A Glimpse into the Future of Grand Rapids

Dream Grand and GROW

LinkedIn named Grand Rapids the #1 U.S. City on the Rise in 2025 – right in sync with a series of notable developments rising along the city’s downtown riverfront.

Experience Grand Rapids produced a video depicting seven of the developments that are transforming the downtown experience for residents and visitors alike. Dream Grand and Grow invites viewers on a trip down the Grand River to glimpse new and upcoming projects that together represent one of the largest active riverfront developments in the United States.

Since its launch in November 2025, the Dream Grand and Grow video has won a Gold Addy Award from the West Michigan chapter of the American Advertising Federation, a Gold eTSY Award from Connect Travel and a Governor’s Award for Innovative Tourism Collaboration from the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM).

More importantly, it has stoked the excitement of local residents and businesses, and has become an essential tool in promoting Grand Rapids to leisure and business travelers.

You can go behind the scenes of the video creation process here – and read on for details on the seven projects featured, in order of their video appearance:

Grand River Restoration

Status: Underway

Carved out by receding glacial ice around 11,000 years ago, the Grand River valley winds 252 miles from Jackson to Grand Haven, making it Michigan’s longest river. Grand Rapids took its name from the rapids that once stretched for a mile on the Grand River as it winds its way through the downtown area. But a series of dams built in the late 1800s and early 1900s subverted the river’s natural flow and eliminated the rapids.

Grand Rapids WhiteWater, a nonprofit collaborative effort of local public and private entities, has been working with the City of Grand Rapids to restore the downtown rapids, enhance the river habitat for more diverse aquatic species, and provide additional recreational opportunities in the heart of the city, including wading, angling and whitewater paddling sports.

The project has been in the works for more than 15 years, as each element has had to undergo extensive scrutiny by regulatory agencies on issues such as hydraulic modeling, fish passage, and impacts to endangered mussels. Construction of the first phase of the project, known as the Lower Reach, began in July 2026, timed to protect fish spawning periods. It is slated for completion in late 2027, bringing rushing rapids back to Grand Rapids for the first time in more than 100 years.

The Upper Reach phase, which contemplates the removal and replacement of the 6th Street Dam, the first sea lamprey barrier on the Grand River, is currently undergoing environmental impact studies and analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Lyon Square

Status: Now Open

The future is now at Lyon Square, a newly reimagined public plaza along the Grand River between DeVos Place Convention Center and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

For years, Lyon Square was little more than the endpoint of a driveway between the two facilities, graced by a small river overlook. Today, it has been transformed with pedestrian paths, greenery, seating, colorful lighting and a spacious platform overlooking the river. After dark, the park is illuminated with strings of lights and a large-scale projector displays a nightly art show on the entrance of the historic Civic Auditorium at DeVos Place. A snowmelt system keeps the gathering space event-ready in every season.

Completed in 2025, this $12 million project was one of the first major investments in activating the Grand River corridor and bringing new life to the downtown riverfront. Shortly after its reopening, it was honored with an Excellence in Urban Design Award from the Michigan Association of Planning Excellence.

Amway Stadium

Status: Opening Spring 2027

It’s a 10-minute walk from Lyon Square to the site of the new Amway Stadium, which is on the opposite (west) side of the Grand River. The $175 million soccer and event venue opens in March 2027 for the first home game of the new Athletic Club Grand Rapids (aka AC Grand Rapids), Michigan’s first MLS NEXT Pro soccer team.

Fans can walk 10 minutes to and from the restaurants, breweries and nightclubs of the Bridge Street Entertainment District before and after games. The multi-purpose stadium will also host youth sports and various community events.

Amway, which is headquartered in Ada, 15 minutes from downtown GR, has purchased long-term naming rights for the stadium.

Grand Rapids Public Museum

Status: Phase 1 Renovations Complete

Founded in 1854, the Grand Rapids Public Museum is a place of never-ending inspiration and discovery for all ages. Its current facility opened in 1994 on the west bank of the Grand River, just a three-minute walk from the future Amway Soccer Stadium. In early 2024, the Museum broke ground on a $50 million expansion project to elevate the visitor experience through modernized exhibits and enhanced accessibility.

The  Cook Carousel Pavilion, which houses the Museum’s working 1928 Spillman Carousel – and the carousel horses you see in the video – has been detached from the main facility to allow for an accessible trail connection along the riverfront. Self-propelled ramps inside and outside the pavilion create universal access around and into the Carousel. The Carousel’s walkway roof is accessible from inside the Museum, providing a new outdoor viewing experience of the river.

A new outdoor classroom is surrounded by exhibits detailing the area’s natural history. Hands-on science stations – including a Geology Wall and a series of boulders etched with native fish species – are connected to improved riverfront walkways and trails. Terracing makes the river accessible to visitors no matter the water level.

The grand opening of the Museum riverfront was celebrated in April 2026.

Fulton & Market

Status: In Design & Development

A nationally recognized real estate developer has been selected as the development partner for a massive, skyline-defining mixed-use project on what is currently seven acres of surface parking lot at the riverfront intersection of Fulton St. and Market Ave.

The $797 million project, set to include apartments, condominiums, a hotel, office space and ground-floor retail, is one of the biggest in the city’s history. The plan also includes a pedestrian pathway along the Grand River, extending downtown’s river-edge trails to the south and enhancing connectivity and walkability from Fulton Street to the new Acrisure Amphitheater (see below).

The project has secured a $561 million Transformational Brownfield plan grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, allowing developers to move ahead with additional design, engineering, financing and permitting work. Construction is expected to begin soon.

This project will turn what is now essentially a gateway corridor into one of downtown’s most active and connected zones, where hotel guests, residents and retail customers can easily walk to the city center’s cultural, entertainment and business hubs.

Acrisure Amphitheater

Status: Opened May 2026

Spanning 10 acres along the Grand River, just a five-minute walk from the future Fulton & Market development, the Acrisure Amphitheater redefined entertainment in West Michigan from the moment music legend Lionel Richie headlined its grand opening concert on May 15, 2026. The $184 million outdoor performance venue scheduled 43 shows from May-October and was nominated for National Amphitheater of the Year 2026 by the International Entertainment Buyers Association.

The Amphitheater accommodates 12,000 concertgoers – 7,000 in fixed seats and 5,000 on a tiered lawn – with 22 entry points for easy access. A football field-sized canopy shelters seats from weather and provides unobstructed views for all patrons, thanks to an innovative two-pillar support system.

The Acrisure Amphitheater is part of a 31-acre mixed-use development that will also include housing, retail and commercial properties, as well as green spaces and trails. A week after the Amphitheater’s opening, local economic development organization Grand Action 2.0 announced it was pursuing a $270 million, 21-story mixed-use high-rise immediately south of the venue.

Grand River Greenway

Status: Ongoing Improvements

Not called out in the video, but weaving its way throughout the developments pictured, the Grand River Greenway is an ongoing project to connect a network of trails and parks along the Grand River between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven (to the west) and Ionia (to the east). Set for completion by 2031, the Grand River Greenway will enable users to hike, bike or kayak the 85+ miles between cities.

The project will connect more than 30 public parks along the river, including downtown GR’s Canal Park. A $7.5 million renovation of this park is underway to create a universally accessible play space, an accessible kayak launch, river outlooks, seating terraces and a multi-purpose plaza with an enclosed pavilion for events. The renovation should be completed in the late fall of 2026. Other local parks will also get upgrades.

The Grand River Greenway will also provide connections to many other regional trails, including the 13-mile trail connecting Lowell to Ionia, the 92-mile Fred Meijer White Pine Trail between Grand Rapids and Cadillac, and the 4,800-mile North Country Trail that runs through Lowell on its path from North Dakota to Vermont, as well as mountain biking trail networks through Cannonsburg State Game Area, Cannonsburg Ski Area and Luton Park.

We Dream Grand and Grow so you can Dream Grand and Go to a city that offers endless opportunities for fun and recreation. Even before the developments listed above, CNN named Grand Rapids a 10 Best Town to Visit – and now it’s even more vacation-worthy!