Development in Grand Rapids
One of America’s top 20 cities for job growth. A top 10 city for fastest rising income. The #1 metro area for sustainable development.
These are just a few of the economic achievements Grand Rapids has tallied of late. The city and its surrounding region have built one of the most successful economies in the U.S. over the past decade – and it’s fueled an unprecedented surge in capital expenditures. Here are just a few examples of recent investments.
Developments for the 12,000 seat riverfront Acrisure Amphitheater, to be completed in 2026.
Photo by Shafi Subhan, Courtesy of Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
Downtown Amphitheater
A 12,000-seat outdoor amphitheater is planned for a riverfront site in downtown GR. Named Acrisure Amphitheater after one of the city’s largest employers, the facility will be built on 31 acres that are also envisioned to incorporate a mixed-use development with housing, green space and retailers. The $184 million venue is projected to open in 2026.
The restoration of the city’s namesake rapids is a key part of the River Restoration project.
Photo by Shafi Subhan, Courtesy of Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
River Restoration
Planning continues on an ambitious project to revitalize the Grand River that runs through downtown and transform the way people engage with it. Long a magnet for fishing enthusiasts, the river will be “redesigned” to offer additional recreation opportunities and act as a catalyst for further development. The city’s namesake rapids, long absent from the river, will be restored with the removal of downtown dams.
Riverfront Improvements
The city plans to replace fencing and concrete barriers that once kept the public away from the downtown riverfront with inviting greenspaces, seating, a trail system and public art opportunities that make the river’s edge welcoming and accessible to all. Trails will stretch from the Acrisure Amphitheater north through the heart of the city and beyond – eventually linking up with 50 miles of multi-use trail following the Grand River corridor all the way to Lake Michigan.
Grand Rogue Park
Situated roughly 20 minutes east of downtown GR, 66-acre Grand Rogue Park sits at the intersection of the Grand River and the Rogue River. Opened in 2020, it has remained largely undeveloped until now. A two-phase project is currently underway to add two kayak/canoe launches, fishing docks, ADA-accessible walkways to water features, playground equipment, two community pavilions and additional parking. The park closed in fall 2024 to facilitate the transformation and is set to reopen in summer 2025. Additional amenities will be added over the next five years.
Construction, anticipated to take two years, will provide the Grand Rapids Public Museum with a refreshed appearance.
Photo by Shafi Subhan, Courtesy of Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
Grand Rapids Public Museum
Enhanced access to the river is also integral to a $50 million expansion of the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The Museum is transforming its outdoor space into a park-like environment with artifact displays, hands-on learning stations, seating and food service. It is also detaching the pavilion housing its 1928 Spillman carousel from the main building to allow for an accessible riverfront trail. In addition, several of the Museum’s core exhibition spaces will be refreshed and reimagined. Construction began in fall 2023 and is expected to take two years to fully complete.
Lyon Square includes pedestrian paths, greenery, seating, colorful lighting and a spacious platform overlooking the river.
Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR.
The upcoming stadium will feature seating for 8,500, designed for multi-sport and multi-use events.
Photo by Courtesy of Grand Action 2.0
Downtown Soccer Stadium
A site is soon to be announced for the construction of a downtown soccer and event stadium. With seating for 8,500 and room to grow, the multi-use, multi-sport venue will be flanked by an open plaza and space for pre-game gathering and easy entrance flow. The $175 million project will be embedded within a thriving urban environment allowing multi-season activation and use.
Hotels
Downtown Grand Rapids has doubled its hotel count to 14 since 2016, bringing the total number of city-center guest rooms to more than 2,500. Hotel development continues apace in other areas of the city, including newly open or now-in-construction hotels in the suburbs of Ada, Rockford and Walker.
Corewell Health
The area’s largest employer, formerly known as Spectrum Health, operates a full-service hospital and a children’s hospital in downtown GR. It is consolidating a portion of its workforce in a new $100 million Center for Transformation and Innovation in downtown’s Monroe North neighborhood. It will include a renovated downtown building connected to a new eight-story facility, which together will accommodate 1,800 employees currently working in 18 offices across West Michigan. It is expected to open in summer 2024. Future plans for the site include the addition of medical student housing and market rate housing.
Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital
Downtown’s Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, the nation’s most comprehensive rehabilitation provider, is partnering with Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to build Michigan’s first dedicated children’s rehabilitation hospital. The $60 million Joan Secchia Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital will be built across the street from Mary Free Bed, with a pedestrian walkway between them. It is expected to open in 2026.
GVSU continues to grow with plans to devlop the "Blue Dot Lab."
Photo by Experience GR
Grand Valley State University
The downtown GR campus of this 22,000-student school continues to expand, with plans announced for a $140 million repurposing of its riverside Eberhard Center into the “Blue Dot Lab,” housing computer science, data science and transdisciplinary degrees in business, computing and the humanities. This will help fulfill the city’s vision to create 20,000 new tech jobs over the next decade and become a major tech hub in the Midwest.
Downtown Businesses
Downtown GR has welcomed many new corporate headquarters, educational facilities and multi-use complexes in the past five years – Acrisure, Perrigo, the Grand Valley State University Center for Interprofessional Health, the West Michigan Construction Institute and Studio Park, just to name a few.
A host of new restaurants and shops have opened downtown in 2024, including Curry Leaf Indian Cuisine, Gin Gin’s, Grammotones Music, GVSU Laker Store, Nightwatch Lounge, Pide & Stick, rewind.gr and Shake Party, giving visitors 250+ places to dine and shop within a 10-minute walk.
Projects nearing completion include Silva, a bocce ball-themed “dinner-tainment” complex; Rapid River Beverage Company, a Southern-style restaurant, moonshine tasting room and event venue; and Big Mini Putt Club, an indoor 9-hole mini golf course, bar and restaurant.
Downtown Residential
The demand for downtown housing has skyrocketed as new and longtime residents want to be close to new amenities. The 22-story residential tower at the Studio Park entertainment complex, set for completion by summer 2024, is one of many projects looking to fill the need. Another is Factory Yards, a $150 million, 15-acre mixed use development a 10-minute walk from downtown’s Founders Brewing Co. and the soon-to-be-built downtown amphitheater. The Factory Yards project will renovate existing warehouses to incorporate apartments, commercial space, performance space, restaurants, art installations and community gathering areas. Developers hope to complete the project by summer 2027.
Residential construction is also booming outside downtown, as Realtor.com named Grand Rapids/Kent County a Top 10 Housing Market for 2024, and city officials estimate that an additional 35,000 housing units will be needed by 2027.
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport concourse and terminal continue to see updates completed.
Photo by Peter McCullough Photo for Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
In summer 2023, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) unveiled phase 1 of its Concourse A expansion project, which increased the number of gates from eight to 14, enlarged gate space areas to accommodate larger size aircraft, and added new concession and retail concepts.
This expansion is part of the airport’s ELEVATE Program, which is designating more than $500 million in infrastructure improvements to improve the guest experience and position GRR for future growth. Additional improvements set to begin or already underway include a second-level executive lounge, a new federal inspection station to enable nonstop international passenger flights, the relocation of the current air traffic control tower, a consolidated rental car facility with an enclosed walkway from the terminal and a new checked bagged inspection system that will streamline the post-ticket counter journey for baggage.
These enhancements will further distinguish an airport already renowned for its service – the Airports Council International recognized GRR in its 2022 Service Quality Awards categories of Best Airport of 2-5 Million Passengers in North America, Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff in North America, Easiest Airport Journey in North America and Cleanest Airport in North America.
