Andrew Ingram - Grand Rapids Real Estate

Boardwalk condos are a very cool community about 1 mile north of the downtown core, located at 940 Monroe NW. This lovely brick building is fully loaded with amenities including J.D Reardon's, Endurance Fitness Center, salon, pool/hot tub, secure covered parkingand tall ceilings with the original exposed wood beams. Laundry hookups are available in each unit as well as a laundromat onsite.

Boardwalk condos have the added bonus of being right across the street from the Grand River which boasts great salmon fishing near the fish ladders and walking paths.

The rooftop deck with gas grill is the perfect place to hang out and watch the July 4th fireworks and also the top floor units have the option of adding their own private deck. Prices range from ~$99k for 1 bedroom and ~600 sq/ft to ~$440k with 3 bedrooms and over 2200sq/ft. Monthly association fees vary but for example, a 1000 sq/ft condo's fees are ~$255/mo.

One of the ways that Boardwalk Condos are unique is that it boasts 2 great courtyards. One has a pool and hot tub and is overlooked by a large terrace with access to J.D Reardon's restaurant. This is an awesome, informal meeting place and I like meeting clients and friends there. The second courtyard is just the opposite. A very peaceful, wooded area with gas grills and tables which are perfect for a family picnic.

View an online V-Flyer of one of our Boardwalk condo listings. This particular condo has just been reduced $10k, comes with 2 beds and 1000 sq/ft, laundry hook up plus the balcony overlooks the pool courtyard.

Hope you found this helpful. Make sure to visit my Grand Rapids Real Estate website to search the entire Grand Rapids and Lakeshore MLS and/or research your next move. We work with rentals and FSBO's as well so we may know of some condos that won't be listed on the MLS.

I was touring a few cool downtown condos this afternoon and one of them was the Tannery Row Condos at 16 Ionia Ave SW. Talk about cool, urban loft condos in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. These condos have a great location 1 block from the Van Andel Arena, The Bob and surrounded by great coffee shops, art and nightlife. Here's a great link to some of Grand Rapids favorite spots.

Tannery Row condos feature hardwood floors, exposed brick and ductwork, tall ceilings, large windows and reserved parking. Parking ramps downtown can run you $120/mo and up but is included here. There is also a very nice rooftop deck and fitness center. Association dues for a 2 bedroom/1 bath condo at 1000 sq/ft will cost ~$400 per month. It's hard to beat this location especially with a 2 bedroom condos here running about ~$200k.

For more information on the downtown Grand Rapids condo scene and the Grand Rapids real estate market in general, please visit my website. If you're coming in from out of town, let us know and we can send you a great relocation package to help you get acquainted with GR.

Have a great day!

I was downtown with one of my clients this morning showing some condos in the Plaza Towers when one of Spectrum Health's Aero Med Helicopters crashed on the roof of the hospital. I see those copters quite often in transit over the city to and from the hospital, but never gave it a second though that they could also have an accident like that. My hat is off to the pilots and Doctors that perform such a dangerous and important job!!!

It sounds as though it was preparing to take off when the tail section hit a radio tower causing the helicopter to fall and exploded in flames. You can read the alerts on Spectrum's website here. The cause is still under investigation. The fire crews did a great job in putting the fire out quickly and there were no fatalities. The pilot and passenger were able to get away before it burst into flames.

Several floors were evacuated as a precaution and neither of the two people on board the helicopter were seriously injured. Thank goodness for that. Mlive's blog has a good chronology of the accident here.

Here are some factoids from the National Transportation Safety Board:

- Between 1998 and 2005 there were 89 medical helicopter crashes in which 75 people were killed.

- About half of those crashes happened at night.

- 77 percent happened during bad weather. But WOOD-TV's Storm Team 8 reports there were ideal flying conditions in Grand Rapids this morning at the time of the crash. Visibility was greater than 10 miles and winds were calm at less than 5 mph.

Riverhouse Condos in downtown Grand Rapids are getting closer to completion. Work has started on the 29th floor and only 5 more floors remain. Glass has been installed up to the 21st floor and drywall is complete on floors 3 through 9 and paint up to the 6th floor. Granite has arrived and hardwood and carpet are next up. The middle of May is expected to see the completion of homes on the lower levels. Pretty exciting stuff!!

Riverhouse condos are located at Bridgewater Place at 335 Bridge Street, Grand Rapids, MI and is a Robert Grooters development.

Upcoming Events

Homeowner Tour Party - Wednesday, May 28th from 4:00pm to 6:00pm

Parade of Downtown Living - Friday, June 20th - Sunday, June 22nd

Find out more about these and other Grand Rapids Condos at GRRealEstateInfo.com.

Have a great day!

Hold the phones. Grand Rapids makes it into the #8 slot in the Top 10 Cities for real estate comebacks as reported by CNN. News at 11.

• · 12-month forecast: 1.9%
• · Median home price: $124,000
• · One year price change: -3%
• · Five year price change: 8.3%
• · Change in foreclosure rate: 37%

I'm definitely seeing an up tick in downtown condo sales and more importantly, inquiries for Grand Rapids condo information and housing from my website.

This is very good news but I am not too surprised as there are a lot of exciting things happening downtown. There are cranes and construction happening on the Medical Mile or Health Hill, students and jobs coming to Grand Rapids and there is a need for Condos.

Just to the south in Wyoming, Metro Health Hospital has been built and is now operating. They are planning a Metro Health Village, which will create more jobs. Exciting stuff.

Be sure to visit my website for unlimited access to the MLS and complete school and community information.

Have a great day!