>> Israels' West Side revitalization 'mission' grows

GRAND RAPIDS -- Bob Israels' plan to rebuild his childhood neighborhood expanded even more Thursday when city planners approved his request to rezone a 102-year-old American Seating factory so he can build apartments on its second and third floor.  
 
Israels, who already owns an office building and a wholesale furniture showroom in the West Side neighborhood, said he also plans to move his "Israel's Other Store" from Grandville Ave. SW into the sprawling building at 600 7th Street NW.  
 
"I'm on a mission to rebuild and build better than anyone has before," said Israels, who said he grew up in the neighborhood near St. Adalbert's Basilica.  
 
Israels wants to shed the factory's industrial zoning status and add it to the city's downtown zoning district, where retail, residential and industrial uses are allowed to co-exist.  
 
After securing the Planning Commission's approval Thursday, his request will be sent to the full City Commission.  
 
The 26 housing units he plans to build on the building's second level will include 13 "work-at-home" luxury apartments that will include third floor lofts, Israels said.  
 
Those units may include indoor parking garages.  
 
Israels said the "work-at-home" units will be attractive to professionals because the property is part of a tax-free Renaissance Zone until 2011.  
 
He said he hopes to begin construction on the $7.5 million project before Jan. 1 and complete it by next June.

Source - Grand Rapids Press - Friday, August 11, 2006

>> Israels picks up slack in high-end furniture sales

GRAND RAPIDS -- Despite losing much of its furniture manufacturing base, Grand Rapids remains a hot, yet changing, destination for fine-furniture shoppers.  
 
"That sideboard sold to a woman in New York," said Jason Israels, operations managers at Israels Designs for Living at 2320 28th St. SE, pointing to a $31,000 glistening chattel created by Kindel Furniture Co. in Grand Rapids.  
 
"We hosted an event with Kindel in the spring, and we had furniture that we shipped to South Korea," said Israels, noting the strong market for high-end furniture and shoppers' willingness to travel a long way to get it.  
 
Not all retailers agree.  
 
Klingman Furniture Co., located at Centerpointe Mall at 3665 28th St. SE, carried Kindel and Baker Furniture Co. lines for more than 100 years before parting ways a few years ago.  
 
"The real top end of the industry is just not what it used to be," President Robert Groters said. "Unfortunately, the difference in the price spread between imports and higher end furniture is a pretty wide gap.  
 
"Still, (moving away from Kindel and Baker) was a very hard decision. It's something that was our meat and potatoes forever, but our industry has changed. Unfortunately, it's changed to a different value system."  
 
Two of West Michigan's most prominent furniture retailers are going through a metamorphosis.  
 
Klingman, long a leader in fine furniture, is turning toward more affordable lines while keeping key pieces of its high-end base.  
 
At the same time, Israels Home Furnishings is picking up the ultra-high-end slack.  
 
Israels snatched up the Kindel and Baker lines. It also opened a clock area featuring Zeeland-made Howard Miller clocks after Klingman closed its clock shop. Klingman still sells Howard Miller clocks as well, but does not have a specific clock sales and service department.  
 
"Instead of trying to beat a battle that can't be won," by selling lower-priced furniture, David Israels said the company decided to court the high-end furniture buyer.  
 
"We have recommitted to higher-end companies," he said.  
 
In addition to Kindel and Baker, Israels also has Hickory Chair Co., Harden Fine Furniture and Century Furniture.  
 
Still, Klingman is not abandoning its high-end lines, Groters said. Klingman still carries L. & J.G. Stickley Inc., Henredon Furniture Industries, Drexel Heritage and Natuzzi Leather.  
 
For retailers, the ultra-high-end furniture market has its positives and pitfalls, said Ken Smith, BDO Seidman national director of furniture industry services. One positive is ultra-high-end furniture has not faced the stiff Chinese competition that lower-priced furniture has.  
 
On the negative side, the China factor has lowered the overall price of furniture, creating a wider price gap between good furniture and heirloom-quality furniture.  
 
"Everybody's had their share of troubles up and down the line," Smith said.  
 
Constantly searching for cheap labor, furniture manufacturing continues to move overseas. Plants from West Michigan to North Carolina have closed doors in recent years and moved production to China, Vietnam and Indonesia.  
 
Most furniture shoppers now don't care where furniture is made, Groters said.  
 
"Some do, the majority doesn't," he said. "It's not just price. People are still looking for style, and Mrs. Consumer wants what she wants and is willing to pay for it, as long as it's affordable and a good value.  
 
"There are many retailers that have had to change way they do business today."

Source - Grand Rapids Press - Thursday, July 06, 2006

>> Israels building will fall for hotel

GRAND RAPIDS -- The former Israels Designs for Living building in downtown Grand Rapids will be torn down to make way for a towering Marriott hotel, its owners say.  
 
Alticor Inc.'s first acknowledgment of demolition plans came during an informal presentation about the hotel to Grand Rapids city commissioners Tuesday. Alticor asked its architects to consider keeping the Israels building in the plan, but integrating the 118-year-old structure proved too challenging, said Bert Crandell, who is managing the hotel project for Alticor.  
 
"We kept a pretty open mind and we charged our architects with that, because it is an old building," Crandell said.  
 
Local building preservation advocate Rebecca Smith-Hoffman said she was disappointed, but not surprised.  
 
"I think it's a usable building, but I hate to get into what's more important than something else," said Smith-Hoffman, co-owner of Past Perfect, a historic preservation consulting firm. "It's certainly in excellent condition because Israels has been there."  
 
Had the Israels building fit functionally or architecturally with the new hotel, it may have been saved, Crandell said. He pointed to the restoration of the old Pantlind Hotel and Exhibitors Building as part of the neighboring Amway Grand Plaza Hotel as examples of Alticor's desire for preservation when it makes sense.  
 
A plan for the $60 million to $70 million Marriott hotel shows trees and wide sidewalks flanking the site, along with part of the hotel on the portion of the property occupied by Israels.  
 
The 24-story hotel tower would front on the Grand River, with drive-up entrances along Campau Avenue and Louis Street.  
 
By comparison, the Amway Grand tower across the street rises 30 stories, while the Plaza Towers building to the south is 34 stories tall.  
 
Israels announced plans to sell the building to Alticor in 2003. The furniture retailer and design firm moved out this fall after 28 years.  
 
During its history, the building was home to a shoe factory, furniture showroom, automotive design center and carpet store.  
 
Demolishing the building will require Alticor to go before the city's Historic Preservation Commission. The Preservation Commission then can make a non-binding recommendation about the plan to the city Planning Commission.  
 
The Planning Commission will need to approve the hotel's site plan, but its decision can be appealed to the City Commission.  
 
Crandell said the idea behind the development is to soften the southwest corner of Pearl Street and Campau Avenue to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.  
 
More detailed architectural plans are expected to be unveiled in February.  
 
Preparations for the hotel have accelerated in recent months.  
 
Last week, the city's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) approved spending more than $5 million on public improvements in the Campau area in conjunction with the hotel development.  
 
Snow-melt systems, raised planters, rebuilt streets and improvements to the Louis Campau Promenade walkway are among the improvements planned.  
 
Some of them were planned by the DDA before the hotel project emerged, but the extent of the improvements now has been expanded.

Source - Grand Rapids Press - Wednesday, December 15, 2004

>> Israels unveils West Side complex

GRAND RAPIDS -- A hulking furniture factory on the West Side is now the headquarters for Israels Designs for Living -- and more.  
 
The former John Widdicomb Furniture Co. factory on the corner of Fifth Street and Seward Avenue NW has a new lease on life after an $11 million restoration project.  
 
A private party was held Monday to show off the site, which officially opens in March.  
 
Once open, the complex will house Israels corporate offices, Designs for Living and the new John Widdicomb Trade Center -- a multi-floor library of fabrics, carpets, tile, paint and furniture for interior designers.  
 
The campus also will include Israels' warehouse and delivery, customer service and furniture repair.  
 
Bob Israels and his son, David Israels, worked on revamping the building for two years, hiring contractors to strip out asbestos, remove contaminated soil and sandblast the brick and wood of more than 100 years of furniture-making soot.  
 
"When my dad said he was going to buy this building, I thought he was crazy," said David Israels, describing the building constructed just after the end of the Civil War. "But the Widdicomb name is part of the history of Grand Rapids. To have it disappear would have been a shame."  
 
The history of Widdicomb, the oldest registered furniture company in the United States, dates to 1858 when Englishman George Widdicomb and his three brothers opened a cabinet shop here. The John Widdicomb Co., after years of struggling, closed in 2002.  
 
In 1996, the factory at 601 Fifth St. was named among the city's first renaissance zones, which eliminates most local and state taxes at that site for up to 15 years.  
 
Bob Israels, president of Israels Design for Living, grew up about 10 blocks from the Widdicomb building.  
 
He used to help his grandfather prepare Widdicomb showrooms for the Grand Rapids Furniture Market.  
 
"My dad hated to see this piece of property in disrepair," David Israels said.  
 
In 2002, Bob Israels bought it and it has been no small task to restore the building.  
 
"The environmental cleanup took several months," David Israels said. "We had to dig out under the foundation to remove the contaminated soil. And there was a sandblasting crew working in the building for three months straight."  
 
They had to add steel reinforcements to all the wooden beams and pour a film of concrete on each floor to level them out.  
 
The finished product is impressive. Granite floors and plush carpeting replaced the sawdust-covered factory floors. New windows were installed. Stained-glass windows from the former Pearl Street Israels store were installed.  
 
"The magnitude of this showroom will not only attract local businesses from West Michigan, but businesses from all over Michigan," said Bob Israels.  
 
Israels also owns the building across Fifth Street, which was the former Widdicomb finishing plant, which will be turned into offices. He also owns the former Widdicomb office building across Seward, which he leases for offices.  
 
A document storage building between the Widdicomb finishing plant and St. Adalbert Catholic Church was leveled and will be used for parking.

Source - Grand Rapids Press - Tuesday, December 07, 2004

>> Amway co-founders plan to build new hotel in downtown Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS -- A new hotel is the works for the city's revitalized downtown.  
 
The families of Amway Corp. co-founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel announced Friday a deal to purchase an old furniture store -- Israels Designs for Living. The site is expected to be combined with neighboring property to accommodate a 200- to 400-room hotel along the Grand River.  
 
The hotel would be built near the families' 285-room Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and serve conventioneers at downtown's nearly completed DeVos Place convention center.  
 
"We think this is an A-plus location," Joseph Tomaselli, Amway Hotel Corp. president, told The Grand Rapids Press. "It's central to the Amway Grand and DeVos Place and it's central to the business district."  
 
Terms of the purchase agreement were not disclosed. To

Source - Detroit News - Saturday, October 25, 2003

>> New hotel slated for Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS -- A new hotel is the works for the city's revitalized downtown.  
 
The families of Amway Corp. co-founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel announced Friday a deal to purchase an old furniture store -- Israels Designs for Living. The site is expected to be combined with neighboring property to accommodate a 200- to 400-room hotel along the Grand River.

Source - Holland Sentinel - Saturday, October 25, 2003

>> Devos, Van Andel families purchase Israels site

The Devos and Van Andel families have purchased the Israels Designs for Living building to make way for it. Both families already own property adjacent to the Israels building across from the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.  
 
A study showed the city could benefit from another hotel because of the new Grand Rapids convention center that's set to open in December.  
 
It also recommends the location on Pearl Street as the most suitable among all of the other projected sites.

Source - Grand Rapids Press - Friday, October 24, 2003