A Rockford proposal for 245 apartments is in the early stages at 516 Alabama Ave. NW, about a block north of the busy West Side retail strip.
Rockford Construction founder and CEO Mike VanGessel has worked on a New Holland Brewing project.
Talbot's West Side Track Record
Talbot Development worked on Verdant, an apartment development on Bridge Street, while Talbot and Pinnacle Construction Group have worked together on the Current, a residential building in Grand Rapids' Creston neighborhood. Crain's Detroit Business has described a separate, similar 150-unit apartment project at a former grocery store on Bridge Street.
Pinnacle Construction Group is headquartered at 1000 Front Ave. NW.
Part of a Bigger Wave of West Side Apartments
The 516 Alabama proposal follows a string of apartment projects reshaping the corridor. Talbot previously acquired the Verdant site in 2024 and began construction soon after, turning a former grocery store lot into a five-story, 148-unit building at 648 Bridge St. NW near Gold Avenue NW, according to WOOD TV8. That $32 million project includes a roof deck, golf simulator, fitness center and ground-floor cafe, with studio rents starting around $1,250 a month and topping out in the mid-$2,000s. Talbot Development has also broken ground on a 151-unit project in Portage expected to open in 2028.
Separately, a $25 million apartment and commercial development is moving forward just blocks away at 617 Fulton West, planned to include 109 studio and one-bedroom apartments along with three commercial suites. That project landed a $4.75 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program loan from the Michigan Strategic Fund board, and the city expects to contribute $3.6 million in incentives, including a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone and Brownfield TIF, per the same FOX 17 report.
Grand Rapids' broader housing picture may help explain why developers keep circling the West Side. A city housing-policy update determined that by 2027, roughly 34,700 dwelling units will be needed countywide, including 14,106 within Grand Rapids itself, to keep pace with household growth and the replacement of older homes, according to the City of Grand Rapids.
The 516 Alabama project remains in its early stages.
