The Grand Rapids Planning Commission voted Nov. 13 to approve Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s request to waive the ground-floor active-use requirement for a five-level parking structure at 220 Wealthy Street Southeast.

Staff planner Laura (speaker 12) told commissioners the revised proposal follows a previous tabling to allow neighborhood engagement and now includes additional materials, landscaping, decorative perforated metal screens intended to mimic storefronts, and a dedicated area for a future mural. Darren McKinnon, Mary Free Bed’s owner representative, said the children’s hospital project is funded by grants and donations and is intended to be LEED-certified; a July 2025 parking study, he said, shows the campus will need roughly 332 parking spaces over the next five years.

Applicants argued the ground floor must accommodate accessible parking for patients and visitors and that the site’s soil and high water table limit below‑grade parking options. McKinnon also said the organization is not in the business of leasing retail space and that providing internal hospital-related services (for example wheelchair repair) would be operationally difficult and would reduce the deck’s parking yield.

During the hearing, residents and neighborhood representatives pressed commissioners on several concerns: they said the immediate parking need was overestimated, that outreach to neighbors came late, that the structure would harm walkability along Logan and Cass, and that light, noise, and visual impacts would reduce nearby property values. Several commenters also said existing vacant active‑use spaces in the area should be prioritized before allowing a waiver.

Mary Free Bed officials replied that they mailed postcards to addresses within 350 feet, held an open house Nov. 3, met with neighborhood organizations including Seeds of Promise and nearby schools, and revised plans to add screening, landscaping, and pedestrian amenities. CFO Ryan Podvin (speaker 21) said inpatient volumes and outpatient pediatrics demand have risen faster than expected, and that the ramp is required to serve the hospital and associated staff and patients when the children’s hospital opens.

Commission debate centered on whether materials, landscaping, and mitigation measures satisfied the zoning standard for waiving ground-floor active use. Commissioners asked staff to seek additional architectural treatment on the east (Cass) elevation and to require the ventilated mesh panels contrast in color with the precast deck so the façade does not visually merge with concrete. The commission’s resolution includes conditions requiring recessed interior lighting and stairwell fixtures to minimize light spillover, limiting access-drive widths to the minimum necessary, and follow-up work between staff and the applicant on additional façade articulation and landscaping.

Commissioner (speaker 3) moved the resolution citing findings that the proposal met master-plan and zoning purposes, that the design mitigates adverse effects, and that the structure provides needed parking to support the hospital campus. The motion passed by voice vote; one commissioner recorded a dissenting vote.

What’s next: The approval takes effect per the resolution’s timetable and will be subject to the required permits and plan-review checks (building permit, LUDS permits). Staff will work with the applicant on the specific façade and lighting mitigation language before building permits are issued.