Long-vacant JA building finds new life

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - It has been vacant for years but starting this week construction will begin on the old Junior Achievement building in downtown Grand Rapids.

It's been a staple since the 1940s, sitting on the corner of Fulton Street and Division Avenue.

The building, 2 East Fulton, isn't just getting a makeover; it's getting a new address.

Developers will soon scrap the chipped paint, leaky roof and dusty windows for a transformed shopping and office space, soon to be known as 4 East Fulton.

"You have 40,000 cars a day that pass through this intersection and we really wanted to bring this historic building back to life," John Green of Locus Development said.

The building served as an ArtPrize venue in 2011, but other than that, the building has remained locked up, unused and untouched.

"We bought the building a few years ago out of frustration, we were upset nothing was happening with it," Green said.

The developers needed a tenant.

Once TowerPinkster, an architecture firm signed on to move in and work on the project, the plans finally became a reality.

"This is where the leadership of Grand Rapids is and we wanted to be with the leadership," Arnold Mikon of TowerPinkster said.

Small boutiques and a larger restaurant are possibilities but no one has committed to 4 East Fulton yet.

In part for the same reason it took years to find a renter, it is hard to imagine such a transformation.

"A lot of people don't quite see the vision," Green said. "That's the reason for wanting to start construction now and build it out."

TowerPinkster should be in its office on the top floor by the summer.

Other businesses that may sign on could move in shortly after.