Could Grand Rapids' desolate State St. SE become a new kind of economic hub?

Grand Rapids' State St. SE has a dubious history: it's one of the city's oldest streets, its poor condition garnered it attention by the Sustainable Streets Task Force as one of the city's worst, and, right now at least, it's plenty desolate because of its huge expanses of surface parking lots.

But three Grand Rapids' visionaries -- Joshua Leffingwell, Lynee Wells, and Tyler Doornbos -- hope to change all of that by working with the Heritage Hill Neighborhood Association, the Downtown Development Authority, and anyone else who has a good idea to create a two-day showcase of economic innovation -- an urban laboratory of possibilities.

On May 18 and 19, the same days as the Heritage Hill Weekend Tour of Homes, all three blocks of State St. NW could be bustling with pop-up shops, food trucks, outdoor retail, Hollywood-set style backdrops, and parklets -- parking spaces transformed by local groups into temporary parks.

Leffingwell is quick to point out that this event is not a fair or an outdoor festival.

"One of the things we're most excited about is that we'll be keeping the street totally open," Leffingwell says. "We want people to experience what it would be like to have the food trucks in a parking lot, to have outdoor retailing. Kris Larson of the Downtown Development Authority told us to think of it as an urban laboratory where the neighborhood can experiment with some things the city hasn't been comfortable with, like food trucks and outdoor retailing."

Another thing Leffingwell says is top of mind is working from Heritage Hill's Area Specific Plan to create a business district opportunity within the neighborhood.

The idea grew from the national program Build a Better Block, and has received a $15,000 boost from the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority and $10,000 from Williams & Works.

Leffingwell says the group welcomes any and all ideas from anyone in the city, and seeks to involve interested retailers, food truck owners, and artists.

For more information or to get involved, visit facebook.com/betterblockgr, www.betterblockgr.com, or email [email protected].

Source: Joshua Leffingwell, Restate: Build A Better Block
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor