Firestone Lofts

Firestone Lofts is a 21-unit historic adaptive reuse in downtown Grand Rapids’ Arts and Entertainment District, completed in April 2017. The project transformed the former Firestone Tire building at 25 Jefferson Avenue SE into a collection of high-end loft-style apartments — preserving the building’s industrial character while delivering a modern downtown rental experience.

The location is one of the strongest in downtown Grand Rapids. Residents are within walking distance of St. Mary’s Hospital, Van Andel Arena, multiple restaurants, and the city’s expanding nightlife — making Firestone Lofts a recurring choice for medical professionals, downtown employees, and residents who want to live without a daily commute.

Architecturally, Firestone Lofts is an example of what adaptive reuse does best: it preserves the bones, scale, and texture of a building the city would otherwise have lost, while putting it back into productive use. Exposed brick, original timber, generous ceiling heights, and large windows give the apartments a presence that ground-up construction at the same price point cannot match.

The project is part of a broader Third Coast Development thesis: the highest and best use of many overlooked downtown buildings is housing, and the financing tools — historic tax credits, brownfield programs, and local incentives — exist to make those projects pencil. Firestone Lofts has remained substantially occupied since opening and continues to be one of the firm’s most-referenced multifamily projects.