVos and Van Andel families. The families own the 500-space parking lot at the corner of Fulton Street and Market Avenue, just north of Acrisure Amphitheater, where the project would be built.

The same article states that the project will include, “mixed-use development with three high-rise towers containing up to 671 high-end apartments and condos, a hotel, office tower and retail.” 

Besides Progressive Companies and Fulmar Property Holdings, the project includes Michigan Growth Advisors, which will be taking the lead on efforts to secure federal, state and municipal financial incentives – tax breaks, subsidies – which means the millions in public funding will likely go to a project that is being championed by two multi-billionaire families.

The MLive article states that the project’s price tag is an estimated $738 million, but the “developers are eyeing a big public subsidy — a $544 million Transformational Brownfield plan.” Thus, the two billionaire families are seeking to use public incentives to cover the cost of three quarters of the total development project costs.

What makes this all the more absurd and infuriating is that the development will include 76 condos – which will no doubt only be affordable to those with deep pockets and a 130-room hotel, with rates that start at $400 a night. But wait, it gets even more disgusting. There will be 595 market-rate apartments that will cost the following: 

For a studio apartment, that would be $2,643 per month, $2,833 for a one-bedroom, and $3,401 for a two-bedroom.

Much of the remaining portion of the MLive article is dedicated to how this DeVos/Van Andel project will utilize public funding to create an even larger playground area for the business class and their friends in downtown Grand Rapids. The MLive article also states that the project deal will be sweetened because, “Fulmar Property Holdings is proposing to access the bigger subsidy by providing an $8.5 million payment to the Grand Rapids Affordable Housing Fund over a 20-year period.” 

Ok, so just to be clear, the DeVos/Van Andel project will provide $8.5 million over a 20 year period to the Grand Rapids Affordable Housing Fund, and in return, the two billionaire families hope to get $544 million Transformational Brownfield plan (Public Money). Welcome to the world of NeoLiberal Capitalism, where the billionaire class will receive $544 million to develop a project that will make them countless millions over the years and we are supposed to be excited that some of the wealthiest families in the area will contribute $425,000 a year for 20 years to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund. $425,000 a year for the DeVos and Van Andel families is like most working class people contributing $50 a year. It’s chump change for these rich families.

To add insult to injury, MLive ran a second article on Saturday with the headline, 5 things to know about the massive, skyline changing Grand Rapids riverfront project. This second article was essentially a summary of the initial post from Friday. 

Again, the subservience of MLive to the DeVos/Van Andel families is demonstrated. Instead of providing even more Press Release journalism, MLive might want to actually ask people who have been dealing with gentrification, displacement and housing insecurity in recent years. There are groups in this city that would certainly have something to say about billionaires using $544 million in public incentives to expand their wealth and create a downtown district that will be their playground, but the local news doesn’t care what the public thinks about how public funding is used.