GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A familiar location in downtown Grand Rapids will be getting a facelift over the next few years. The project to restore Calder Plaza, which was put on hold because of the pandemic just secured money from the city Tuesday night.
The idea has been discussed since 2016 and 2017.
"We had some design concepts for enhancements here at the Plaza," said Bill Kirk, director of communications for Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.
The plan was put on indefinite hold because of the pandemic in 2020. When DGRI came back to the topic in 2022, they realized something new.
"It became apparent that there was an opportunity to align the enhancements on top of the Plaza with a project that the city is going to be doing basically underneath the Plaza, to redo the top of the parking deck that's below us," said Kirk.
That project is set to begin in 2026, so they decided to piggyback on it. On Tuesday, commissioners approved money for the first phase of the project, which is expected to cost around $140,000.
"We'll enter into about a three to four-month design process and some other pre-construction activities," said Kirk.
$50,000 will come from DGRI and the rest from the city, going towards formulating ideas.
"To make it a great event space that's flexible," said Kirk. "Additional seating, accessibility improvements and probably some additional greening."
Some of which will come from both the pre-pandemic design, as well as collaboration from the events that call the Plaza home.
"We'll be carrying forward a lot of the principles of that design, making the Plaza as flexible and accessible as possible for all users," said Kirk.
The exploratory process is expected to last over the next several months, but don't expect to see anything new soon.
Construction isn't slated until 2026.
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