Mar 5, 2025
A first-time developer’s mixed-use housing and restaurant project in the fast-growing Roosevelt Park neighborhood of Grand Rapids has landed nearly $900,000 in state backing.
Developer Juan Lopez was awarded an $874,000 Revitalization and Placemaking program grant in support of his plans to convert a dilapidated building at 1516 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW into 17 apartments with a Cuban restaurant called Palmas on the ground floor, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday.
The RAP program provides access to gap financing for place-based infrastructure and real estate rehabilitation and development.
Whitmer said the project aligns with her administration’s goal to end Michigan’s 140,000-unit housing shortage.
“We need to ‘build, baby, build’ so every Michigander has a safe, affordable place to call home,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The Revitalization and Placemaking Program helps turn old, abandoned buildings into new, vibrant places that attract and retain talent, add new housing options, and create space for new business.”