For full coverage on the race check out the MLive Story

One of the best coffee bars in the country is in downtown Grand Rapids

Published: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 10:40 AM     Updated: Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 12:28 PM

By Shandra Martinez | smartinez@mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS – One of the best cups of coffee in the country can be found downtown.

Madcap Coffee was named one of America’s Best Coffee Bars by Food and Wine magazine.

Most of the list is populated by big city cafes in San Francisco, New York and New Orleans.

It’s the latest accolade for the three year-old upscale coffee bar. Founder Trevor Corlett has moved Washington, D.C. to open a second location.

Food and Wine credited the roaster for putting Grand Rapids on the map for its local coffee culture.

“Beyond the rotating seasonal blends, like the Six One Six coffee and Third Coast espresso, the company employs a handful of regional barista championship winners,” is how the publication described Madcap, adding: “Floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to warm the bare space, which features exposed brick and creamy white walls.”

Making the list is all the more impressive since only a handful of coffee bars were named in the Midwest. The rest are in Chicago.

Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk | The GR Press

GRAND RAPIDS — ArtPrize 2011 drew more than 322,000 visits, generated $10.1 million in new spending and had a net economic impact of $15.4 million during the 19-day exhibition held this past fall.

That’s the conclusion of the study released today by Anderson Economic Group, commissioned by Experience Grand Rapids.

The third exhibition and competition, created in 2009 by social media entrepreneur Rick DeVos, drew an average of 17,000 visitors per day from Sept. 21 to Oct. 9, mostly from West Michigan.

Visitors spent an average of $500,000 per day – more than the total of $484,000 awarded in cash prizes.

“It’s a pretty impressive event, and one of the main drivers is that it’s free to the public,” said Scott Watkins, a senior consultant with the firm based in East Lansing. “That leaves visitors free to spend their money at local businesses.”

Among the findings:

• Over 213,000 spectators attended, averaging 1.5 days each.

• Over 73 percent of visitors were from outside the City of Grand Rapids. Some 31 percent traveled from outside of Kent and Ottawa counties and over 5 percent from outside of Michigan.

• Net spending per spectator averaged $30.50 per day for a total of nearly $9.8 million and a total economic impact of $13.6 million from spectators alone.

• The total net economic impact – all new economic activity directly or indirectly caused by ArtPrize – is estimated at $15.4 million, generating 204 jobs resulting in over $4.6 million in new earnings for local households.

The event generated more than $10.1 million in new spending by all participants, including the 1,582 artists from 36 countries and 42 states. Some 350 artists from outside the Grand Rapids area reported staying an average of four days in the area.

The non-profit ArtPrize organization itself added an additional $1.9 million in local spending for goods and services related to event operation, such as additional public safety, while raising some $1.8 million from more than 150 sponsors.

“It does show that ArtPrize really can engage a community, and it shows that a city can do this with a great idea,” said ArtPrize executive director Catherine Creamer

Two rounds of voting over two weeks chose 10 artists to share in $449,000 in prize money with the first prize of $250,000 going to artist Mia Tavonatti of Santa Ana, Calf., for her stained-glass mosaic, “The Crucifixion.”

Watkins described ArtPrize as a “sticky event” for its repeat visits, averaging 1.5 days per person.

“That’s a lot of time to spend in any one activity in this day and age,” Watkins said. “They’re spending more of what you can consider an ‘intimate time’ in downtown Grand Rapids – more than going into a specific museum for two or three hours and not really engaging in the community.

“That kind of impact drives the total economic impact of the event,” he said.

In March, an economic impact study of ArtPrize 2010 by students at Grand Valley State University, under economics professor Paul Sicilian, determined that event generated $5.5 million in direct spending from nonlocal visitors and $7 million to $7.5 million in all. That study, which estimated ArtPrize 2010 generated 400,000 visitors days, also used a survey but had less hard data available.

In looking at ArtPrize 2011, Anderson Economic Group used such precise data as the 23,082 registered voters and 10,089 metro bus passes purchased, coupled with 2,068 replies to an online survey and 291 in-person interviews during the event to reach its conclusions in a 37-page report.

The AEG study found almost 70 percent of spectators said their trip to Grand Rapids was primarily due to ArtPrize, and 98 percent indicated they were just as likely or more likely to visit Grand Rapids again.

“That’s significant way beyond these numbers,” said Janet Korn, vice president for marketing for Experience Grand Rapids, the convention and visitor’s bureau that commissioned the study.

“When we have to promote Grand Rapids to the nation, it’s a city they haven’t heard about,” she said. “ArtPrize, because it’s new and different, has the ability to attract people’s attention because it’s so new and different.”

“It’s probably a game changer for this place as a destination,” Korn said.

Interestingly, the study found only about 18 percent of spectators voted in the competition.

“To vote, you have to be relatively engaged,” Watkins said. “A lot of people just come out to enjoy the art.”

Read the .PDF by Anderson Economic Group

Published: Saturday, December 10, 2011, 9:38 PM

By Eric Gaertner | Muskegon Chronicle

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS — Muskegon Heights city officials are moving ahead with a plan to resurface a half-mile section of Sherman Boulevard in the spring.

The road-improvement project calls for Sherman to be resurfaced from Riordan to Getty. The project is part of an ongoing push by the city to repair the city’s deteriorating roads system.

City council members gave their preliminary approval this week to spend up to $23,600 to hire Paradigm Design of Grand Rapids for the project’s design and construction engineering services.

Original Story

Our newest project, The MJR Grand Digital 16, opened November 4^th in Westland, MI. Westland is located directly between Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, creating a new location to provide a more convenient movie-going experience for cinema patrons in both metropolitan areas.

The new MJR Westland houses 16 studios within its 68,000 sf structure, each studio is equipped with digital projectors, including 4 studios with 3-D technology. The Grand Digital 16 has 2 new technologies available to help the hearing and visually impaired. Theatergoers can utilize aids such as a special narrative headphone system and/or a cupholder attachment which displays captions without disturbing other viewers.

Its inviting exterior is focused around a 52 foot high glass curtain wall, creating an 8,000 sf naturally lit lobby. The circular theme of the main lobby is carried through the building, specifically at hallway intersections minimizing the tunnel effect which plagues most large theatre layouts.

For showtimes at MJR visit their website

For more pictures of the project and Grand Opening Party visit our facebook

(WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com) – A new movie theater in Westland opens this Friday, bringing along jobs and features not seen in any other theaters around metro Detroit.

The MJR Westland Grand is the chain’s eighth location in southeast Michigan. Located 6800 N. Wayne Road, it offers free parking and devices to help both the hearing and visually impaired.

Speaking during the preview Thursday night, MJR founder and CEO Michael Mihalich noted the hard work and diligence that was required for the 16-screen, 69,000-square-foot theater to be constructed in under eight months.

Courtesy Mlive

Ground has been broken on the new rebuild of Grand Rapid’s Fulton Street Farmers Market. FSFM has been a staple in GR for nearly 90 years. Over the decades the market has gotten busier, with over 8,000 people visiting per week and bringing in close to $100,000 in area revenues (Mlive). The new $2,000,000 project will expand the current site and will include a new enclosed building in order to sell year round items.

The list of improvements planned at the Fulton Street Farmers Market next year.

• Enhanced traffic flow.
• Two pairs of wheelchair-accessible restrooms.
• Site grading to become ADA compliant.
• New landscaping and parking pavement.
• Upgraded HVAC.
• Rebuilt east-side retaining wall.
• Reconstructed storm water retention system.
• Permanently-covered, open-air sheds with improved access to water and power.
• Reconstructed plaza with added space for seating, bicycle storage and vendor overflow.

(Mlive)

Courtesy Lifeisfare

For more information check out This Story

If you want to keep up with the progress, follow FSFM News Feed

If you would like to support the project in any way visit Our Goodness Is Growing