Botanical Heights- Successfull Revitalization Story of a South St. Louis Neighborhood ravaged by the I-44 Freeway and Crime & Drugs Issues

The area, originally referred to as McRee Town, was developed as a working-class neighborhood in the late 19th century with a mix of single-family and multi-family homes. But the neighborhood faced many challenges in the post War era including the construction of Interstate 44, and by the 80s and 90s major crime and drug issues leading to a concentration of low income African American Households. By 2000 over 50% of remaining structures in the neighborhood were vacant and in disrepair. But the community responded and by 2007 the local CDC, the Garden District Commission, took an aggressive approach buying out blocks of housing and restabilizing them or building new construction.

Botanical Heights received its rebranding in the early 2000s as the community sought a fresh start. From an urban perspective, this is a solid district but still has missing pieces before it becomes a top tier neighborhood (i.e. more density, better parks, more rental diversity, better schools, and more amenities in the business district). Tower Grove Avenue is an attractive two-block biz node but largely contains food and beverage businesses. But the core revitalization strategy of the Garden District Commission has been successful and now for sale homes sell anywhere from the 200s, topping out at around 500K. Given the neighborhood proximity to Dwtn, the Central West End, and other stable and attractive South St. Louis neighborhoods, the trajectory of the neighborhood seems good. I just hope it can retain its economic and racial diversity.

Click here to view my Botanical Heights Neighborhoo on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Solid public transit access thanks to decent access to the light rail just north of the neighborhood. Thanks to good transit access and several dedicated bike lanes, there is good access to Dwtn among all modes.
Good sidewalk infrastructure and about 50% of all curbs are ADA compliant.
This was previously a pretty poor and Black dominate neighborhood. Since 2000 Botanical Heights has moved from 88% Black to 50% Black welcoming more white households with means. Many would call this gentrification but having concentrated Black poverty in a community isn’t a positive outcome either. The neighborhood is also pretty family friendly as well.
Nice mix of historic and new construction housing but mostly 3 & 4 bedrooms. The handful of 2-bed sell in the 200Ks and 300Ks 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 250K-500K.
Solid historic fabric in the residential and commercial areas. Also lots of residential in-fill housing including a mix of more traditional brick homes and modern infill.
Decent cultural amenities including a fair number of restaurants, bars & cafes concentrated along Tower Grove Ave. Missouri Botanical Gardens is also located just south of the neighborhood.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

only a handful of parks within the neighborhood but pretty close proximity to Missouri Botanical Gardens and Compton Hill to the south but I-44 separates them.
So so urban density.
There is a history of high crime in Botanical Heights but this is much improved since the 2010s. Still some blight especially along the industrial edges.
Tree canopy is a bit sparse in spots but improving thanks to the stabilization of the neighborhood.
Rental options are pretty limited. Some 1 & 2 beds. 1-bed lease in the low 1Ks and 2-beds in the 1Ks. More 3-bed options that lease from the mid 1Ks to the mid 2Ks.
School options are so so. A couple of private elementary schools within Botanical Heights. Several mixed-rated public schools on the edges of the neighborhood and also a really well rated public high school just east of it.
Urban form is mixed. Decent urban form along the two block biz district on Tower Grove Ave. Not as nice along Father Biondi ( the eastern edge). Along plenty of industrial uses along the edges of the district.
Beyond food & beverage businesses, retail amenities are pretty limited. There are a handful of boutiques, a running store, a couple bakeries/desert joints, several doctor’s offices and a major hospital on the eastern edge of the neighborhood. The extensive Forest Park SE biz district is only a 1-15 min walk from Botanical Heights.”

Shaw- A comfortable urban St. Louis neighborhood surrounded by some of the City’s best Parks

The Shaw neighborhood was named after Henry Shaw, the founder of Missouri Botanical Garden and major landowner in the area. Most of the homes in Shaw were built in the late 19th century and early 20th century as Saint Louis expanded westward. Shaw remained a stable middle-upper middle class neighborhood until the 70s when the overall decline of Saint Louis lead to disinvestment. Shaw, however, never saw widespread decline and managed to retain most of its built environment thanks to the tireless effort of grass roots efforts lead by the Shaw Neighborhood Housing Corporation (SNHC), an outgrowth of the St. Louis Catholic Diocese. Shaw further stabilized with its designation as a Historic District in 1985.

From an urban perspective Shaw is a pleasant, relatively walkable neighborhood with a tidy urban grid lined with a nice mix of brick single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, and smaller apartment buildings. Shaw is surrounded by 3 large parks (Tower Grove, Missouri Botanical Garden, and Compton Hill Reservoir), and has a nice array of corner restaurants, bars, and cafe’s mixed throughout the district. Shaw’s biggest missing piece is retail amenities, as there is no concentrated business district here. Shaw also has mediocre public transit access, limited walkable schools, and a lack of a dedicated bike share system like the rest of Saint Louis. For Shaw to really thrive it needs more mixed-use apartment buildings. Permitting more apartment buildings along Grand Avenue, Shaw Blvd, and Tower Grove Avenue would go a long way towards increasing the neighborhood’s density and adding much needed retail amenities.

Click here to view my Flickr Album of Shaw

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Decent density at Shaw.
* Two dedicated bike lanes run through the neighborhood and mixed-use streets along Grand Ave and Shaw Blvd. So a pretty walkable neighborhood.
* Solid diversity indicators with decent racial diversity, better economic diversity, and excellent generational diversity. Good mix of families and young professionals here.
* Good side walk infrastructure but ADA curbs are generally concentrated only along arterials and mixed-use streets.
* Lots of commercial on the corner of residential streets creating a solid mixed use neighborhood.
* Excellent park amenities with the expansive Tower Grove Park to the south, Missouri Botanical Garden to the west, and Compton Hill Reservoir Park to the east. Just limited smaller parks within the Shaw neighborhood.
* Solid tree canopy.
* Some petty crime in the neighborhood but overall pretty safe.
* Attractive historic architecture especially along the boulevard streets.
* Good # of rentals with 1-bed range btwn 8000-1.3K, 2-bed btwn in the 1Ks, 3-bed btwn 1.5-2.5K. Also a decent # of subsidized rentals.
* For sale homes are higher than most St. Louis neighborhoods with 2-bed selling in the 200Ks & 300Ks, and a good variety of 3 & 4 bed options selling anywhere from btwn 275K-725K. Limited 1-bed options.
* Decent cultural amenities including a good # of food & beverage businesses well spread out, a couple art galleries, the Missouri Cultural gardens, and the historic Tower Grove Park.
* In fill is limited to a mix of auto centric and quality urban uses along Grand Ave. Pretty solid urban massing through Shaw.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Public transit is not great for an urban district.
* Some walkable schools within Shaw or nearby. Schools ratings is mixed.
* Retail amenities within Shaw are pretty lacking as there is no dedicated business district. Retail amenities include a supermarket, a couple salons, a couple dessert joints including Damn Fine Hand Pies, a couple medical offices, and several churches. Still walking distance the Grand Avenue biz district to the southeast and smaller biz node in Botanical heights on Tower Grove.

Tower Grove East- Dense Urban District on the Eastern Edge of Tower Grove Park and Grand Avenue Business District

Tower Grove East received its name due to its proximity to the eastern entrance of Tower Grove Park. The land of Tower Grove Park was deeded to the city in 1868 as a gift by Henry Shaw, who also was the owner of the current day Tower Prove Park and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The owners and builders in the early days of Tower Grove East were mostly from prominent German Americans living in the exclusive Compton Heights located just to the north of Tower Grove East. The neighborhood was built up mostly between the 1870s-1890s and was a stable middle class neighborhood in St. Louis for many years. Like many neighborhoods east of Grand, Tower Grove East fell on hard times follow World War II and saw a great deal of abandonment and urban decay for decades. Crime rates remained high until the mid-90s in the neighborhood. But revitalization began by the late 80s and increased in the 2000s likely corresponding with a decrease in crime. Tower Grove East is now a desirable urban St. Louis neighborhood thanks to its proximity to Tower Grove Park and the vibrant Grand Ave commercial district. But the neighborhood has not completely gentrified as rents remain affordable and one can still buy an attractive 2 or 3 bed home in the 200s & 300Ks.

The main areas for improvement for Tower Grove East in order for it to become a premiere St. Louis neighborhood is improved walkable schools and quality infill development along Gravois Avenue, one of the City’s worst stroads. There are also some blocks (esp. along the eastern and southern edges of the district) that are pretty gritty with some abandonment. While this is a pretty dense district for St. Louis Standards (around 12K per square mile), and increase of density would elevate the district’s urban amenities helping to foster more retail and cultural destinations.

Click here to view my Flickr Albun for Tower Grove East

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* One of St. Louis’ most dense neighborhoods.
* Good sidewalk infrastructure but most ADA curb cuts are outdated except along the more commercials areas.
* Several gorgeous segments of historic brick architecture but all the neighborhood has attractive brick homes and buildings.
* A couple bike lanes run through the neighborhood but no bike sharing program.
* Rentals are plentiful and generally cheap. 1-bed range btwn 700-1.3K, 2-bed btwn $900-2.5K, 3-bed btwn 1.5-3K. Also a decent # of subsidized rentals.
* Pretty affordable for sale options. Some condos selling in the 200Ks, 2-beds selling generally in the 200Ks & 300Ks, and good variety of 3 & 4 bed options selling anywhere from btwn 225K-550K.
* Generally a pretty safe neighborhood but some areas of grit and a bit of blight esp. on the southern and eastern edges of the neighborhood.
* Solid tree canopy generally better in the northern than southern half of the district, likely the historic divide between a more professional and working class households.
* Great access to the expansive Tower Grove Park, albeit few small parks located within the district.
* Solid cultural assets including a great array of restaurants, bars, & cafes, esp. concentrated along Grand Ave, a handful of art galleries, a community theater, a couple live music venues.
* Solid retail amenities with the majority concentrated along Grand Ave. This includes a couple supermarkets and several grocerias, a drug store, a couple banks & bookstores, several dessert joints & bakeries, a decent # of boutiques & gift shops, a local public library and post office, several churches, and a couple doctor’s offices.
* Good urban massing with few wholes along Grand Avenue. Gravois is pretty awful however.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent # of schools. Just not well rate nor have high enrollment.
* Infill is very limited and what does exist is largely autocentric uses along Gravois. Although some decent urban commercial infill along Grand Ave.
* No bike share in the district.

Benton Park West- Heart of Saint Louis’ Hispanic Community

Benton Park West is a South St. Louis Neighborhood on the upswing welcoming an influx of new Hispanic families and young professionals looking for cheap housing in a hip and walkable urban district. The neighborhood hosts St. Louis’ largest concentration of Hispanic owned restaurants and businesses along Cherokee Street. Historically, the neighborhood likely saw significant population loss in the post WWII era but rebounded in the 90s likely due to an large influx of African Americans from the North St. Louis. But this was short lived as the neighborhood lost 18% of its population btwn 2000 and 2010 but this trend appears to have been reversed as Hispanics and young professionals have increasingly moved into the neighborhood since 2010.

This is a solid urban district from an urban perspective and I’m glad that the commercial district along Cherokee is in tact and vibrant, uplifted by a large influx of Hispanics since 2010. Other attributes of Benton Park West are its racial diversity, decent tree canopy, attractive late 19th century brick residential structures, affordable housing, and good retail amenities. What Benton Park West needs to become a top notch urban district is rebuilding its historic density and filling in the awful stroad along Gravois and to a lesser extend Jefferson St with quality mixed-use infill. Not sure the housing market in St. Louis is strong enough to support new construction in this part of tow yet but hopefully in a decade. Benton Park West also needs better bike and public transit infrastructure, more walkable schools, more parks, and renovation of a decent number of blighted buildings.

Click here to view my Benton Park West Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid sidewalks but ADA curbs and almost all outdated except along Cherokee St.
* Pretty good urban density.
* Solid urban street grid.
* Solid diversity metrics with great racial diversity about 40/40 white and black with a growing Hispanic population. Large working class population and poverty is under 20%. Lots of large families here.
* Decent tree canopy.
* Solid brick historic architecture throughout the residential streets of Benton Park West. Mix of late 19th century and early 20th century commercial architecture.
* Solid pedestrian activity esp. along Cherokee St.
* Good urban form along Cherokee St but a pretty terrible strode along Gravois. Urban form is hit or miss along Jefferson St.
* Great array of restaurants, bars, and cafes concentrated and several art galleries concentrated along Cherokee St. Also a couple night clubs & music venue, a couple community theaters through Benton Park West.
* Good retail amenities including a major Save a Lot, several grocerias, tons of boutiques & clothing stores, lots of gift and antique stores, a couple book stores, a pharmacy, plenty of bakery and dessert joints, a couple gyms & a local Recreation Center.
* Decent amount of rentals and pretty affordable. 1-beds lease btwn $850 & 1.2 K, 2-beds in the low-mid 1Ks, and 3ks lease anywhere from 1K-2.5K.
* Pretty affordable for sale options. Definitively a neighborhood, which attracts first time home buyers.. Some small SF homes sell in the 100Ks, 2-beds btwn 150K-225K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 150K-400K.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Bike infrastructure is limited to a pair of dedicated bike paths running down Gravois. Limited dockless bike or scooter options in Benton Park West.
* Only a handful of walkable schools within Benton Park West and not a handful of smaller schools in adjacent neighborhoods.
* Parks within Benton Park West are limited and small but two large parks on the edges of the neighborhood (Gravios Park & Benton Park).
* Still some safety concerns and plenty of blight but neighborhood is improving has much less crime than it did a couple decades ago.
* Not much modern in fill and what does exist is unattractive autocentric uses along Gravois and Jefferson St.
* Missing some key retail amenities including a local post office, hardware store, and public library although there is a library just to the west of Benton Park West.

Benton Park- Historic St. Louis District with many remaining Historic Breweries and St. Louis Antique Row

The area now comprising Benton Park proper was first used as the City Cemetery, from 1842–1865. The cemetery was converted to a City Park and named after Thomas Hart Benton. Benton Park was one of the neighborhoods that filled out in the Mid-19th Century as St. Louis became the 4th largest City in 1870 at just over 300K people. By the 1880s, the neighborhood was mostly built out. As Benton Park grew, it attracted several breweries due to its location above a system of caves and St. Louis’s large German immigrant population creating many breweries with a strong European character, many of which are still standing along or near Cherokee St.

Because Benton Park was mostly built out by the 1880s, it has a very mixed-use character with many restaurants and bars mixed into the residential parts of the district. The Neighborhood, like most of St. Louis, experienced decline and vacancy in the post War Era but finally hit bottom in 2010 and has increased modestly since then. Benton Park has experienced a resurgence in the past several decades and has managed to retain much of its historic mid-late 19th residential fabric and now hosts an attractive mixed-use district along Cherokee St, also referred to as Antique Row, with a wonderful array of historic commercial and brewery buildings. For Benton Park to become a top notch urban district it needs to return to its historic density which is likely 3 times the amount of its 10K per square mile density mark. Benton Park also needs to focus on re-urbanizing the awful stroad running along Gravois and to a lesser extent Jefferson Ave. The neighborhood could also use better public transit, bike infrastructure, walkable schools, and more crucial retail amenities.

Click here to view my Benton Park Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Gorgeous mid-late 19th century brick architecture throughout the neighborhood.
Overall a pretty same community with some crime issues. Pockets of blight still remain in the community.
Solid sidewalks but ADA curbs and almost all outdated.
Solid park amenities with several well dispersed small & medium parks with Benton Park as the crown jewel, which contains a rec center.
Solid tree canopy throughout most of Benton Park.
Overall urban form is pretty good in Benton Park including the very in tact and historic Cherokee St. But Gravois (old route 66) is a pretty terrible stroud with lots of autocentric bldgs and surface lots. Jefferson Ave is a mixed bag.
A fair amount of rental options with a good mix of price points. 1-beds generally rent in the low 1Ks, 2-beds in the mid 1Ks, 3-beds from the mid 1Ks to mid 2Ks.
Nice array of for sale price points. Some 1-bed condos and small SF homes sell in the 100Ks, 2-beds btwn 150K-300K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 300K-500K.
Nice array of restaurants, bars, and cafes along with a local brewery in a historic brewing bldg. Also a couple local performing arts theaters, a local house museum, and a couple live music venues.
Several boutiques, gift stores, and antiques/home good stores especially along Cherokee St known as antique row. Also a couple book stores, several salons & barbers, a local post office, a health clinic, a couple churches, anda couple dessert joints.
Good mixed-use through the neighborhood including plenty of restaurants, bars, a and cafes located on predominately residential streets.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

So so public transit for an urban district.
Pretty good density but assuming given the typology and age that this neighborhood was at least double this density in its prime.
Bike infrastructure is limited to a pair of dedicated bike paths running down Gravois. Limited dockless bike or scooter options in Benton Park.
Limited modern in-fill and what does exist is generally unattractive auto centric uses.
No walkable schools within Benton Park and not many good schools in adjacent neighborhoods.
Missing several key retail amenities including a public library, pharmacy, grocery store, hardware store, banks, etc.”

Swan- Historic Working Class Polish Name on Grand Rapid’s Southwest Side

I included most of what is shown as the Swan neighborhood on google but cut out the southern and eastern edges that are mostly industrial space using Wealthy as a southern border and cutting up to Butterworth via an abandonded industrial road.

The name Swan referred to the Historic Native American chief John Wabasis, also known as “White Swan. Historically the neighborhood was just called Southwest Grand Rapids but it took the name Swan in the 1980s as the neighborhood took on more of an identity with the creation of a Neighborhood Development Organization. Similar to West Grand, Swan grew in the late 19th century thanks to the expansion of Grand Rapids Industrial might, especially the Furniture Industry. This particularly attracted large waves of Polish immigrants. They created a relatively walkable neighborhood with very convenient access to Downtown. In the Post War era, Swan experienced decline but not as extreme as South Grand Rapids and has mostly retained its urban fabric. Polish immigrants have increasingly been replaced by Hispanic immigrants and young professionals and families attracted by its convenient access to Dwtn and cheap housing prices.

This is a solid urban district but to become a premiere Grand Rapids neighborhood akin to Eastown or East Hills it needs more development which would drive better walkable amenities and retail options. Bridge is the best urban district with lots of quality urban in-fill and food & beverage amenities. Fulton has some urban form but could use a lot more quality urban in-fill. Architecture is generally modest turn of the century working class housing. One of Swan’s best amenities is its proximity to Dwtn located just across the river. Swan also hosts excellent waterfront parks and recreational trails.

Click here to view my Swan Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

Most historic architecture is more working class housing from the late 19th century. Some more ornate older bldgs mixed-in near Bridge and Bridge itself has attractive historic commercial bldgs.
Good sidewalk infrastructure and about 70% of all intersections are up to ADA standards.
Decent amount of historic infill especially along Bridge, but parts of Fulton closer to the River and even new construction homes in the residential streets btwn Bridge and Fulton. More autocentric in-fill along Fulton.
Good urban massing along Bridge but more of a mixed bag along Fulton. The closer to Dwtn, the best the urban form.
Solid tree canopy for the most part.
Solid public transit especially closer to the River.
Very convenient access to Dwtn across all modes. One can walk to dwtn in 10-15 minutes in some parts of Swan.
Good array of dedicated bike lanes which connect well to dwtn and the waterfront recreational trails.
Excellent diversity metrics, especially economic.
So so school amenities with a couple Catholic Schools and public grade schools. Good ratings.
Solid park amenities especially with the extensive riverfront park and recreational trail. Also a couple small and medium parks, a YMCA, along with the Grand Rapids zoo just wet of the neighborhood.
Pretty good array of restaurants and bars, some cafes and bars, a couple breweries & live music venues, a couple museums along the lakefront, and convenient access to all the cultural amenities dwtn.
Pretty good rental options with 1-beds leasing btwn $900-1.3K, 2-beds btwn 1K-2.3K, 3-beds btwn 1.5-3K.
Nice array of for sale options with only a handful of 1-beds selling btwn 150K-250K, 2-beds btwn 150K-300K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 100K-400K. Plenty of affordable for sale options here.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Density is below average for an urban district.
* Grand Valley State along the river however is very autocentric with large surface parking lots.
* Generally a safe neighborhood but some dodgy spots.
* So so retail amenities including a hardware store, a local butchery, a couple florists, a local bookstore, several salons and barbershops, a couple bakeries, a YMCA, a local public library. Also convenient access to the many retail amenities and boutiques in Dwtn.

West Grand- Historic Working Class neighborhood on Grand Rapids Westside

I included most of what is shown as the West Grand neighborhood on google but cut some of the park space on the western and northern edges and cut the northeast slice north of Ann St as its all industrial.

West Grand was developed in the late 19th early 20th century rooted in its role as a working-class neighborhood during the city’s booming furniture industry. It developed as a relatively walkable streetcar neighborhood welcoming several ethnic communities especially Polish, German, and Irish immigrants. Deindustrialization certainly negatively impacted the neighborhood but West Grand never hit bottom like other largely African American neighborhoods on the southside. In recent decades there has been a resurgence of interest in the neighborhood leading to a relatively stable housing market, decent retail and cultural amenities especially along its booming business district on Bridge but also along Leonard St, and Fourth & Stocking.

This is a solid urban district with good safety levels, decent amenities, attractive historic architecture, diverse and affordable housing but to become a premiere Grand Rapids neighborhood it needs much better density and more infill development along its commercial corridors and industrial areas (along the river and Seward Ave). Public transit is really only good in the southern and eastern part of the neighborhood and schools are a bit limited and generally not well rated.

Click here to view my West Grand album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good sidewalk infrastructure and about 80% of all intersections are up to ADA standards.
* Variety of historic residential architecture from the late 1800s all the way to 1950s ranch homes generally moving from southern to north but also east to west. Most architecture is more modest working class housing but generally pretty well maintained. Nicer historic commercial bldgs along Bridge and several impressive brick warehouse buildings along Steward and closer to the river.
* Urban form is pretty good especially along Bridge St and to a lesser extend Stocking Ave. Urban form along Leonard is more of a mixed bag but good urban form in stretches esp. btwn.
* Outside of the more industrial stretches, pretty solid tree canopy.
* Solid access to Dwtn with transit trips generally 15-20 mins away. Decent set of bike lanes with pretty good access to dwtn and the recreational trails along the river.
* Solid diversity metrics especially racial.
* Generally a pretty safe neighborhood but some grit in spots, especially the more industrial areas.
* Decent retail amenities including a couple smaller supermarkets, a hardware store, several pharmacies, a local butchery, and florists, a couple clothing stores & banks, several barbershops, a bakeries, a YMCA, a local public library & post office, a couple medical offices, and several churches.
* Decent cultural amenities including plenty of restaurants & bars, a brewery, a couple cafes, a couple places with live music, and a comedy club.
* Pretty good rental options with 1-beds leasing btwn $900-1.3K, 2-beds btwn 1K-1.7K, 3-beds btwn 1.5-2.5K.
* Nice array of for sale options with some 1-bed condos selling btwn 150K-300K, 2-beds btwn 100K-400K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 100K-450K. Plenty of affordable for sale options here.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Public transit is hit or miss and not great along the western and north edges of West Grand.
Missing some crucial urban retail including a local public library and post office and supermarket. Also very few clothing and boutiques.
Density is so so for an urban area.
Large amount of surface parking in the more industrial areas along the review and poor urban form. Urban form is hit or miss along Leonard St.

East Grand Rapids- Grand Rapid’s Exclusive Historic Suburb

East Grand Rapids was first settled in the early 1830s and remained a tiny settlement for many decades. This began to change with the opening of Reeds Lake amusement park which began attracting visitors as early as the 1870s. By the 1890s Electric streetcars came into use and the settlement became a village in 1891 and reached 500 residents by 1900. Growth continued modestly in East Grand Rapids allowing it to become an home rule city in 1926 reaching 1,300 residents. The City rapidly grew in the 1930s quadrupling its population in 5 years. This is when the City’s business district along Wealthy St came into its own. East Grand Rapid continued growing steadily until 1970 when its population maxed out at 12K. The 1970s was a bad decade for the City like many urban districts but after this the City’s more or less stabilized bottoming out at 10,500 residents in 2010. Since then East Grand Rapids reversed course adding 700 residents.

East Grand Rapids is your standard successful historic inner ring suburb having high quality of life amenities (parks, schools, safety) with an in-tact business district but with sub par public transit and bike infrastructure largely due to its more suburban level density and a lack of rental housing. For East Grand Rapids to become a premiere urban district it needs to greatly increase its density, especially in the dwtn area around Wealthy Street. This suburb also reeks of exclusivity as its racial make up is 90% White and median household income at 170K. Very few working class households live here.

Click here to view my East Grand Rapids Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Sidewalks are consistent but ADA standard curbs cover about 60% of all intersections.
* Great access to Dwtn being only a 13 min drive and 20-25 min bus ride.
* About as safe of a community as you will find in America.
* Well rated walkable public schools located in the urban park of the City. Only one private school however.
Rentals are very limited.
* Good range of for sale options. Handful of 1-bed condos that sell in the 200Ks. 2-beds range btwn 200K-400K with a mix of townhouses, condos, & SF homes, and broad range options with 3 & 4 beds selling anywhere btwn 250K-2M.
* With its decent walkability and high level of services, this is a very in demand suburb.
* Great tree cover throughout the suburb.
* Excellent lakefront park and recreational trail just limited parks outside of here.
* Bump outs and wide sidewalks installed along Wealthy Ave main street.
* Pretty good urban form along Wealthy but a good amount of surface parking.
* Excellent array of historic homes through this urban section of East Grand Rapids.
* Limited residential urban in-fill but a good amount of decent quality commercial in-fill along Wealthy St.
* Decent cultural amenities including several restaurants, a local coffee shop, a local history museum, a high quality performing arts center and walkable access to all the cultural amenities in neighboring Eastown.
* Solid Retail amenities include a supermarket & a couple pharmacies, a couple banks, several boutiques, gift shops, and home good stores, a cheese shop, plenty of salons, a handful of dessert shops & gyms, a local public library, and major hospital. Also walkable to the retail amenities in neighboring Eastown.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Pretty mediocre public transit access.
Not great density for an urban district.
Streets are generally connected by very curvilinear.
A couple bike segments in East Rapids but not good connectivity to actual destinations.
Very white and affluent suburb with limited economic and racial diversity.
Good Pedestrian activity is good along the Wealthy St (dwtn East Grand Rapids) but quiet in the residential areas.
Rentals are very limited in East Grand Rapids”

Eastown- Popular Urban Community in Grand Rapid’s Eastside

Eastown began as a streetcar commuter suburb in the early 20th century and was an important midway stop between downtown Grand Rapids and the resort area of Reeds Lake (now East Grand Rapids). The neighborhood filled in by the 1930s with a handsome array of larger single family homes catering to the professional middle class. However, the district was redlined in the mid-century and experienced several decades of disinvestment in the post war area. Fortunately the neighborhood began to attract creative and intellectual types in the 60s and 70s and was often referred to as the “Greenwich Village of Grand Rapids”. Eastown has fully stabilized and is one of the City’s most popular and neighborhoods and arguably holds its best urbanism thanks to its solid commercial districts running down Lake and Wealthy Streets.

For Eastown to be a premiere urban district it simply needs a density level of at least 15K to drive more retail and cultural amenities. This would require significant densification along its commercial corridors and relaxing its likely strict single family zoning laws. Eastown could also use better public transit access and more walkable schools.

Click here to view my Eastown album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid access to dwtn being only 2 miles away.
* Great sidewalk infrastructure and ADA curbs are up to date in most intersections.
* Very safe community with limited blight.
* Decent for sale diversity and price points but not 1-bed condos and only a handful of 2-beds that sell btwn 270K-340K. Plenty of 3 & 4 beds that sell anywhere btwn 200K-600K with a handful of mansions that sell for more.
* Decent inventory: 1-beds lease in the low-medium 1Ks but are pretty limited, more 2 & 3 beds that lease btwn 1.7-2.4Ks. Several 4 beds as well.
* Excellent tree canopy throughout.
*Overall a pretty safe community with limited blight
* Great array of larger historic homes from the 1890s-1930s. Some nice historic commercial but generally planer.
* Good park amenities starting with the multi-functional Wilcox Park and Acquinas College has gorgeous grounds & woods, sigsbee is also a nice park and MLK park has a pools and sits just south of Eastown.
* Only a handful of infill. Generally pretty good urban form.
* Solid cultural amenities especially restaurants, bars, cafes, a performing arts theater at Acquinas College, a couple live music venues, the Indie Wealthy Theater is only a block outside of Eastown, and lots of great cultural amenities in neighboring East Hills.
* Generally good urban form along the two major biz districts of Eastown (Lake & Wealthy) and the couple blocks along Robinson & Fulton. But a decent amount of small surface parking lots throughout.
* Good retail amenities including a drug store, some boutiques & clothing stores, a couple bookstores and home goods stores, several salons, a bike shop, several dessert joints, a couple of gyms, a local post office, several churches, and a major hospital just east of the neighborhood. Also walkable access to all the retail amenities in neighborhood East Hills.
* 3 dedicated bike lanes with decent connection to surrounding neighborhoods.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

Schools are pretty limited to most private elementary schools. A public elementary school located within Eastown but not well rated.
Public transit is so so for an urban district.
Missing some key retail amenities including a neighborhood supermarket, public library, and local boutiques and gift shops are a bit limited.”

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.”