What Will Happen to the Grand Rapids Mansion on Plainfield?

There seems to be a growing conflict on the North East side of Grand Rapids with all 'three' sides, owners, neighbors and the city, searching for a solution.

Fox 17 reported about a home in Grand Rapids now at the center of that controversy. It's the "Vander Jagt" historical home on Plainfield Avenue.

You have seen it a million times if you travel on Plainfield Avenue. The home, completed in 1940, is in the Creston Neighborhood and also backs up into the Riverside Gardens Neighborhood, sitting on 1.7 acres of land. It is 6,000 square feet in size, and sits on a full city block.

Haven't you always wondered about the history of the house? John and Nellie Vander Jagt were the original owners. John became a successful businessman beginning with a pickup truck that he used to haul items for others and eventually began to add more trucks to his fleet. He grew and grew and soon was the sole transportation company for the A&P stores throughout the Midwest, and it expanded from there.

John and Nellie moved in with their seven children in 1940. Sadly, after only one year John died unexpectedly and Nellie was left to raise the children.

Flash forward to today, the current owners TJ and Max Budzynski bought the home on Plainfield Avenue in 2021. They say they've put in hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore it.

However, The Vander Jagt is not their primary residence, so that has created the neighborhood problem. The Budzynski's have used the home for several events and neighbors are concerned it is becoming an event location.

Full discloser, I am well aware of The Vander Jagt being used as an event space. I serve on the board of CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, providing a voice for abused and neglected children in foster care. This past Christmas season, we were able to hold a "home tour" for a few days with designers decorating rooms for the holidays. We were able to raise some much need funds for our work with children in foster care.

Many of the neighbors, however, are not happy with some events there, and have made signs saying basically saying 'shut down the Vander Jagt!'

Now the city of Grand Rapids is involved. City officials said that the homeowners have held several events over the past year, and after several violations, the Budzyanskis got a civil infraction in June. The Budzynskis say these events have been community-based. There is pending litigation so no one is able to comment.

What will happen now? Only time, and possibly cool heads, will tell.