New images capture vision, interest for Muskegon Lake’s Adelaide Pointe

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The developers of Adelaide Pointe are sharing their vision for the $250 million project along Muskegon Lake.

New conceptual renderings of Adelaide Pointe show what the 30-acre former industrial site might look like: a 275-slip marina, restaurant, event center, boat dealership, 300 condominiums, three public parks, 72 watercraft slips for visitors, a 200-slip in-and-out boat service and 165,000 square feet of winter boat storage, which Adelaide Pointe co-founder Ryan Leestma said would be the largest of its kind in West Michigan.

RENDERINGS REVEALED

A conceptual rendering provided by Adelaide Pointe shows what the site’s mixed-use facility may look like.

The three-floor mixed-use building would feature a top-floor event venue and second-floor restaurant with lake views. The first floor would house a boat dealership and retailer.

“There’s nothing more annoying to a boater than not being able to pick something up quick when you’re on your boat and realize that you don’t have it. And right now in Muskegon, we don’t really have a place for that. So we’re looking for someone to do some marina retail if possible as well,” said Adelaide Pointe co-founder, Dr. Emily Leestma.

Co-founder Ryan Leestma said six restaurants, two event centers and three boat dealerships have shown interest in potentially moving into Adelaide Pointe.

New additions to the plans include a 25-yard pool on the property’s western peninsula. Ryan Leestma also plans to add a public beach on the property’s western edge and e-scooters for visitors to travel downtown.

A conceptual rendering provided by Adelaide Pointe shows a proposed public beach on the property’s western peninsula.

The plans also call for softening peninsula edges with vegetation, adding solar panels to each facility, as well as green roofs and mass timber construction.

“(We’re making the) most sustainable waterfront community we can I think anywhere in the Great Lakes and it will be on par with anything in the world. (I’m) very excited about that,” said Edgewater Resources President Greg Weykamp, who is serving as site architect and designer.

(*A conceptual rendering provided by Adelaide Pointe shows the potential layout of a condominium.*)

The first condo building will be built out of mass timber on the western edge of the property, near the peninsula. Each of the 55 condos inside the six-story complex will maximize waterfront views with seamless glass walls and walkout balconies. Building amenities are expected to include ground-floor indoor parking, a fitness area and community room overlooking the swimming pool.

Adelaide Pointe also rolled out 3D walk-throughs of the two- and three-bedroom condos, which are expected to be priced from $599,000 to $859,000, not including a $300 monthly homeowners’ association fee.

Developers said pricing is market-rate based on square footage, but Adelaide Pointe owners will have more amenities than nearby developments.

“Something like this has never been done before in West Michigan… there’s always a question as to how the market is going to reward it,” Ryan Leestma explained.

(*A conceptual rendering provided by Adelaide Pointe shows a proposed layout for condominiums on site.*)

The city and public have plenty to gain, according to Ryan Leestma.

“It’s going to bring in millions and millions of dollars’ worth of property taxes for the city. And most importantly, it’s going to be an example of how to build a marine community correctly. Diversity is a big thing for me, public access is a big thing for me. I want to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to enjoy being out on the water,” he said.

30-ACRE OVERHAUL IN ‘ADELAIDE TIME’

Since News 8 first profiled the project in June, Ryan Leestma said crews have cleared roughly 100 trees from the 30-acre property and filled and leveled the land to prepare it for site work.

Workers have also removed about 120 20-yard dumpsters of garbage and debris from the site and turned in about $25,000 worth of scrap metal, according to Ryan Leestma.

“It’s been an adventure, I’ll tell you that much,” he said with a laugh.

(*Workers fix a portion of the roof on the eastern storage facility at Adelaide Pointe.*)

A couple weeks ago, the first of four in-and-out docks was installed.

At the western boat storage facility, crews have repaired the roof, removed interior walls and asbestos panels, pressure washed and painted, re-exposed windows and removed siding.

“This is the first time it’s been exposed in probably 70 years,” Ryan Leestma said of the freshly sandblasted brick walls.

(*Adelaide Pointe co-founder Ryan Leestma shows the re-exposed brick on the western boat storage facility at Adelaide Pointe.*)

The eastern storage facility dubbed “Big Blue” has been gutted, with pressure washing and painting planned next, after contractors finish removing wall panels containing asbestos.

“One month in Adelaide time is a year in normal time,” Weykamp said.

“We’re just hauling the mail, you know. I mean, this is a lot to get done in three months,” Ryan Leestma acknowledged.

(*Crews work to remove panels containing asbestos from the eastern blue boat storage facility at Adelaide Pointe in Muskegon.*)

Ryan Leestma expects to invest about $1.5 million in the property by the time the building repairs are done, “but it’s worth it,” he said.

Roman Wilson said they’ll tap into Brownfield tax incentives to reimburse costs for cleaning up the asbestos and metals left behind at the former West Michigan Steel site.

Wilson said in his roughly 23 years of Brownfield and environmental work, Adelaide Pointe is one of the largest projects he’s been involved in.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Adelaide Pointe team said about three dozen people have shown interest in potentially purchasing a condo in the development.

If interest translates to enough buyer agreements, Ryan Leestma expects to break ground on the first condo complex in spring. He also hopes to also have the east basin repaired for running in-and-out boat storage and service that season.

(*A photo provided by Adelaide Pointe gives a bird’s-eye view of the east basin owned by the city of Muskegon.*)

Adelaide Pointe developers are now working with the city to create a parks agreement. Ryan Leestma says under the proposal, Adelaide Pointe would give the public permanent access to its eastern peninsula, expand the existing trail, restore the city-owned peninsula park and add park amenities including grills and fish cleaning stations. In return, the city must improve nearby West Western Avenue and allow Adelaide Pointe to dredge and widen the city-owned eastern basin to add boat forklift operations.

If all goes well, marina installation would start by the end of 2022, according to Ryan Leestma. But right now, the focus is finishing existing facility renovations this year, and filling that space with boats, RVs and motorcycles.