The Blue Jay Hotel transforms blighted west-side building

Over the last few years, Grand Rapids’ west side has seen a lot of new development. Areas along Bridge Street has been one of them. 644 Bridge was once a blighted building. Now it’s one of the city’s newest hotels.

Daren Bower

“Kind of a modern design with furniture, but keeping the brick walls, so it's a good mixture of the old and new,” said owner Brad Veneklase.

The Blue Jay is a six-room boutique hotel, with five suites upstairs and a large common space on the ground floor with a kitchen and bar. Guests can even enjoy an enclosed outdoor patio.

“It has large dining table. We have a grill/gas fire pit,” said Veneklase.

This was not always the case.

Veneklase says, before he bought it, the building was blighted and sat vacant for more than 10 years and had numerous structure problems before he started renovations.

Daren Bower

“I think it's rewarding when it's done. It's just... I like the mixture between old and new versus new construction. That's another thing that I think draws me to them,” said Veneklase.

He says he likes to buy and rehab old buildings in Grand Rapids that down the road will have value.

Veneklase said, “I wasn't looking for a spot to put a hotel in. I was looking for real estate to rehab, and then decided that this would be a good use for it.”

Guests staying at the Blue Jay agree. They say a boutique hotel is perfect for the area.

Daren Bower

“Boutiques are nice if you just want to get in and out. And, you know, you don't need all the... everything that comes with a big hotel is a little simpler,” said hotel guest Bradley Matson.

“It's kind of, like, I feel like you really move in and, you know, kind of establish a more homelike environment,” said hotel guest Jamie Kramer.

Daren Bower

Veneklase is glad that he saved the historic structure by finding a good use for a building that was unused, saying, “It's nice to not see stuff just wiped out and starting over again and to have that history. I mean, Grand Rapids isn't a very old city compared to others, but it's got a lot of cool buildings.”

Visit the Blue Jay Hotel's website to learn more.

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