Developers say arena spurred Heartside renewal

Developers credit the planning and construction of one key project -- the Van Andel Arena -- with the remarkable revitalization of the Heartside district. Now the downtown is thriving, new residents call it home and more housing is on the way.

According to excerpts from the story:

GRAND RAPIDS - Sam Cummings says one can trace the real beginning of the revitalization of Grand Rapids’ Heartside district to the construction — or, more accurately, the promise of construction – of the Van Andel Arena. Cummings, who heads up CWD Real Estate Investment, remembers how, after plans for the 10,000-seat arena were unveiled in the mid-1990s, residents from outside the district began showing up in the Heartside area on weekends.

"People were coming down on Saturdays, just wandering around," Cummings told MiBiz. "They were people who hadn’t been downtown in 20 years" there to check out some of the changes reported in local media.”

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