Madison Area/South Hills- Home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer House and another Grand Rapid’s Neighborhood on the Rise

South Hill and Madison Area were shaped by several waves of immigration starting with the Dutch in the late 19th century, Italian immigrants in the early 20th century, and later the neighborhood transitioned into a majority African American. South Hills is a residential only subdistrict with large early 20th century homes that were originally filled with upper middle class families. The districts also hosts the Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May house. The area declined in the 60s and 70s thanks to white flight and disinvestment. However, the neighborhood never fell into ruin thanks to the resilience of the residents and in time investment has returned to the neighborhood especially within the past decade. Wealthy Street in the northeast corner of Madison Area is a vibrant commercial node, most of the homes are occupied and especially in good condition in South Hills and the streets just south of Wealthy St.. The neighborhood also welcomed a new park in 2014, Pleasant Park from a former parking lot.

But for Madison Area to be on the same urban level as some of its adjacent communities like East Hills and Eastown, it needs more investment and people which will help foster more retail and cultural amenities especially along the underinvested biz districts of Madison and Eastern Avenues. It would be great to have more walkable amenities in the southern half of the district.

Click here to view my Madison Area Album and South Hills Albums on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

• Good Sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. About 85% of curbs are up to date.
• Solid public transit access
• Decent Urban Density.
• High poverty rates but still good income diversity.
• About 40-50% Black population but overall great diversity.
• Very convenient access to Dwtn being only 2 miles away. Also a short 20 min bus ride.
• Gorgeous historic architecture along Wealthy, the northern edge of Madison Area and South Hills where the Frank Lloyd Wright house is located. Beyond these areas architecture is a mixture of modes test working class and middle class homes from the 1910s & 1920s.
• Solid tree canopy except the southern edge of the district which is industrial.
• Some good urban mixed-use infill bldgs along Wealthy. More and more along Eastern but plenty of autocentric in fill still along Eastern and parts of Madison.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Some blight pockets along the southern edge of Madison and crime appears higher than more gentrified neighborhoods to the north but the neighborhoods is much safer than it was a couple decades ago.
• A handful of schools located within Madison area with mixed ratings
• 1 bed rentals are limited but decent amount of 2 & 3 rentals. Prices are pretty modest.
• For options are a bit limited. No 1-bed condos and sales prices are pretty modest. 2 beds sell btwn 150K-240K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 100K-325K.
• Parks are limited to several cemeteries and a nice playground park.
• Some food & beverage businesses located along Wealthy btwn Union and Eastern. Not much else in Madison area besides the Frank Lloyd Wright house, but the neighborhood is walkable on the northern half to cultural amenities in East Hills and Baxter.
• Most of the retail amenities are concentrated along Wealthy St including several boutiques & clothing stores, a local bank, a couple home good stores, several salons, and a couple bakeries. Other retail amenities outside of Wealthy St are limited but include a supermarket, a public library, and a couple of churches.”