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Staff: development activity strong; 2024 construction value was a record
Summary
Development Center staff reported continued strong development, noted recent approvals including an amphitheater parking ramp and Habitat for Humanity adding five townhouses, and said internal plan-review turnaround targets are about five days while addressing a spring backlog; a chart showed $726 million in 2024 construction value.
Development Center staff opened the commission briefing saying development in the city of Grand Rapids remains strong and highlighted recent approvals, including a parking ramp for the amphitheater. Staff listed several projects in the pipeline: Habitat for Humanity is increasing housing capacity by five townhouse units and Mary Free Bed is modernizing its rehabilitation center.
Staff said their target review-response time for incoming land-use and commercial building plan reviews is about five days for internal review steps, though applicants' overall application-to-approval time is longer and is the metric that most affects project timelines. Staff acknowledged a spring rush of applications has produced a modest backlog they are working to clear.
Unidentified Speaker 3 pointed to a chart showing a record construction value of $726,000,000 in 2024; Development Center staff confirmed that was a record and said the prior pre-pandemic high was roughly $500,000,000 in 2019. Staff said the city is already trending above the 2024 total in the current year.
Commissioners asked questions about turnaround times and staff responded that recent three-month averages reflect the internal five-day baseline for plan-review steps; they said the full timeline from application submission to approval remains the key concern for applicants. There were no formal actions on development items at the meeting.
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