Originally posted 7/25/08

This one has a great layout. The lower unit has very large rooms–the living room itself is over 400 square feet, and the kitchen has a ton of counter space. The upper unit has three large bedrooms with another living space and large kitchen/bath. Check out some photos:

Though the exterior was kept up rather well, no updates or improvements were made to the house since its construction. In the last few years, the plumbing stopped working altogether. As I type, the house is being completely renovated. We will share more photos with you soon.

The Contest
Contestants must create and maintain a garden. It can be a vegetable or flower garden. If there’s some type of cool garden that we don’t even know about, that could be fine too. Just let us know. There is no need to officially “enter” the competition, but anybody who wishes to be considered for the contest must contact us before July 31st, 2010 to let us know that they have a garden ready to be viewed. We’re going to leave the rest of the contest open-ended.

Who Is Eligible?
Only tenants of Urban Pharm are eligible. The garden must be at a property owned or managed by Urban Pharm. Only tenants of single family houses or buildings with 5 or fewer units may compete. We’re sorry to have to exclude some of you, but it is currently not possible to offer garden plots to some of our larger apartment buildings. Only one garden may be entered per household.

The Rules
Not all properties have gardens already. If a new garden area needs to be established, tenants must get approval from Urban Pharm first. We just have to know where it will be and how big it will be. Approval is also needed for tenants wishing to expand existing gardens. Existing gardens that don’t need expansion are fair game, as long as they are not already maintained by Urban Pharm.

Contestants must create and maintain the garden themselves (no professional landscaping companies–just in case you were thinking about it). Tenants must pay for all materials for the garden and will not be reimbursed. Gardens must be maintained after the contest ends and for the duration of the tenancy. Tenants may retire their garden if they are not up to this task by returning it to its prior state (unless the prior state was a pile of garbage).

Due to the fact that Urban Pharm pays the water bill on most properties, tenants are encouraged to conserve water while keeping their gardens hydrated. Any unreasonable increases in water bills may result in tenants sharing the bill with us. We’re not saying starve the plants of water, just be cautious and try to conserve when possible.

If you are unsure about anything, just ask us.

Judging
When we receive notice that a garden is ready to be viewed, we will swing by to check it out within a few days. We will take some photos, notes, and ask you a bit about the garden and its components. Every aspect will be taken into consideration when choosing the winners. Some factors will include creativity, overall appearance, how well the garden compliments the property and neighborhood, and yield (if fruits/veggies).

Winners will be announced on or before August 20th. We will post the results and photos of some of the gardens here on our blog, and we’ll call or e-mail the winners (as we don’t expect you to check here every day). Prizes will be distributed shortly after.

The Prizes
To be announced later, but all participants will get something.

Extra Produce?
If you ever have extra produce that you can’t use, you can bring it to our office and we will donate it to a local food pantry.

Good luck! Now get started…

Originally posted 10/23/2009: This duplex is quite the project. I do not envy the contractors working on this one. Our client asked us to do a walkthrough before he bought it to let him know what we thought. Upon walking in, we turned right around and left. We said no way. The smell. The stained walls. I think we probably got some sort of disease from breathing the air. You get the picture…

Anyways, I stopped by the other day and was pleased to see that they have taken down EVERYTHING. They haven’t touched a paint brush to a wall, but it has already lost the disgusting smell that it had before. The boards over the windows made it so dark that I couldn’t see the bulk of the rooms, but I did capture the main levels of both units.

This neighborhood is interesting. It is surrounded by redevelopment on Seward, Bridge, and at Union Square. However, the housing stock still has a long way to go. We are happy to be managing this property and look forward to seeing this area continue to improve.

Here are some photos:

This made me reflect on how far we have come in a short period of time. In July of 2007, we managed less than a dozen properties. A year later, we were well over 100. By July 2009, we doubled in size again and added a full time employee to help us with leasing and collecting rent. Though we are a small business that will not take over the world or redefine the way property management is done, we take pride in our work and enjoy what we do. Thank you to those who have been a part of our business–as a tenant, client, contractor, or neighbor. We look forward to continuing our growth in 2010, and hope to continue to try “new” things in an industry that generally operates the same way across the board.

Cheers to a wonderful 2010!

The 04.21.10 event, called Trip The Light, benefits ArtPeers efforts to incorporate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. “We can better serve local artists and the community, as a nonprofit organization,” said ArtPeers president Erin Wilson.

“Almost all arts funding goes through nonprofit organizations: ArtPeers could play a more meaningful role for local artists by collaborating with them to acquire funding for their work.”

ArtPeers vice-president Mike Knorr said Trip The Light is a “unique concept performance that pulls together local music, performing artists, and visual artists, in the spirit of community and cross-pollination in the arts.”

Music submissions can be mailed to DITA, 1233 Dunham SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506 or emailed as MP3 attachments. Alternatively, music can be dropped off at The Sparrows Coffee Tea & Newsstand, located at 1035 Wealthy SE, during regular business hours – music could be transported on CD or thumb drive.

Submissions “don’t need to be perfectly polished, or recorded in a professional studio,” Knorr said. “The musicians will be performing the songs live at Wealthy Theatre, ultimately, where they’ll sound magnificent.”

Knorr added that musicians whose music is selected will be asked to perform live 04.21.10, as part of the Trip The Light event, which “will include a live art auction, visual arts and another opportunity to value our local artists.”

DITA co-founder Amy Wilson said modern dance “incorporates all possible forms of music: there is no limit to what we could consider, musically, for Trip The Light.”

ArtPeers is an arts organization created to encourage community patronage of locally created performances, exhibitions and concerts, to connect different peer groups within the Grand Rapids creative community, and to develop opportunities for artists’ creative and professional growth.

Originally Posted 11/3/2009: We are happy to be managing another home in the Cherry Hill neighborhood (part of the greater East Hills neighborhood and Uptown). This house was build in 1870. I can’t believe that it is nearly 140 years old. There are some signs of age in the foundation. Some of the floors slope slightly, but work will be done to prevent further settling and to attempt to fix the damage that has already been done. Foundation work is always tricky, as moving floors even a couple inches can cause the wood floors to buckle, walls to crack, and doorways/windows to become lopsided. The amount of raising will depend on how the floors and walls take the move.

In all, there are 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. All of the rooms are large, including the kitchen, which will provide a full second eating area. A pretty comprehensive mechanical remodel was done recently, so most of the work will involve the foundation and cosmetic repairs. We hope to offer this home for rent within the next month or so. Stay tuned for the final product, and get in touch with us if you are interested in renting this home.

Originally posted 11/14/2009: This is a cool duplex, kiddy-corner from a tavern and a stones throw from Leonard St. businesses. We have been pretty quiet in the West Grand neighborhood lately, but are happy to be back. Each apartment is rather large, and filled with hardwoods and tile. The upper unit has a great deck that will get some attention to make sure it is safe and secure. There’s really not a whole lot more to tell. We expect these apartments to be ready to rent in about a week.

After looking at the previous 365 days of web traffic for www.urbanpharm.com and sub-pages, here are some facts (from Google Analytics):

The coolest thing was seeing that 14,128 new visitors found our site last year, resulting in over 156,000 page views. Thanks for all who visited and continue to visit!

If you feel that supporting our local businesses is important, here are some ways to make it easy and have fun with it:

Uptown Holiday Shop Hop, December 3, 4 – 9 pm. The businesses in the Uptown district, which includes Wealthy St, Eastown, East Fulton, and East Hills (Cherry St), are collaborating for the annual Shop Hop. Trolleys will be circling the district providing free rides to anybody who wants to hop on. Businesses will be offering sales, specials, and refreshments. Impromptu holiday carols are the norm. This year, the Fulton St. Artisan’s Market will be participating in an indoor venue at 941 Wealthy SE. The Facebook event listing can be found here.

Holiday Artists Market, December 4 from 5 – 9 pm, December 5 from 10 am – 9 pm. The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, located at 41 Sheldon SE, is hosting their annual artist market. Per my count, 60-something local artists with a variety of goods will be participating. This is a great opportunity to buy very unique gifts, crafted by the loving hands of others in our community. The Facebook event listing can be found here.

Urban Lights, December 11 from 6 – 11 pm. The Division Street Business District/Avenue for the Arts is holding their annual holiday shopping event. Art Galleries and other retailers along Division, between Wealthy and Fulton, will be opening their doors for extended hours with sales and other surprises. If you haven’t been down Division in awhile, you have to check it out. If you have been down Division recently, you’re probably already going to this event. The Facebook event listing can be found here.

Shop by (Local First) Directory. If you can’t find everything on your list at the events above, consult the Local First Membership Directory. Not all local businesses are members of Local First, so ask friends and family about local sources for your purchases if a Local First option isn’t available. And if you absolutely must to go to a big box store, remember that Meijer is headquartered right here in West Michigan.