Development in Grand Rapids
Named America’s #1 City on the Rise in 2025 by LinkedIn, Grand Rapids and its surrounding region have built one of the most successful economies in the U.S. – and it’s fueled an unprecedented surge in capital expenditures.
From billions of dollars in public and private investments poured into the city’s Medical Mile district to a flurry of projects constituting the largest active river revitalization efforts in the country, Grand Rapids is in the midst of a massive development boom.
Here are just a few examples of recent development projects:
The 12,000 seat, riverfront Acrisure Amphitheater, was completed in 2026.
Photo by Ideology for Experience GR
Downtown Amphitheater
The $184 million Acrisure Amphitheater opened on a riverfront site in downtown GR in May 2026, launching a debut season of 45+ concerts from the biggest names in music and comedy. The 12,000+-seat outdoor performance venue offers concourse, terrace and lawn seating, with three-quarters of the seats covered by an innovative canopy providing both shelter from the elements and an unobstructed view of the stage from any vantage point. Plans for a $271 million mixed-use high-rise project immediately adjacent to the amphitheater are now moving forward.
The restoration of the city’s namesake rapids is a key part of the River Restoration project.
Photo by Courtesy of Grand Rapids WhiteWater
Grand River Restoration
After nearly 20 years of planning, construction has begun on a project to restore the city’s namesake rapids to the Grand River that flows through downtown. To be completed in two phases, the project includes removing dams, installing natural rock structures and replacing a sea lamprey barrier. The restoration will expand recreation opportunities, enhance riverfront aesthetics, support long-term habitat diversity, increase fish passage, strengthen ecological resilience and improve public safety over a 2.5-mile stretch of the river.
Grand River Greenway
The Grand River Greenway is a growing network of public parks, trails and natural areas linking West Michigan communities to the Grand River. When finished, the Greenway will travel straight through Grand Rapids on its 85-mile route from Lowell to Grand Haven on the shores of Lake Michigan. The project will also improve water access by adding more places where people can safely interact with the river. In fall 2026, a redesigned Canal Park will reopen in downtown Grand Rapids with a new universally accessible, river-themed playscape, a barrier-free canoe/kayak launch and river overlooks. The riverfront Johnson Park, 10 minutes from downtown, will open a new natural-surface trail for biking, hiking, running and adaptive cycling in fall. More than $150 million is being invested in the Greenway over the next two 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
In spring 2026, the Grand Rapids Public Museum unveiled a renovated outdoor riverfront space complete with new classrooms, artifact displays, hands-on learning stations and seating. The $50 million project also detached the pavilion housing the Museum’s 1928 Spillman carousel from the main building to allow for an accessible riverfront trail, and added an accessible chariot to the carousel. Several of the Museum’s core exhibition spaces have also been refreshed and reimagined. Construction is now underway on the second phase of the project, which will add a public lobby, two new classroom spaces and improved access to over 250,000 artifacts and specimens in the Museum’s care.
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
Amway Stadium
Crews broke ground in May 2025 on the $175 million Amway Stadium, which will host the new MLS Next Pro League soccer team Athletic Club Grand Rapids when it opens in spring 2027. 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 project is just steps from bustling downtown neighborhoods and is expected to be a catalyst for even more development.
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. Fulton & Market, a planned $800 million mixed-used development on the downtown riverfront, will include a luxury boutique hotel tower. Hotel development continues apace in other areas of the city, with the opening of such properties as Ada’s namesake Ada Hotel and Rockford’s Hotel Rose.
John Ball Zoo
Already ranked in the top 25% of all American zoos, John Ball Zoo has embarked on an ambitious 10-year plan to vault it into the ranks of the country’s very best. The largest indoor habitat in the U.S., the addition of giraffes and sea lions, a 30-foot waterfall and a rooftop café are just some of the transformative new projects the Zoo will undertake through 2035. In 2026, the Zoo introduced an expanded North American River Otter exhibit featuring an underwater viewing area and unique interactive element. The Zoo is also pushing forward with plans to build a $450 million aquarium on a waterfront site in Kent County, envisioning a 2031 opening.
Meijer Sports Complex
Opened in 2014 in Rockford, 15 minutes from downtown GR, the Meijer Sports Complex hosts a variety of youth and adult amateur baseball and softball tournaments. It showed off more than $13.5 million of improvements when it opened for the 2026 season, including two new grass softball fields, a turf championship softball field, 20 pickleball courts, new concessions and restaurants, and expanding parking. The enhancements allow the Complex to accommodate an additional 200 teams annually.
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 has consolidated a portion of its workforce in a new $110 million Center for Transformation and Innovation in downtown’s Monroe North neighborhood. Other recently completed or in-progress projects include a 125-unit mixed-use housing complex for resident physicians in Monroe North, a $151 million, 12-story Care Center in downtown GR’s Medical Mile neighborhood, and an $80 million service center in Wyoming. A 620,000 sq. ft. expansion of its downtown Butterworth Hospital campus is set to begin construction in mid to late 2027.
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 is being built across the street from Mary Free Bed, with a pedestrian walkway between them. It is expected to open in fall 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 $166 million renovation of its riverside Eberhard Center, which houses classrooms, labs, radio and TV stations, and event space. The project includes a three-story addition to the existing building: the “Blue Dot Lab,” the new home for GVSU’s 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. Doors are expected to open in 2028.
Downtown Businesses
Downtown GR has welcomed many new corporate headquarters, educational facilities and multi-use complexes in the past five years – Acrisure, Perrigo, MSU Grand Rapids Innovation Park 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 downtown restaurants and shops have opened in the past 12-18 months, including Allora, an upscale destination for fresh coastal Italian cuisine; Big Mini Putt Club, an indoor mini golf course and bar; Garden District, a New Orleans-inspired Cajun/Creole restaurant; Rebel Nell, a graffiti-themed jewelry store; and SILVA, a unique “dinnertainment” complex.
The new additions give visitors 250+ places to dine and shop within a 10-minute walk of downtown hotels.
Downtown Residential
The demand for downtown housing has skyrocketed as new and longtime residents want to be close to big-city amenities. The 22-story residential tower at the Studio Park entertainment complex, opened in 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 new Acrisure Amphitheater. It broke ground in 2026 with plans for 467 apartments. The Fulton & Market mixed-use riverfront project is projected to include 600 high-end housing units.
Grand Rapids is also turning empty office buildings into apartments to help meet housing demand. Residences at 111 Lyon, opened in June 2026, transformed the top seven floors of the historic Fifth Third Bank building into 140 apartments. A project to convert portions of the 1874-era Ledyard Building into apartments begins construction this summer, and a third office-to-housing project has been announced for downtown’s Bridge Street Entertainment District.
Residential construction is also booming outside downtown, reflecting a nationally recognized housing market: the National Association of Realtors named Grand Rapids/Kent County a Top 10 Housing Spot for 2025, and city officials estimate that an additional 35,000 additional 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
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), 16 minutes from downtown GR, is in the middle of a $600 million investment in terminal expansion capital improvement projects. Phase 1 of the airport’s Elevate program expanded Concourse A, increasing the number of gates from eight to 14, enlarging gate space areas to accommodate larger size aircraft, and adding new concession and retail concepts.
Since the new Concourse A opened in summer 2023, GRR has built a new aircraft rescue and firefighting facility, new snow removal equipment building, new sensory room to support travelers with sensory sensitivities, new executive lounge, Michigan’s first consolidated rental car facility and more. A $135 million terminal enhancement project, to include a Consolidate Baggage Inspection System (CBIS) to streamline the luggage process, an Individual Carrier System (ICS) for improved baggage handling and screening, new ticket counter space and an expanded baggage claim area with larger carousels, is set for completion in 2027.
Additional improvements set to begin or already underway include a new federal inspection station to enable nonstop international passenger flights, the relocation of the current air traffic control tower, an enclosed walkway from the terminal and additional parking to accommodate increased guest traffic.
These enhancements are further distinguishing an airport already renowned for its service – Airports Council International’s Service Quality Awards recognized GRR in 2025 as North America’s Best Airport by region and size, the Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff and the Cleanest Airport.
