As we close out the year 2020, it’s easy to say that it was a year that defied expectations. The emergence of the pandemic early in the year created new realities that were unimaginable only a short time before. Most real estate insiders re-forecasted for a year that would be…

Founders Brewing Company announced Maple Barrel-Aged Frangelic Mountain Brown will be the 16th release in the taproom-only Mothership Series and the first release of 2021. Frangelic Mountain Brown is aged in bourbon barrels that previously housed maple syrup, adding complexity to the existing sweet and nutty coffee notes of this…

The former Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts building in downtown Grand Rapids is officially on the market for $8.7 million. The four-floor, 39,418-square-foot building at 2 Fulton St. SW was constructed in 2010 and includes 3,000 square feet of common space including a bar area, a 1,000-square-foot art studio and…

The city of Grand Rapids is teaming with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and national nonprofit The Recycling Partnership to introduce a communitywide project aimed at improving the quality of materials residents recycle in their curbside carts. — The city will launch The Recycling Partnership’s Feet on the Street cart-tagging recycling campaign in mid-September with communitywide education and outreach initiatives continuing through mid-November.

A Grand Rapids-based distiller was named Michigan Whiskey Distillery of the Year upon receiving its first double gold award from the New York International Spirits Competition. Eastern Kille Distillery won double gold for its Michigan Straight Rye Whiskey. In the 10-year history of the international spirits competition, this was the first double gold awarded to a Michigan-based distillery. Eastern Kille also earned a silver award for American Dry Gin.

A logistics and transportation company was named the fastest-growing private company in West Michigan and the third fastest in Michigan. — Inc. magazine annually ranks the fastest-growing private companies headquartered in the U.S. based on revenue growth over the previous three years. This year’s public data included company names, growth rates, industries and locations, with revenue figures behind a paywall.

Founders Brewing Co. unveiled a new look for Centennial IPA, one of the brewery’s longest-running brands. The redesign is the first for the Centennial IPA brand, according to Founders. Customers can expect to find the new label packaging across the brewery’s distribution footprint beginning in September. “As one of our…

An active Grand Rapids housing developer is planning a six-story apartment building that includes repurposing a historic structure in the downtown Heartside neighborhood. Karl Chew of Midland-based Brookstone Capital is proposing the housing project on a vacant surface parking lot along the north wall of an existing historic building at…

The city’s oft-delayed, $84.5 million biodigester project won’t be completed until March 2021, nine months after the previously set deadline. — In a Tuesday, July 21, memo to city leaders, City Engineer Tim Burkman wrote the latest delay pushing full completion of the biodigester from July 2020 to March 2021 is due to “revised phasing, extended equipment delivery schedules and COVID-related delays.”