GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Huff Park is a place that residents come to find an escape from the hustle and bustle and enjoy seeing the natural environment preserved, but they may soon be changing.
Residents could instead see condos from the walking trail.
They hope their concerns will be addressed at a meeting with the Creston Neighborhood Association land use committee. A Grand Rapids-based condo developer purchased 8 residential lots on the north side of Knapp Street, and the idea was proposed in April to build 35 to 45 condos.
"It would transform the density of the neighborhood and split single family homes in half along Knapp, but also that would bring a lot of traffic, a lot of human activity, artificial light, noise that would potentially push the wildlife that we all enjoy, currently away from the edge of the park," said resident Steve Fridsma.
"The developer talked about balancing or leveling the site, that site has 20 feet of topography. So, we'd be talking about a lot of beaming, or retaining walls. And wildlife can't get through those."
Residents say that the condos would be visible from Huff Park, and that the development site is only 240 feet from existing trails, putting the park's natural ecosystems at risk.
Community members are questioning why the development must be built so close to Huff Park, and in a low density residential zone, that would require a special use permit to build multi-family housing.
Fridsma says there are other locations better suited for the project.
"I'd like to see density increase for densities, where it's natural for density and increase and on some of those main thoroughfares that have public transportation, and aren't adjacent to a nature preserve."
Nicole Smith, who created the petition, also says that these condos will not be affordable for low-income families, something she says the city greatly needs.
"It's potentially luxury apartments and condos. So, I just don't think it's healthy for the neighborhood."
Detailed plans have not been discussed or presented to community members, but there are plans for those conversations to be held at the August 2 land use committee meeting.
"We want to be able to tell him our feelings and thoughts as residents of the community specifically about how this encroaches on the biodiversity in the neighborhood."
The developer for the project has not returned 13 ON YOUR SIDE's request for comment.
The Creston Neighborhood Association land use committee is meeting Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Sun Title Community Center off Leonard.
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