A great deal of buzz in metro Grand Rapids these days centers on a handful of major construction projects – the rise of a luxurious new riverfront hotel, for example, the opening of an ultra modern public art museum, or the expansion of Michigan State University's medical school. But before some $3 billion of reinvestment washed over the central city, there first came perhaps the most routine of details: the generation of a plan to focus and guide the spending.
Much of Grand Rapids’ ongoing renaissance began with a July 1993 comprehensive downtown revitalization strategy called Voices and Visions. The plan, designed to "give new direction to an old friend – downtown Grand Rapids," set out a 10-year strategy to make to the city “the place you want to be.”
Based on a series of public forums, task force reports, and citizen suggestions, Voices and Visions spelled out a constitution for the redevelopment of Grand Rapids. It called for establishing an arts and entertainment hub downtown. It recommended organizing a “one-stop shopping” center for downtown developers to accelerate reinvestment. It called for enhanced parks and green spaces, environmental improvements, cleaned-up streets and sidewalks, expanded bus service, and a modernized building code to encourage more downtown housing. The plan even envisioned the rise of a "nationally-recognized management training and research center for health care providers."
Thirteen years later, the majority of the recommendations set forth in the plan are accomplished. Office buildings now stand where parking lots lay crumbling for decades. Apartments enliven the upper floors of once-vacant warehouses; below them are restaurants and saloons. Health Hill atop Michigan Street is a globally significant medical research campus. There are new parks and recreation and exhibition centers. The city now shows its best face to the Grand River instead of using it as a sewer.
And while it still has much work to do, especially with its neighborhoods and public schools, few American cities its size have done nearly as well recovering from the familiar cycle of urban decay and despair that remains prevalent across the Great Lakes region.
"I'm really surprised at how much has been accomplished," said Jay Fowler, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, who participated in shaping Voices and Visions.
Skepticism and Excitement
Incorporated in 1850, Grand Rapids thrived early on as first lumbering, then furniture making, auto parts manufacturing, banking, and insurance anchored the region’s development. Its population peaked at 206,000 in 1966 and then quickly fell to under 180,000 residents by the end of that decade. But it will soon exceed 200,000 residents again for the first time in 40 years.
What undid Grand Rapids were new interstate highways, the demolition of historic buildings, and suburban flight that tore at the downtown’s heart. Elected and appointed government leaders, business executives, clergy, and neighborhood leaders united in the late 1980s and began putting it back together again.
Led by former Mayor John H. Logie, current Mayor George Heartwell, and recently retired Planning Director Bill Hoyt, civic leaders launched the Voices and Visions planning process to gather the citizen's ideas for making Grand Rapids more prosperous and attractive.
"It was really the first time I'd seen the city actively engage its residents in a process to determine what downtown should look like," said Paul Haan, a neighborhood activist working in the Creston neighborhood at the time
"I think residents approached the planning process in two ways," Haan added. "On one hand, there was some skepticism because the plan was focused on developing big ideas and a big picture vision and seemed to lack a comfortable level of detail about how we'd actually do anything. But on the other hand, there was also this excitement bubbling up as people realized we could think big and accomplish some truly significant goals if we really put our minds to it."
Strategic Moves
Indeed, the plan ultimately outlined a series of widely accepted strategies to transform the rundown and neglected downtown into a vibrant urban hub that now serves as the economic and cultural center of the west Michigan region. Voices and Visions emphasized:
Efficient Permitting. In 2000, Grand Rapids established the Development Center to expedite approvals for proposed construction projects. The center, housed in a single office, provides permit applications, building code and other technical information, and quick access to city staff, making construction permitting much easier. In 2003, Grand Rapids issued more than 1,700 building permits of all sorts; in 1991 it issued only 586. Since 1995, the city has added more than 1,800 residential units in its central district.
Reinvestment. The $60 million Van Andel Arena opened in 1996. Since 2000, Grand Valley State University has spent more than $152 million expanding its downtown campus. Spectrum Health is constructing a $137 million cardiac center. After a decade, investment from the medical community is approaching $1 billion to build a world-class research hub on Health Hill overlooking downtown.
Recovering abandoned property. One city program encourages property owners to improve sidewalks through matching grants. Since 1990, the city has invested more than $57 million to improve pedestrian paths, narrow the streets to calm traffic in neighborhood business districts, and reconstruct historic brick streets. Another program has encouraged the revival of nearly 70 old buildings through modest financial assistance for improving exterior facades, utilities, or fire safety. According to the city's Jay Fowler, 40 small grants, costing the city less than $1 million, have leveraged $40 million in private investment.
Taxpayer investments. Citizens are voting to invest in Grand Rapids. In November 2003, for the second time in three years, voters in the region overwhelmingly approved a property tax increase to further expand and improve the popular regional bus system, whose ridership increased by 36 percent after an initial millage in 2000 passed. In June 20005, city residents approved two bond proposals totaling $165 million to renovate or replace 11 public school buildings, improve playgrounds, and purchase computers and buses.
Infrastructure improvement. The city has invested more than $150 million for new water and sewer lines, upgraded sewage treatment, and river crossings. Community leaders also have focused on improving public buildings. Two recent public projects, the $60 million county courthouse and a $4 million renovation of a building to house the Grand Rapids Police Department, were located in the heart of downtown. Since 1990 the city has also invested $560 million in new parks, improved sidewalks, better streets, and multi-level parking lots.
"There was a lot going on already when city leaders initiated Voices and Visions," said Paul Haan. "But no doubt the planning process helped to unite, coordinate, and synergize those efforts, many of which at the time were happening in isolation. After the plan was adopted, it seemed like everybody had a common focus on 'how do we make downtown special.'"
A Work in Progress
Haan, Jay Fowler, and others interviewed for this report agreed that the Voices and Visions plan has not been fully executed. All mentioned the urgent need to more aggressively expand mass transit options and upgrade city streets; promote downtown housing; and establish essential services for residents such as a full service grocer and a movie theater.
Even the dry details of reorganizing local government to speed downtown reinvestment – such as expanding the Downtown Development Authority – remain a top priority.
"We haven’t done that yet," Fowler said. "But we're working on it. Stay tuned. You're never done with downtown redevelopment."