Indigo Design + Development’s Leonard Street project moves forward

The latest iteration of a proposed mixed-use apartment project on a gravel-surfaced parking lot along Leonard Street has been given the green light by the Grand Rapids Planning Commission.

Grand Rapids-based Indigo Design + Development plans to build a four-story building with 28 apartment units and street-level commercial space at 555 Leonard St. NW. The firm has proposed a 38-space surface parking lot for tenants behind the building on adjacent properties along Gezon Ave. NW, plans that would require the demolition of two vacant single-family homes.

“We love this site, we love West Leonard, and we think this type of project is ideal to replace a gravel parking lot with something that has active, productive outdoor use with housing on top of it,” said Ryan Schmidt, a partner at Indigo Design + Development, during an Aug. 8 planning commission meeting.

The planning commission’s unanimous approval vote related to allowing a 10-space reduction in the project’s parking and the construction of a surface lot in the traditional mixed-density residential zoning district.

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The commission may consider waiving parking requirements for projects if there are adequate public transportation and/or on-street parking near the project site. Indigo’s proposed project is on the Rapid Bus Line and the redesigned Dash Line.

“This street is being developed like Bridge Street and others in our neighborhoods to be walkable and this space is underutilized,” Planning Commissioner Susan Shannon said at the planning meeting. “Hopefully parking lots, especially gravel parking lots, won’t be the first thing you see when you drive down Leonard.”

Indigo has not yet identified a street-level tenant for the proposed 2,025-square-foot retail space in the building, Schmidt said. Designs also include outdoor seating and indoor bike storage.

The project design calls for 19 studio apartments and nine one-bedroom units, all ranging in size from 331 square feet to 672 square feet.

Indigo has been working on the project in the planning stages for an “almost embarrassing amount of time,” but the development team is now ready to move forward, Schmidt said. The goal is to begin work in early 2025 and complete the project in early 2026.

Planning Commissioner Brian Swem voted in favor of the project but said he wanted the plans not to involve demolishing two existing homes to build a surface parking lot.

“All things considered, I’m supportive, but I’m generally not very happy with the demolition of homes to build surface parking lots,” Swem said.

In November 2021, the Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved a special land use for an earlier version of the project, which included one fewer floor than current plans. Originally, site plans called for 20 apartments with a street-level tasting room and a production area for The People’s Cider Co., which is no longer involved in the project.

The West Side Corridor Improvement Authority, West Leonard Business Association and West Grand Neighborhood Organization (WGNO) wrote letters in support of the 2021 plans, and WGNO sent an updated letter of support to city officials for the latest version of the project.

“This investment of over $3.9 million will continue to improve the West Leonard Corridor, bring much-needed housing to the West Side, and improve the walkability of the neighborhood and district,” Kennedy FitzGerald, secretary of the West Grand Neighborhood Organization’s board of directors, wrote in an Aug. 7 letter. “This is currently a gravel parking lot and one of the homes to be demolished is no longer suitable for safe, quality housing.”

Indigo Design plans to purchase the four properties located at 1211, 1217, 1221 Gezon Ave. NW and 555 Leonard St. NW. The parcels are currently owned by Leonard Street Capital Partners LLC, which is registered to Kyle Van Strien, co-owner of Long Road Distillers.

The main Leonard Street property in the project previously housed a gas station that was demolished and remediated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), a project that included the removal of a significant amount of contaminated soil.

Leonard Street Capital purchased 555 Leonard St. NW in 2016 for $50,000 from the Kent County Land Bank Authority.