Real estate firm moves across downtown

Real estate firm moves across downtown

A shot of the 12th-floor space at Bridgewater Place soon to be occupied by Colliers International West Michigan. Courtesy Colliers

A real estate firm is moving across town after 19 years.

Colliers International West Michigan currently occupies 18,542 square feet in downtown Grand Rapids on the third and fourth floors of the building at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW.

The firm said yesterday that on June 9 it will begin operating from its new 17,598-square-foot space on the 12th floor of Bridgewater Place, at 333 Bridge St. NW.

Open space

The office, which Grand Rapids-based Pioneer Construction is renovating with subcontractors like Feyen Zylstra, will allow Colliers to emphasize teamwork through an open-floor plan and height-adjustable desks.

Colliers said the space will also allow it share a building with other companies and organizations committed to the revitalization of the urban community on the city’s northwest side.

Those revitalization projects are what drew Colliers to the building, said Jamie Stiles, director of operations, Colliers International West Michigan.

“Community is one of our core values, so being able to contribute to and then watch our community grow — literally watch it from every window in the new space — is phenomenal,” Stiles said.

Colliers wants the space to accommodate growth, but it doesn’t have plans right now for any out-of-the-ordinary hiring, Stiles said.

The space will feature a “full suite of technological services intended to increase collaboration between colleagues and clients,” said John Kuiper, industrial principal, Colliers International West Michigan.

Kuiper said content will be shared via Wi-Fi, mobile printing and presentation display technologies.

Familiar highrise

Colliers has had a role in Bridgewater Place’s evolution over the years.

In 2011, GMAC Commercial Mortgage Securities bought the building in a mortgage foreclosure sale, and Colliers began marketing it for GMAC and eventually helped broker its sale.

“Moving into a building that we helped transform and reinvent is very exciting,” Stiles said.

Stiles added that Bridgewater Place reflects the firm’s “dedication to growing Grand Rapids’ footprint.”