On October 29, an open house style public input session was held at the Sun Title Community Room regarding a proposed high-density development near Huff Park. The housing project has attracted criticism from the surrounding community due to potential concerns over environmental impacts on Huff Park.
CopperRock Construction, who, according to Ryan Schmidt of Indigo Design + Development, both own the land the potential development would go one and would construct the housing complex, first bought 1435 & 1439 Knapp Street in July 2022 and 1443 Knapp Street in February 2023, alongside others. After some meetings with the Creston Neighborhood Association Land Use Committee in the spring of that year and some push back from the local community, which includes a petition that, at the time of writing, has 7,517 signatures, CopperRock Construction paused in their progress with the plan until March of 2024, when Indigo Design + Development was approached for a joint venture with CopperRock Construction to help produce architectural designs for the potential multi-family housing units. Through the rest of 2024 and the beginning half of 2025, Indigo Design + Development began conceptual planning of the site based off past public input and participated in multiple discussions with the Grand Rapids Department of Planning. This culminated in Indigo Design + Development’s first meeting with the Creston Neighborhood Association Land Use Committee. This led to the public input meeting on Oct. 29.
In addition to the work of CopperRock Construction and Indigo Design + Development, the project would involve the input of Nederveld, which is entrusted with the civil engineering for the project, and NativEdge, a landscape architecture firm.
The development would include 24 housing units, of which 21 would be newly constructed townhomes for the site. The remaining 3 would be repurposed from the already existing homes on the property. This has already changed significantly from the initial plans for the site, which would have had the development take the form of a multifamily apartment building or a duplex.
This brings us to the public input meeting on Oct. 29. Held at the Sun Title Community Room, located at the Sun Title Insurance Company, this meeting was held as a open house style meeting, meaning that people could come and go through the scheduled time of the session as opposed to a specific presentation. Members of the community could come and ask questions regarding the proposed project. In attendance were members of the Grand Rapids Planning Department as well as Ryan and Greg Schmidt, brothers and partners of Indigo Design + Development. In addition, informational signage regarding the project was posted around the community room for community members to peruse. This included information such as a timeline of the project’s development thus far, information on the project site itself, and diagrams of the current proposed plan for the site.
When asked for the motivation for the housing project, Ryan Schmidt said, “Grand Rapids, like many cities, is facing a growing need for more housing choices. This project represents a small but meaningful step toward meeting that need, by offering homes that support walkability, efficient land use, and a vibrant, connected neighborhood”. Multiple studies into the subject seem to suggest a similar conclusion. In a study conducted by HousingNext, an organization that works toward increasing housing supply in the West Michigan area, found that there is a need for 13,232 additional housing units by 2029 in order to meet current demand for housing.
Many groups, such as HousingNext, argue that high-density housing is a good solution for this shortage. One of these reasons is the fact that high-density housing often requires less resources then low-density housing, due to the reduction in the amount of land used to house the same number of people and a reduction in the amount of car commuting, as mentioned by Ryan Schmidt.
Some concerns regarding the project have been raised, however. One of the main concerns regarding the project has been in regards to potential environmental effects on Huff Park. Huff Park occupies 80 acres in Northeast Grand Rapids. Aside from 50 acres of softball field land, the park encompasses three different types of ecological community, something that the Grand Rapids Historical Commission notes as “a rare experience in an urban area” in the book Keep on the Grass. The 30 acres of natural area at Huff Park serves as vital habitat in the highly urbanized landscape where it resides. According to the Grand Rapids Audubon Society, Huff Park serves as a home to 189 different species of bird.
Some community members have also expressed concern with the high-density nature of the proposed project. Zoning describes a collection of local laws which guide the use of land and the general structure by which a locality develops. These policies are used for a wide manner of reasons, such as public health and environmental protection. One particular implementation of such policies mentioned in handouts at the open house was zoning laws preventing industrial factories from being built near residential areas. The area where the proposed high-density development would be located is currently zoned for low-density housing, which means that a special use permit would need to be approved for the development to continue outside of the land’s normal zoning. According to Ryan Schmidt, no such permit has yet been filed.
One resident who outlined these concerns was Steve Friedsma, an architect who neighbors the proposed development that has helped spearhead opposition to the high-density plan. He mentioned how the site would require significant topographic change. This, combined with the height of the buildings, would make the project easily viewable from within the park, with the closest trail being only 330 feet. In his words, it’s “too tall, too dense, too close.”
According to Jim VanderMolen, another architect involved in opposition to the development, has said that opposition to the project has actually brought the community together. On site sources mentioned that many people who went to the open house on Oct. 29 had never been to a public hearing before. VanderMolen also mentioned that communication has greatly improved since Indigo Design + Development has joined the project, with him and Friedsma meeting with developers multiple times to discuss the communities concerns with the project.
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Thank you for reading the article! It was originally published on the Rapidian as part of my work with them which you can read here.
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