Downtown Icon Transformed Into Housing

A 60-year-old brutalist building in downtown Grand Rapids is now housing as the historic 111 Lyon Street building undergoes a complete transformation from corporate headquarters to residential apartments.

The building, originally constructed in 1966 as the regional headquarters of Old Kent Bank and later Fifth Third Bank, has been gutted and refashioned into 185 apartment units. The bottom three floors remain the regional headquarters for Fifth Third Bank, while the top seven floors have been converted to residential use.

New Apartment Mix

The complex consists of 105 one-bedroom apartments and 35 two-bedroom apartments, totaling 140 units. One-bedroom units range from roughly $1,800 to $2,200 per month, while two-bedrooms are priced between $2,300 to $2,800.

Of the units, 20% are classified as affordable housing, with prices ranging from $1,525 to $1,820 per month. The affordable units maintain the same quality and finishes as the market-rate apartments.

Amenity-Rich Lower Level

The amenity space in the lower level will take the name of the old University Club, which closed in 2023 after 100 years in operation. The University Club was previously located on the 10th floor of the Fifth Third Bank building and featured wood-paneled walls and high-end finishes.

The new amenity space will include:

• A lap pool
• Golf simulator and putting green
• Pickleball and basketball court
• Billiards room
• Gym
• Saunas

Tenants will also have access to a bike storage area and the Vandenberg Center Parking Ramp, which is attached to the building.

Housing Crisis Response

Sam Cummings, a managing partner with CWD Real Estate, spearheaded the project alongside builder Orion Construction. Cummings purchased the building in 2015 after trying several times to attract a major corporate headquarters, but office space demand changed dramatically in the wake of the pandemic.

"We have a housing crisis regionally," Cummings said. "So how can we take a struggling asset class and recapitalize it?"

The project will bring at least 210 new residents to the two-block area and take 150,000 square feet of office space off the market. Cummings sees this conversion as just the first of many, with plans to move crews to the historic Ledyard Building on Ottawa Avenue for another office-to-residential conversion.

Preserving Historic Features

Looking out across downtown, Cummings sees this conversion as part of a larger vision for revitalizing the area. One feature that has come up repeatedly from prospective tenants: the windows.

The tall rows of windows, designed to reduce heat gain, have been kept as they were. "Fifth Third took such good care of this building," Cummings said. "It was their home, it was their corporate headquarters. They turned a good product over to us because they had taken care of it like an owner would, and that was really nice."

Leasing and Occupancy

The apartments are on schedule to be ready for tenants to move in this June, June 1, 2026, to match the ribbon cutting ceremony. Leasing applications are available and tours can be scheduled on the 111 Lyon website.

Cummings hopes to have all units fully occupied within 18 to 24 months. Some remaining work is being completed on the units before they are furnished, including finishing the amenity space in the lower level.

"More affordable than many downtown," Cummings said, noting that the project is competitive with other downtown developments. "It's expensive to do this sort of conversion. We want a thriving downtown of restaurants, retail, et cetera. So we need to build demographics of folks that actually have disposable income to pay for those things."