Coffeehouses have begun springing up along with a growing retail sector, which now includes Monroe Mall being open to traffic. What's happening in Grand Rapids is not unique to Grand Rapids, according to Sam Cummings, president of Macroe Properties. It's what has led the 1990 Calvin graduate to his current work of renovating old downtown buildings into new, exciting office, retail and residential space. His company is in the midst of its fourth renovation with more on the horizon. It's important to reuse whenever possible and that's what we strive to do.
Land is a finite asset, but too often it is viewed as a bottomless pit.
Too often we are not good stewards of our land. In addition, there were a lot of buildings around here threatened with destruction. There's a lot of history in these buildings aside from the economics. It's usually less costly, but like anything it's harder to redo than to start from scratch. Likewise, Cummings has worked miracles on an old furniture warehouse, a former wholesale grocer and a vacant shoe distribution center.