More clues.
The speculation over a possible multi-billion dollar development in downtown Grand Rapids has been the talk of West Michigan for nearly a week.
No one will say exactly what the development might be, but we wondered what kind of facility could be built for one or two billion dollars.
We looked around the area and it was easy to find new construction.
Oops. Rick just admitted the economy around here isn't as bad as it seems. He goes on to take a look at some other recent area projects, first off the new Marriott downtown.
It's an ambitious project that will bring 24 floors of hotel rooms downtown, it's price tag is $100 million.
The Van Andel Arena cost about $65 million while the DeVos Place convention center more than $210 million.
Chump change. Let's look around the country.
In Atlanta a new state of the art aquarium recently opened, it's cost was $200 million.
Closer to home, Ford Field in Detroit cost $350 million.
The Mall of America in Minnesota in today's dollars could be as much as one billion.
The proposed Freedom Tower to replace the World Trade Center in New York will cost an estimated $1.5 to $2 billion.
The already opened Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas reportedly cost $2.7 billion to build.
The "Mall of America" sits on 80 acres- this spot is only 30. It doesn't make sense to put something like that downtown due to parking issues- a 'burb would be a better spot, unless you are going to build a very tall "Mall" and park people around it.
Someone from Channel 8 hit my blog in the middle of the night a couple of times, they were using the search words "David Minkin" and "Time Warner". Very interesting guys. Keep digging, but not here. I'm riffing off of you.