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Often regarded as “just a college town” and therefore frequently overlooked, this suburb of Grand Rapids is more than meets the eye. With a strong sense of community, reliable small businesses, a convenient location, and a growing culture all its own, Allendale is a “hidden gem” of Ottawa County, according to Ryan Mahaney, Property Manager.
Ryan lamented that the big retailer often overshadows local businesses. Therefore, supporting local is something he tries to do both personally and professionally. “I’m personally a local supporter, and I’m really excited to be able to do that on a bit of a bigger scale,” Ryan shared, referring to the pop-up market that The Alpine will be hosting this summer.
Born from a desire to showcase and celebrate local and small businesses, Ryan hopes this pop-up market will raise awareness of Allendale and the way the community members support each another. Additionally, “we wanted to show everybody around here our amazing properties because I think sometimes it’s easy to not see us… So, we wanted to bring more of the community around here, as well as create a fun summer event for our residents,” Emily Koetsier, Community Intern, shared.
The inaugural summer pop-up market, hosted at The Alpine in Allendale, will feature a wide variety of vendors. The market will run from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on Friday, June 26th. Attendees can expect boutiques, vintage sellers, handmade goods, local authors (including yours truly), and food vendors. Emily specifically mentioned the following treats to look forward to: a snow cone cart, a coffee cart, and a dirty soda bar. There will be no shortage of creatives and creators.
Emily said that she hopes the pop-up market offers a welcoming and positive atmosphere for local businesses to connect with residents and with Ottawa County. “I love going to little markets, that’s something that I used to do all the time with my mom. So, it’s always a fun thing to look forward to,” Emily said. She’s optimistic that the pop-up can become an annual event. “Obviously, we would love to see how this one goes, but I think it would be a great thing to continue to do.”
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Sister properties “located in the heart of Allendale and just a few minutes away from Grand Valley State University,” The Lodge and The Alpine offer fully furnished apartments, resort-style amenities, and a strong sense of community, said Emily. With a clubhouse open 24 hours a day at each complex, residents have continual access to a gym, study rooms, and printing services. Both properties also have pools, basketball courts, beach volleyball, and dog parks. The Alpine even has a hot tub, which has been a huge hit, according to Emily.
The Lodge first opened in 2017, and The Alpine opened one year later in 2018. Over the last nine years, Ryan Mahaney has secured many solid relationships with local businesses and the Allendale community. He mentioned a long-standing partnership with AK Lawn and Landscape, Andringa’s Mechanical, Sprinkles Donut Shop, Bliss Bakery, M&M Building Solutions, Lyons Painting, Lyons Electric, and Absolute Security—with whom he’s worked since opening. Between his two properties, Ryan has to turn around six or seven hundred rooms within a three-week window to welcome incoming residents. To get this done, he has help from Nicole at Premier Property Solutions, Adam from The Cleaning Authority, and John with White Glove Inc. for carpet cleaning, among others, all of which are based locally.
Over the years, what Ryan, Emily, and the staff at the sister properties are most proud of is the relationships they’ve created with their residents and the community of Allendale. It’s been through events like their popular “Popsicles by the Pool,” or various food truck events, giveaways, and now their summer pop-up market, that they’ve been able to build such strong relationships. Emily explained how it’s “great to create new friendships and help everybody get involved within our community, which is really, really rewarding to see.” It’s obvious that the staff at The Lodge and The Alpine truly care for their residents.
So, creating an event for their residents and their community felt natural. “I wish more people knew how amazing the local businesses are, and I think that’s kind of why I wanted to highlight them within this community event,” Emily said.
The pop-up market is their way of giving back. Emily shared that they’re all “super excited about [the market]. We’ve all been working really hard, and I think everybody’s excited to get to the day and meet a ton of new people and interact with everybody.”
Both Ryan and Emily hope the market offers their residents, the community of Allendale, and all who attend, an opportunity to celebrate summer, local businesses, and all this “hidden gem” of Ottawa County has to offer.
Jade Havenaar is a Holland native and a life-long lover of the lake, coffee, and a good book. She’s a former middle school teacher and a published author. After marrying the boy she met in a bar and traveling the US together, she and her husband welcomed their first born and Jade happily added “boy mom” to the list of hats she wears. When she’s not writing or changing diapers, she’s probably out adventuring with her Golden Retriever, Henry.
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