GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A public-private partnership, whose members include the city of Grand Rapids and the DeVos family, has taken the first step toward redeveloping a stretch of land along the Grand River that’s being considered for a 14,000-seat amphitheater.
The Grand Rapids City Commission on Tuesday morning gave initial approval to a memorandum of understanding outlining the project’s first steps.
That includes a cost-sharing agreement for $18.6 million in pre-development infrastructure work that must be completed prior to any construction in and around the proposed amphitheater site, which includes a mix of public and private properties along Market Avenue SW between Fulton and Wealthy streets.
It also provides the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) with a pathway to potentially purchase a portion of 201 Market Ave. SW, the city-owned property that’s being considered as the possible amphitheater site. The CAA is the public authority that owns Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place.
“This is a very important step forward,” said Grand Rapids Deputy City Manager Eric DeLong. “It’s been a longstanding goal, as part of the city’s strategic plan, to see our properties redeveloped and other private properties along this stretch redeveloped.”
He said the presence of the sewer on the properties along Market Avenue “has been a major impediment” to development.
“It wasn’t until the partners came together in this way that we were able to develop a solution,” DeLong said.
Under the public-private partnership, four entities — the city of Grand Rapids, the CAA, Amway Hotel Corporation and a DeVos family company — would split the $16.8 million bill for moving a sewer line that runs through the properties being eyed for redevelopment.
Grand Rapids would pay $6.2 million and the CAA would pay $5 million, a city memo shows. The remaining $7.3 million would be paid by Amway Hotel Corporation and 63 Market Avenue Holdings, a limited liability company connected to the DeVos family.
Amway Hotel Corporation owns a 500-space parking lot at the southwest corner of Market Avenue SW and Fulton Street, while 63 Market Avenue Holdings is the owner of 63 Market Ave. SW, the site of the former Charley’s Crab restaurant.
“We do not have any development plans at this time for the 63 Market property,” said Nick Wasmiller, a spokesperson for the DeVos family. “We support the City’s efforts to make needed infrastructure improvements, as it will remove a hurdle for future development of all parcels in this area.”
The sewer relocation project is expected to begin next spring and largely be completed before the end of 2021, DeLong said.
The city has been working for years to redevelop 201 Market Avenue SW, a roughly 15-acre property along the Grand River home to the city’s parks and recreation and public services department. Previous efforts, including plans for a grocery store, luxury hotel, apartments and retail, fell apart.
Now, development of the 201 Market property as well as other riverfront private properties owned by Amway Hotel Corporation and the DeVos family, is being examined by Grand Action 2.0.
Grand Action 2.0 is a private-sector economic development group whose members include Carol Van Andel and Dick DeVos. The group’s original incarnation, Grand Action, helped foster the public-private partnerships that led to the creation of the Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place, the Downtown Market, and Michigan State University’s Secchia Center.
Grand Action 2.0 has hired a firm to study three possible projects in Grand Rapids: building a large-scale, outdoor amphitheater, constructing a multi-purpose soccer stadium and investing in and expanding DeVos Place. The results of that study are expected to be announced during a Nov. 23 meeting of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids
Grand Action’s work dovetails with that of the CAA, which has been exploring the idea of building an amphitheater for more than a year.
Rich MacKeigan, the regional general manager for Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place, is among those leading the CAA’s work on the amphitheater concept.
He said the CAA has not committed to building the amphitheater, but feels the idea warrants further exploration. Tuesday’s action creates a more-clear path forward should the CAA decide to build the amphitheater and purchase a portion of 201 Market Ave. from the city.
Remaining questions that need to be answered before the CAA would commit to the amphitheater project are “cost and an updated proforma,” MacKeigan said. He said there is not a solid estimate for how much the amphitheater would cost, although previous figures have put the price tag at roughly $40 million.
“It doesn’t mean anything is absolutely going to happen,” MacKeigan said, when describing the actions taken Tuesday. “But It’s a good first step.”
If the amphitheater project moves forward, the city is expected to move the operations it conducts at 201 Market Ave. to a property currently owned by the Kent County Road Commission at 1500 Scribner Ave. NW. The Grand Rapids City Commission has approved an option to purchase the 14.2 acre riverfront property for $7.75 million.
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