DeVos-affiliated company eyes 32-room ‘high-end’ hotel in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan
A limited liability company affiliated with the DeVos family is considering opening a 32-unit high-end hotel inside a 13-story apartment building in downtown Grand Rapids, MI.
The nearly century old building at 55 Ionia Ave. NW at the corner of Ionia Avenue NW and Monroe Center Street, once home to the historic Morton Hotel, was redeveloped in 2015 by Rockford Development. The $25 million project added 111 market-rate apartments, known as The Morton, and 38,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail and second-floor office space.
On Wednesday, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) approved a request by 55 Ionia Partners, a limited liability company affiliated with the DeVos family’s RDV Corporation, to amend the terms of a $4.3 million loan participation agreement with 55 Ionia Partners. The amendment includes the new hotel concept.
“55 Ionia Partners is exploring a boutique hotel concept that would convert three floors of the building into a 32-unit high-end hotel catering to extended stay guests,” said Nick Wasmiller, a spokesperson for the DeVos family and RDV Corporation. “Completion of the project is sought in 2020.”
An MEDC memo outlining the change to the loan agreement says the addition of the hotel will improve “marketability of the unleased commercial space and improve the project cash flow.”
Ninety-three percent of the residential units and 40 percent of the commercial space were occupied as of Aug. 31, according to the MEDC.
55 Ionia Partners is seeking $3.5 million in additional debt financing from Macatawa Bank to complete the modifications related to the hotel.
An MEDC memo says the hotel is expected to “generate between $300,000 and $600,000 of additional cash flow after servicing of the new debt.”
Wasmiller declined to say what brand the hotel being considered would operate under.
