Signature Associates

20-story apartment tower, 6-floor hotel planned for Monroe North in downtown Grand Rapids

Posted By: mlive on August 12, 2026.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

A $185 million mixed-use development proposed in the Monroe North neighborhood would bring a 20-story apartment tower, a six-story dual-brand hotel and a nine-story parking garage with a rooftop amenity deck to downtown Grand Rapids.

The project would add 342 apartments, 160 hotel rooms, 500 parking spaces and about 17,000 square feet of retail space in and around the 800 block of Monroe Avenue NW and Bond Avenue NW.

Attorney Jared Belka of Warner Norcross + Judd outlined the proposal Wednesday for the Monroe North Tax Increment Financing Authority on behalf of Jay Johnson, a veteran real estate developer from Chicago.

The presentation was informational only, and board members did not vote on the proposal. Belka said the development team expects to return later with a formal request for public support.

Speaking after the meeting, Johnson said the project has been taking shape since his firm purchased 820 Monroe Ave. NW in 2022. The mixed-use building includes apartments and commercial space occupied by tenants including City Built Brewing Co.

“The North Monroe neighborhood is adjacent to downtown with the river access,” Johnson said. “It’s an exciting location and really a new neighborhood where residential is becoming and will become more of a significant part of the area.”

Monroe North stretches along the Grand River just north of downtown Grand Rapids. The neighborhood has attracted significant investment in recent years from Corewell Health, which opened its corporate headquarters there in 2024 and is building a 118-unit housing complex for medical residents.

A slide presented during Wednesday’s meeting showed the six-story hotel at 816 Monroe Ave. NW would include 160 rooms operating under Hilton’s Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton brands. Belka estimated the hotel would cost about $35 million.

The 20-story apartment building proposed for 800 Bond Ave. NW would contain 342 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, along with 7,000 square feet of first-floor retail space. Belka estimated the building would cost about $150 million.

Plans also call for a nine-story parking structure with 500 spaces, a rooftop amenity deck and about 10,000 square feet of first-floor retail space. The garage would serve the new hotel and apartment tower, as well as the existing 820 Monroe development, project representatives said.

Johnson said his company recently acquired the building at 800 Bond Ave. NW at the corner of Newberry Street NW, giving his firm control of the entire block targeted for development.

He declined to identify the seller or purchase price, saying the information was available through property records.

The project announced Wednesday would be built in phases, with the development team hoping to obtain foundation permits for the hotel later this month and begin construction this fall, Johnson said. Work on the parking structure and apartment tower could begin next spring.

If the project advances as planned, all three components could be completed in late 2029 or early 2030, Johnson said.

Belka said the development team expects to seek brownfield tax-increment financing for the project. The team also may pursue a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone tax abatement for the apartment building and a Commercial Redevelopment Act abatement for the hotel.

The team has also discussed seeking incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, he said.

“On a project like this, I think everybody knows in our current environment with interest rates (that) costs continue to go up,” Belka told board members. “So we would be coming back to you with a formal request for support.”

During the meeting, Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand asked whether the proposed retail space was included to satisfy zoning requirements or reflected demand the development team expects in the neighborhood.

Belka said the retail space was not being forced by zoning requirements.

He said the development team expects the uses to complement the hotel, apartments and continued growth in Monroe North, including Corewell Health’s presence in the neighborhood.

A representative of the construction team acknowledged the project would create some congestion but said the team is considering traffic flow and access as part of its construction sequencing. The project also would include improvements along Bond Avenue and surrounding streetscape work, plans show.

In addition to 820 Monroe, Johnson said he also owns the Gallery Apartments downtown and Bradford Station in the Belknap Lookout neighborhood.

The Monroe North Tax Increment Financing Authority oversees tax revenue generated by rising property values within the district to help fund public infrastructure, private development and other neighborhood improvements.

Speaking after the meeting, LaGrand expressed support for the project, calling it a “really exciting proposal” that “ticks so many boxes.”

“People moving into the downtown core and living here is completely synergistic with the jobs we’ve already got down here,” he said, noting that the project would complement public improvements underway along the Grand River corridor.