2003 MDB Award Recipients

This year, we once again recognized special efforts made by our own business associates, friends, partners and neighbors to build better, more sustainable communities in West Michigan . Being our 10th year also gave us a chance to see how far we have come by acknowledging not only three great MDB Award winners, but recognizing three other meritorious applicants as well.

I.  City of Grand Rapids Master Plan

Nowhere have the Blueprint Principles, as adopted by GVMC to guide future metro growth, been so widely applied and comprehensively illustrated as the recently adopted City of Grand Rapids Master Plan . Responding to the need to update the 1963 Grand Rapids Master Plan, the City of Grand Rapids Planning Department undertook a heroic effort to involve hundreds of citizens in hundreds of meetings to develop a truly community-based reorganization of the planning process, its basic planning outcomes and its myriad means of implementation. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of this plan is its great attention to the "building blocks" of good community. The City of Grand Rapids has clearly struck the right balance between offering a detailed step-by-step design guideline and a beautifully rendered inspirational set of visions which inspire us to continue seeking out our ideal community.

The plan was funded by the City of Grand Rapids , Frey Foundation, Right Place , and U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Block Grant program. A 36 person Master Plan Committee chaired by Jack Hoffman oversaw the development of the project which involved the time and efforts of consultants, administrative staff, neighborhood associations, city officials and many, many more individuals, corporations and institutions.

II.  Helmus Building

If you squeezed all the concepts of the City of Grand Rapids Master Plan into a single building, it would end up with the Helmus Building . This project, built by Bazzani Associates, Inc., was awarded the MDB Award this year for high marks in many of the Blueprint Principles, most notably: land use (livable design, mixed use), transportation (supporting compact urban form), utilities (supporting compact urban form), and environment (designs for sustainability, conservation). The Helmus building was a complete restoration of a 9,480 sq. ft. abandoned warehouse in an economically stressed part of the city. What makes this project different from other renovations in our downtown area, however, is the multi-dimensional approach taken by the building owner, Guy Bazzani, to cover as many aspects of good urban and environmental design as possible. Respecting the existing human-scale streetscape at Wealthy and Diamond, the renovation established a viable mixed-use structure with businesses on the main floor and three residential units on the second floor. Building architecture and the urban aesthetics were retained, even enhanced, as the structure is sporting a LEED rated green roof and the site boasts ample provisions for cyclists, walkers and commuters. Parking spaces are provided for use by commuters of any one of three transit routes at the site. With over 500 visitors over the past year, the Helmus Building is becoming a learning experience in its own right helping to convey the original intent of GVMC's MDB.

III.  Cobblestone

Cobblestone is a new "place" being built by Bosgraaf Homes just off the corner of 40 th and Graafscahap in Holland , Michigan . This is a new residential development just off a 30 acre niche corner outside of the City of Holland which, in many ways, makes the development seem more like infill development than greenfield . While the homes will have rich traditional styling, it is the layout of development which distinguishes it for the MDB award. The sites are laid out with narrower lots and garages to the rear. Smaller setbacks allow for more public activity to the front of homes, though there may still be too much space between prominent front porches and sidewalks for good public interaction. Blocks have been laid out in a modified grid pattern have been reflected within the development and with ample sidewalks throughout, should provide some degree of walkability throughout the development. The entire site encircles a park and activity center while interconnections with surrounding uses have been built or are anticipated by municipal planning staff. Utilities were mostly in place for this development and the 30 acres is nestled between an elementary school, a high school and a church. Though clearly on the edge of urbanized Holland , both placement and design of the development reflects an effort to interconnect with the city and its many public amenities. Though many of the interconnections still need to be made for full urban functionality, this development has incorporated vital elements of "smart growth" and exemplifies the intentions of the GVMC MDB Award.

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Other 2003 MDB Award Nominees

The Greater Grand Rapids Metro Area can certainly be proud of the work being done within our own region to build better, more sustainable community and attempt to reverse the undesirable trends of the last half century. This year's nominees are a true measure of local successes which we can indirectly attribute to the MDB campaign of the 1990's to change business as usual. In addition to the winners above, please read a little about each of the other MDB nominees for 2003.

Downtown Plan - City of Wyoming

The City of Wyoming has long been interested in creating a greater sense of "downtown" and an identifiable focal point. Using as a catalyst another perennial concern, 28 th Street , the City of Wyoming DDA and the Planning Department pulled together a "new-urbanist" style charrette process to establish a well designed and locally acceptable city center plan. The center includes commercial uses, new street arrangements and high density housing.

Conservation Cluster Development - City of Norton Shores

The City of Norton Shores took a very proactive stance in developing an ordinance to accommodate clustered developments, a new state mandated feature for zoning ordinances. Norton Shores , agreeing with what they needed to accomplish and where, devised a "Conservation Cluster Development Overlay Distict" to steer where these development should be considered. New rules for clustering and land set-asides are then applied for each type of zone within the Conservation Cluster overlay.

Purchase of Development Rights Program - Kent County Administration

Kent County took a dramatic step forward in land preservation last year with the adoption of a Purchase of Development Rights program. Coming directly from recommendations of the County's Urban Sprawl Subcommittee a year before, Kent County administrators moved decisively to devise and adopt a method to allow local governing bodies to purchase the development rights of qualifying farmlands in our urbanizing area. Though groundbreaking, further steps are yet to be taken including administrative and financial.

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