Grand Rapids, Let the Games Begin
You could go jogging. Or you could sprint through the CBD in an urban game of capture the flag. Here's some local fall fitness fun you're not going to see in the Olympics.
Heartside
The place where art, entertainment, charity, and good eats converge, Heartside is located just southeast of the central city. The historic district features a number of Grand Rapids' most popular destinations. The Van Andel Arena hosts major concerts, and is home to the Griffins hockey team, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. Ionia Avenue is known for its vibrant nightlife. Avenue for the Arts, which runs along Division Avenue, showcases local artistic talent in shops and galleries. And the new Downtown Market, just South of Wealthy Street (not technically in Heartside, but close enough) provides a large selection of year-round produce and food options.Housing in Heartside is on fire, where hundreds of repurposed industrial and early 19th Century commercial spaces have been converted into some of the best residential projects in the Midwest.Heartside is recognized and celebrated for its compassion. So amidst the wi-fi coffee shops and modern lofts is a number of upstanding community kitchens, clothing banks, and other services for less fortunate citizens. Heartside joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Today, it offers some of the more fashionable shopping, dining, and entertainment in the city.
Grand Rapids from the Sky
With every crane and multimillion-dollar development, Grand Rapids grows a little closer to the clouds. Brian Kelly shows us what it looks like from the other side.
Grand Rapids named among top 66 cities nationwide for buying a home
A national study names Grand Rapids in the top 66 housing markets nationwide where purchasing a home could cost less than renting an apartment and homebuyers could build substantial equity in just 12 years.
Census data shows Grand Rapids gained residents, migration south slows
The sluggish housing market and other economic woes have had a beneficial side effect for Grand Rapids: a population increase, which results in a healthier economy.
$20B Great Lakes cleanup lauded as economic driver by state lawmakers, researchers
Coming on the heels of the signing of the Great Lakes Compact, which safeguards Great Lakes water, state legislators, top researchers, and area business leaders advocated for a 20-year, $20 billion strategy to clean up the Great Lakes; a venture that promises to create jobs and bring billions in statewide tourism and manufacturing.
