[DetroitMan]

Great photos! The Studio Park Tower is certainly changing the look of downtown Grand Rapids as you come up U.S. 131 from the south. I'm looking forward to seeing what this area will look like in 10 years when the Ampitheater, Soccer Stadium and two apartment towers come online. Speaking of the Ampitheater, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held today.

$184M Grand Rapids amphitheater will ‘bolster our local economy for generations’

Construction of Acrisure Amphitheater, the 12,000-capacity riverfront venue that supporters say will transform an industrial stretch of Market Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids into a vibrant visitor destination, is expected to begin “within a couple of months.”

Speaking during a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday, city, business, and philanthropic leaders cast the venue as part of an “unprecedented riverfront development.” The venue will breathe new life into the area, and serve as a lynchpin of a larger revitalization along Market Avenue, between Fulton and Wealthy streets, that’s expected to include riverfront trails, greenspace, housing, and retailers, they said. “It will connect people together,” said Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss. “It will connect people to place. It will enrich our entire quality of life in our city, and it will bolster our local economy for generations to come.”
Tuesday’s groundbreaking was a big milestone for the project, located at 201 Market Ave. SW.

The concept was discussed as far back as 2005, with Millennium Park envisioned as the site. However, the project fell on the backburner during the Great Recession. It reemerged in late 2018, when state lawmakers approved a $5 million grant for the idea. It’s continued to gain traction ever since, including with the formation in 2020 of Grand Action 2.0 and the selection of 201 Market Ave. SW as the site for the project. Grand Action 2.0 is the successor of Grand Action, a group that disbanded in 2017 and helped foster the public-private partnerships that led to the creation of Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place and Michigan State University’s Secchia Center.

Dick DeVos, co-chair of Grand Action 2.0, likened the amphitheater to “another building block” for Grand Rapids.

“There’s no one project that makes a community great,” he said. “It’s going to be continued like a cement wall. It’s brick upon brick upon brick, and this is another really important brick that distinguishes our community and sets it apart.”

With the groundbreaking completed, officials are continuing to focus on other project elements such as fundraising and construction.

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rap...nerations.html