Further evidence of how much the DeVos family has their tentacles in all things Grand Rapids

Last Thursday MLive posted an article with the headline, Grand Rapids board to gain an estimated $224,600 from DeVos-owned parking lot.

The article stated that a “DeVos family affiliated company” currently owns the parking lot on Ionia right across from the Van Andel Arena. 45 Ionia Associates, which is a subsidiary of RDV Corporation (Doug DeVos), bought the property in 2009, which was approved by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

The DDA has now approved a new 10-year agreement between the DDA and the DeVos-owned 45 Ionia Associates. According to the minutes from the DAA meeting from October 8th:

While the Owner is still interested in developing the property, the timeline to do so is undefined and the conditions today are different than they were in 2009. In acknowledgement of that, and with a desire for Area 3 to remain available for public parking as interim use, the Owner has proposed terminating the 2009 Development Agreement and entering a lease with the DDA for the continued operation of the parking lot. As proposed the DDA will pay $4,200 per month to the Owner until such time that it is ready for development. The monthly lease fee would be covered using revenue generated from the lot which will continue to be managed by MobileGR as outlined in the City and DDA Parking Agreement. Any remaining funds after maintenance and operation fees would become non-tax revenue available to the DDA for budgeted projects and programs. The initial lease term is 10 years following which it will automatically be extended for consecutive one-year terms.

The MLive article omitted this information regarding the details of the agreement between the DDA and the DeVos-owned 45 Ionia Associates. More importantly, the MLive reported did not talk about the Downtown Development Authority and it’s relationship to the DeVos family.

The DDA was founded in 1980 to allow the non-elected entity to use tax dollars from the area that makes up downtown Grand Rapids and funnel it to what they like to call public/private projects. However, these projects are ultimately designed to benefit the private sector. The public part of the relationship is to use public tax dollars, plus the public gets to act as consumers.

The other major factor that the MLive reporter failed to discuss or explore is the fact that there are several DeVos-connected people who make up the Grand Rapids DDA. There are 9 members who sit on the DDA Board:

• Richard Winn – AHC Hospitality, which is owned by the DeVos family
• David LaGrand – Mayor of Grand Rapids
• Rosalynn Bliss – Michigan State University
• Luis Avila – Varnum
• Kayem Dunn – Organizational Development Consultant
• Greg McNeilly – The Windquest Group, which is owned by the DeVos family
• Al Vandenberg – Kent County Administrator
• Jen Schottke – West Michigan Construction Institute
• Ryan Foley – Acrisure

At this point you might be saying that the DeVos family only has two people sitting on the DDA board that work for them. While this is true, you have to understand how the DeVos family has their fingers in nearly every facet of Grand Rapids and Kent County.

Since the DeVos family has so much money in Grand Rapids and Kent County, it means their interests always come first. Thus Mayor LaGrand and County Administrator Al Vandenberg would be de-facto DeVos underlings. Varnum is essentially the law firm for the rich and powerful in Grand Rapids, so Luis Avila would always be looking out for the interests of the DeVos family. Former GR Mayor Rosalynn Bliss demonstrated her allegiance to the DeVos family with numerous policy decisions that they would benefit from.

Anyone working for Acrisure has the same interests as the DeVos family and the person with the West Michigan Construction Institute is committed to development projects that will serve the long-term interests of the DeVos family as well. Lastly, Kayem Dunn, who does consulting work and also sit on the board of Experience Grand Rapids, has a history of supporting and serving the interests of those who run this city.

Besides not providing more details on the DeVos-owned parking garage and their relationship with the DDA, the real storythat MLive missed is how the DDA is fundamentally another non-elected tool of the DeVos family and other members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.