Construction companies stay busy

Construction companies stay busy

Rockford Construction’s 234 Market St. apartment complex is scheduled to be finished July 2018. Courtesy Rockford Construction

Construction projects continue to pop up in West Michigan. Among the handful of new apartment complexes surfacing in downtown Grand Rapids, some long-standing construction projects are nearing completion.

Rockford Construction began building a 235-unit apartment complex in October 2016. As of now, the building, located at 234 Market Ave. SW in Grand Rapids, has a completion date of July 2018.

The $44-million project is about 60 percent complete and will feature four stories of residential space and three levels of parking. The complex also will have about 40,000 square feet of possible retail space.

“The space has potential to add a mezzanine if the user wanted more square footage,” said Ken Bailey, project executive. “We’ve accommodated for a restaurant. It could be divided however (tenants) see fit.”

Other amenities include storage rooms on each floor, a fitness room and a community room on the second floor with a kitchen and access to a patio with grills and a fire pit.

Previous projects by Rockford Construction include Butcher’s Union restaurant in Grand Rapids, Spectrum Health Center in Muskegon and Klingman Lofts in Grand Rapids.

At 414 Benson Ave. NE in Grand Rapids, Wolverine Building Group is close to completion on a 287-unit apartment complex. The Brix at Midtown will encompass five stories, with 32,500 square feet of liveable space and have 374 parking spaces for tenants.

The $53-million construction project was started in June 2016 and is slated for completion in January 2018.

Amenities include a two-story fitness center, two dog parks, a dog wash, a center courtyard and heated pools.

“We will have a clubhouse with a golf simulator,” project manager Troy Redman said. “There might also be shuffleboard and pool tables.”

Previous projects by Wolverine Building Group include Hopcat restaurant in Detroit, Goodrich Apartments in Grand Rapids, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids and Ranir, an oral products manufacturer in Grand Rapids.

Lakewood Construction announced a handful of new and near-complete projects in the Holland area.

Holland-based Lakewood partnered with Hope College to build Cook Residential Village, a student housing community with four different buildings and six duplexes that each house 10 students.

In 2016, Hope College again partnered with Lakewood and AMDG Architecture to expand Cook Village. The expansion involved two new dwellings that prioritize accessibility for students with mobility impairments. It also featured low-slope exterior sidewalks that allow easy access to parking and public sidewalks, reduced-height countertops, zero-transition shower entry, increased door widths and removal of base cabinets at the sink and adjacent to the stove for ease of use.

“There’s a student already signed up to live here that will take advantage of those features,” said Nick Nykerk, vice president of Lakewood.

In fall of 2016, law firm Warner Norcross and Judd’s Holland office contracted with Lakewood to relocate its office, previously in the Plaza Central building in Holland, to the second floor of Plaza East. Lakewood built the core and shell of Plaza East in 2007 and has since had a hand in previous build-outs in the building, including completion of office space for Hope College on the third floor.

Warner contracted Lakewood to build an office with an open feel. The new office features high ceilings and three conference rooms separated by glass walls with solid wood frames forming an “L” shape. The reception area, which leads to the conference rooms, is closed off by blended drywall panels.

“They wanted those high ceilings to have that presence for a law firm,” Nykerk said. “Moving away from those law offices that have a ton of wood everywhere — that kind of gold and oak for miles — now it’s glass in an open-concept feel.”

Lakewood also helped Holland Hospital with the expansion of its 10,500-square-foot cardiology wing. The project included installing underground plumbing followed by replacement and repair of the waterproofing system. The cath lab and special procedure room also have been designed mechanically to be converted into an operating room should the hospital have a need for it. A teamwork area with a vaulted 11-foot ceiling also was built to create an open feel for better worker vibes. The completed wing is scheduled to go online in October.

Other clients of Lakewood Construction include JR Automation, Coastal Container, Eagle Design and Holland Alloys.