Best wishes. I've seen first hand how Grandville completely trashed the south end of town with Rivertown Crossings. (Kent County). They had an opportunity in the mid 90s to develop a bunch of fields into a walkable pedestrian friendly environment near a high school and homes, but instead were blinded by dollar signs while prefab buildings mushroomed up around a giant mall without any thought to traffic, pedestrians, or community.
Plenty of new retail pads or "lifestyle centers" are built with accessability in mind. They aren't perfect, and Saturdays they're still jammed with traffic, but the point is they limit scale and force the developers to match the community. There's nothing attractive or cohesive about forcing pedestrians to drive 50 feet from one store to another due to ditches and berms. And nothing attractive about Paul Bunyon size signs
that are so overbearing[/URL] they look like a Las Vegas casino sign without lights. You can have a Wal-Mart yet still have an attractive building not paved over for four football fields in every direction.
Worst yet? For years Grandville has been dry on Sundays, the town council's morals forbage liquor or beer to be served in restaurants. For a few years now the row of homogenous red neon striped chain restaurants have harped on the council to rescind the law, and sure enough they did. Proving that enough financial gain wins out over their morals.
Anyway sorry to btch. South Grandville is a scab on the landscape now. I hope it doesn't happen in your nearby neighborhood. If a former resident can have any bearing please feel free to print and read my comments before the next council meeting.