Downtown Muskegon Blog

Behind the Scenes – Building on Third Takes a Turn

We’ve reported on Third St progress numerous times over the last years, as property by property, this district is making a comeback. Over the summer one of the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place when Brad Link of Orphanage Tattoos, purchased the attached building to his at 1121 Third St. Brad is a long time Third Street believer and this next venture is sure to solidify that with his new investment. We caught up with Brad to talk about Third St, his current business, and plans for 1121 Third St.

MS: Brad, tell us a little about the history of your involvement and your current business on Third St.

BL: I bought 1125 Third St, the building that houses my current business, the Orphanage, in May 2003 and opened the shop of July that same year. As the building had been a tattoo parlor prior to my purchase the location made a lot of sense, and I was able to open with only some minor renovations. Even just 5 years ago it was amazing how different Third St was. Neighborhood Investment Corporation had just completed their overhaul of 1115 Third St, but other than my business, there were only two other businesses in the district. Now pretty much every storefront is occupied and a lot of improvements have been made to many of the buildings. In addition to owning my business here, I live above my shop, which has also proved extremely helpful in improving the area as you don’t get looked at as someone who is only around during business hours.

MS: Tell us about some of the changes that you have noticed over the years that helped you make a decision to make a new investment.

BL: Well I mentioned the changes to many of the buildings, but in addition to that I really pursued the purchase of 1121 Third as my current property has a shared wall with it, and because the lack of maintenance and the blighted storefront was hurting my property. Over the years a number of customers have commented on how the blight made them less interested in coming to my shop. So when the opportunity came up, I jumped on it.

MS: You came to own 1121 by purchasing it from the Muskegon County Land Bank. How did that work?

BL: The former owner lost the property through tax foreclosure and recently Muskegon County created a Land Bank, which is an entity that can choose to retain ownership of property for resale or redevelopment, rather than putting every single property up for public auction. This process gives the Land Bank more control over the type of buyer they pass the property on to. This spring I was informed the Land Bank had taken the property and as I had been interested in the property even prior to the foreclosure I began discussions with them, and the Land Bank seeing me as a responsible, adjacent property owner, sold me the property.

MS: Looks like you have already gotten down to work on fixing up the building. What improvements are you working on?

BS: As I mentioned, the property had been pretty blighted prior to me taking ownership. The windows had been boarded up, and the entire front retail space was full of junk and crumbling. So I have already cleaned the space up, filling up a number of dumpsters, as well as installed new windows and doors. This week an entire new storefront is being installed, complete with a new window and door system. I probably wouldn’t have considered the new storefront except I was able to take advantage of the City of Muskegon façade program, which will cover half of the cost.

MS: Any firm plans regarding what you might do with the space once you complete the improvements?

BS: I had considered just fixing up the building to the point where it wouldn’t negatively impact my current building, but after some thought I am pursuing the opening of a bicycle sales, rental, and fixit, location. I’m kind of a gearhead and my collection of bikes had already been growing so it seemed kind of a logical step. As I am pretty busy with the tattoo parlor already, I am looking at putting some of my friends to work in the shop. It could be a win-win. The plan is open that next spring when cycling season begins again.

MS: Well, it is great to see small business owners being able to take a chance on investing in property and getting business off the ground on Third St. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

BS: You’re welcome.

Check it out on the web

Orphanage Tattoo
Muskegon County Land Bank

Labels: Downtown Muskegon E-News

posted by Dan & Sarah @ 9:34 AM