Developer plans up to six retailers on Wealthy Street

Developer plans up to six retailers on Wealthy Street

A rendering of the retail spaces planned across the street from Wealthy Street Bakery, at 619 Wealthy St. SE. Courtesy Jim McClurg

One of the minds behind the Wealthy Street and Hall Street bakeries is planning a $2-million project on Wealthy Street with up to six retail spaces and a pair of apartments.

Jim McClurg, co-owner of the two Grand Rapids bakeries, plans to renovate a one-story building across the street from Wealthy Street Bakery, at 619 Wealthy St. SE. The building formerly housed D&G Party Store.

McClurg said the 4,000-square-foot building has sat vacant since 2011 and was purchased — along with an “in-bad-shape” house at 616 Wealthy St. SE — for $325,000 in 2013 by McClurg and his bakery co-partner, David LaGrand, through their bakery.

Earlier this year, the bakery sold the building and its adjacent lot to McClurg, his wife, Barb, who is also a co-founder of the bakeries, and a silent partner.

McClurg plans to add about 1,200 square feet of commercial space in the back of the building, creating an entrance off James Avenue SE and offering space for up to six retail tenants.

He hasn't determined the tenants yet.

He also plans to add a second-story space with about 2,200 square feet for two apartments.

The Design Forum in Grand Rapids is set to do the design work, and McClurg hasn’t settled on a contractor.

If the Grand Rapids City Commission approves the mixed-use project next month, McClurg expects to begin work in March and hopefully complete the retail spaces by next fall, before finishing the apartment spaces by next December.

McClurg said he has an interest in seeing that the building is renovated and represents “the quality that the community and the neighborhood deserves.”

“This is our neighborhood, so we’re really acting as catalyst in the neighborhood to activate Wealthy Street and bring food and services to the neighborhood,” he said.