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Lansing-area Developer Makes
His Name Here
The Grand Rapids Press, Jim Harger, October 14, 2001 - Gary Granger looks over his
growing real estate investments in West Michigan and sees the Promised Land.
"I love West Michigan," says Granger from his 11th-floor Bridgewater Place office
overlooking Grand Rapids' skyline. "There's a special blessing in this area."
Granger, a 46-year-old Lansing-area developer who sprinkles biblical references into
most conversations, is putting his money where his mouth is.
His recent $30 million deal to remodel City Centre into a state office building at
Monroe Center and Division Avenue cements his status as a major player in this
area's commercial real estate market.
He's spending two or three days a week in his Grand Rapids office as his Granger
Group of Companies adds more West Michigan projects to its portfolio.
Granger's activities in the past year include:
Purchasing and managing Bridgewater Place, one of downtown Grand Rapids' largest
office buildings.
Purchasing half of City Centre, a failed shopping center in downtown Grand Rapids,
from businessman Peter Secchia. He's selling the building to the City of Grand Rapids
and redeveloping it into a state office building. The other half is the city's new police
headquarters.
Developing Rivertown Valley, a 200-acre, mixed-use development strategically located
between the Wilson Avenue exit of the new M-6 Southbelt freeway and Rivertown
Crossings mall.
Granger, who grew up in Lansing and learned the business in his family's construction
company, says West Michigan's work ethic suits his style.
"There's a different culture on the West Side," says Granger. "Here, a handshake is a
handshake. It's nice to work with people who are really committed to keeping their word."
Though he's stepped up his development activities in West Michigan recently, he's no
stranger to the area. As a boy, his summers were spent at the family's cottage on Gun
Lake. He's also on the board of Wyoming-based Mission India.
Working for Granger Construction Co., he built high-profile projects such as Grand
Valley State University's L.V. Eberhard Center; Holland's Freedom Village and the
Michigan Department of Corrections' Saugatuck Dunes Prison.
In 1996, Granger says, he felt led to leave the family company and start his own
development firm.
"The Lord gives you opportunities in your life to discover what He wants you to do,"
he says, comparing his move to the biblical account of Abraham leaving his father's
household.
His faith plays a role in his business practices, but Granger says he doesn't make it a
selling point. "We don't believe people should work with us just because we're
Christians," he says.
Granger, an architectural engineer who graduated from Harvard Business School's
Owner/President Management Program, said he created his group of development
companies to re-think and re-engineer the process of delivering "built environments"
to his corporate and government clients.
His most ambitious project is in Zeeland Township. There he's developing a prototype
office building for Herman Miller Inc. that is designed to speed the development process.
After breaking ground in May, he says the building will be complete in November.
Succeeding as a developer boils down to being fair and keeping your promises,
Granger says.
"You have to understand all of the ramifications of what that promise means," he says.
He has used that knowledge to put together several development deals with the State
of Michigan. In his latest, he is selling his half of the former City Centre to the City
of Grand Rapids, which will rent it out to the state.
Granger, who is remodeling the 50-year-old former department store to meet state office
standards, will get the lion's share of the $30 million the city is borrowing to finance the
deal. He also will manage the building over the 25-year life of the state lease.
Secchia, who sold City Centre to Granger last year, said he was impressed by Granger's
ability to put together a deal with the state and city. "It was very creative and technical,"
he said.
"He wanted to have a presence in Grand Rapids, and he seems to be doing it the right
way," said Secchia, who says he lacks the stomach to navigate the tricky political waters
involved in dealing with the state.
City Centre is the latest in several projects Granger has built for the state. Two years
ago, Granger and Lansing developer Joel Ferguson built the $100 million House of
Representatives Office Building in Lansing.
Through his family's construction firm, Granger also built prisons and university
buildings throughout the state.
GVSU President Mark Murray got to know Granger in the mid-1990s, when he was
state budget director and Granger was hired to rebuild Jackson Prison. "It was a
complex project; he kept demonstrating a commitment to working through issues
that arose. It was a very solid professional performance."
Today, Murray considers Granger a friend. "I think he will turn out to be not only a
good developer, but also a good neighbor," says Murray.
Though competitors have critiqued him for his cozy relationship with the state and
Gov. John Engler, Granger contends it's a familiarity based on trust.
"It's that knowledge of what their needs are," he says. "We don't even have to talk
or negotiate about it. They understand I know what their needs are."
Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie, a real estate lawyer who initiated the City Centre
deal, says Granger's credibility with the state helped the deal go through.
He also is a shrewd businessman, says Logie. "I think he showed flexibility, and he held
the line where he had to for his own business interests."
Granger says he also understands the needs of investors who sink their dollars into
his projects.
"I never ask for their money first," he says. "We create a deal that has the good potential
return on investment. Once we figure out the return, then it's easy to attract investors."
Though he does big projects, Granger says he's not involved in high-risk projects. For
example, he's not pushing investors to put up the long-awaited second tower on
Bridgewater Place.
"Right now, we're concentrating on stability rather than growth," he says. "We've had
expectations that were not fulfilled, but we've never lost money."
John Wheeler, president of Rockford Development who serves with Granger on Ferris
State University's Board of Trustees, says he's convinced Granger is the real deal.
"He's not someone who's here for a quick buck and leaving," says Wheeler. "He's
honest, straight-forward, and you can always get him on the phone."
Though he's managed one of the city's largest office buildings for nearly a year, Granger
remains a man of mystery to many members of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Grand Rapids.
"He does big stuff, he doesn't mess around and he's got some capital behind him," says
BOMA President John P. Francis. "He's definitely becoming a presence."
