By Jordan Beaubois, News Editor
The proposed ambitious riverfront skyline project for Grand Rapids – Photo by MLive
Grand Rapids has seen many developments since its founding in 1850. With many long-time residents commenting on how parts of it, especially the downtown, are unrecognizable due to the amount of exponential growth. 2025 is already set to be a big year for the city, in 2024 the city saw the completion of the Studio Park Tower and Eastpointe Commons low income housing. With other projects finishing at the beginning of this year like Lyon Square finishing the construction.
The Acrisure Amphitheatre located on the bend of the S-curve of HWY 131 has been in conception since the late 2010s and began official construction in 2024. As it stands, it is set to complete in time for the concert season of 2026 and will be able to seat 12,000 people. This will be the first of many upcoming projects that will cross that HWY 131 border into the Westside of the Downtown.
The construction of the Acrisure Amphitheatre in progress – Photo by Jordan Beaubois
Continuing with the Westside development is the highly anticipated Amway Stadium which will bestow the city of Grand Rapids with its very own Major League soccer team and stadium. It will be located on 230 Winter Ave NW, stretch just over 8 acres and seat over 8,500 soccer fans. It will in turn have a Skywalk that connects to the YMCA building next door. The construction of this will begin early this year and is on the path to complete by 2027.
The Grand River is a staple of the city, part of its history and its identity. With a recent development promising to put the ‘rapids’ back in Grand Rapids. Grand River White Water, non-profit organization, set out to complete this mission in 2009. A little over a decade and a half later they have mostly succeeded. The rapids will not be restored to white water conditions, as the organization was hoping for, but the river will return to a more natural flow. Other benefits include, the assistance in the passage of fish, and offer recreational opportunities such as kayaking, wadding and more. Work on this is scheduled to begin this summer and completion is unclear as grant funding is subject to change.
Largest of these developments is the inclusion of new upcoming high rise buildings along the riverfront just north of the previously mentioned Acrisure Amphitheatre on Market Ave SW on the other side of the S-curve. The firm intends to build three high-rise towers. The aspiration is to have 671 high end housing units, a hotel, an office tower, and extended retail locations in the downtown area.
The hotel and condos would be a 37 story building with 130 rooms for the hotel alongside 76 condos and six floors of parking. The apartment tower would be 43 stories and include an amalgamation of studios, one-bedrooms and two bedroom apartments. Prices for renting these would be upwards of $2,500 a month depending on floor plan.
Lastly of this is the 21 floors of a new office tower that would have eight levels of parking which would be built adjacent to the 131 highway of S-curve. The building would have 420,000-square-feet of total office space, although a tenant has not been identified by the officials as of presently. Regardless, this new riverfront is set to begin construction in the autumn of 2025.
Pictures of the space where the riverfront high rises will be and their displacement – Photo from MLive
Some residents of the Grand Rapids area have mixed sentiments about the rapid development undertaking the West Michigan region. “It is really exciting to have more fun things to do, and to see the city growing so much,” said longtime resident Margrethe Kearney. “I just hope that the benefits of the new development are enjoyed by all our residents, and that Grand Rapids can be an affordable city for families.” Another local Grand Rapidian, Kennedy Mikel, commented, “I keep looking around, and I ask myself ‘is this a waste of time and space?… I really don’t know yet.’”
These and more developmental aspirations are set to begin as the city of Grand Rapids continues to expand. Even more projects continue to be underway like the Plaza Roosevelt Greenspace to beautify the metropolis. Whether or not the growth is sustainable for those of all income levels, that remains to be seen. Regardless it will make the city more glamorous than ever before.
The Saint 