With a wave of reinvestment rippling from the intersection of Madison Avenue and Hall throughout the neighborhood, Madison Square is a classic example of a once-blighted Grand Rapids neighborhood on the rebound.The future certainly looks bright. Madison Square not only borders high profile districts like Cherry Hill and Heritage Hill. It also boasts a brand new public library, a full service grocer, and rows of brand new brick clad condominiums and other homes priced to sell.With the help of committed community groups and creative economic development incentives, Madison Square is poised to revive its reputation as the bustling shopping and residential district it was at the turn of the 20th century.
Gentex, which has long been a champion of community engagement, financially supporting education, economic development, diversity, and philanthropic causes, plans to grow its footprint in Grand Rapids.
Proposed City of Grand Rapids requirements for lead dust testing would reduce childhood lead poisoning.
Tech Week GR underlines Grand Rapids’ claim to the Silicon Valley of the Midwest. The Right Place and other strategic partners have created a foundation for helping technology companies thrive in Grand Rapids, driven by the live event.
Improving old technologies with new is, in many ways, the heart of improving access for humans. It is also a great motivator for those with the talents to do so. Here are the people behind those efforts and why this work is so important to them and within the region.
To improve vaccination rates, Seeds of Promise and Kent County Health Department team up to offer $50 gift cards to the first 20 participants who choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
City of Grand Rapids is using a new model, the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP), that will give residents more say in how its $2 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will be spent in each of the city's three wards.
IFF, the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) and Amplify GR are collaborating to build a 12,000 square-foot childcare facility and support existing small/home daycares in the 49507.
Housing stability can have a significant impact on how successful an individual is finding and maintaining employment. While the current housing system has failed to ensure the most vulnerable have access to safe and affordable housing, local advocates are finding ways to connect residents to resources and support.
The Seeds of Promise Health and Wellness Impact Team Impact was birthed out of the Madison Square neighborhood’s organizing for holistic health care access — a kind of access that sees members of this community as human beings who have been forced to navigate systems that did not always center their experiences. Today that model continues to demonstrate how a community’s voice can lead and change to create the kind of resources and support a community wants and deserves.
The Kent County Health Department and local health care providers are collaborating on what may be the biggest inter-organizational vaccination effort in Michigan’s history.
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