HOLLAND, Mich. — The City of Holland wants voters to lead the charge when it comes to a proposed overhaul of the lakefront.
The proposal, on the May 2 ballot, would allow the city to sell or swap two parcels of land to make room for new development.
As we reported earlier this year, the deal would entail moving the existing Verplank Dock Co. facility to the site of the city’s former coal power plant on Pine, with a host of new amenities planned for both the Verplank property and along the waterfront near Boatwerks Restaurant.
The proposal will occupy a place on the ballot because the Holland City Charter requires 60% voter approval anytime the city considers the sale of public utility land or waterfront property.
“This would provide the opportunity for new and different public access that we have not had in the city before,” Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks related via Zoom Thursday.
“What we're looking at is a hopefully a combination of uses that are valuable to the people of the City of Holland as well as connecting the water to the downtown and the downtown to the water, which our visitors would like as well,” he explained. “The question is… does the city have permission to sell the property to a developer?”
If voters do give the idea their rubber stamp, the proposal would represent nothing less than a transformation of the existing lakefront.
Preliminary designs called for the following amenities:
- Restaurant
- Hotel
- Condo buildings
- Marina
- Ice cream parlor
- Public spaces
- Cruise ship dock
“We've got great green spaces, we’ve got great parks, great picnic areas,” Bocks noted. “One thing we don't have is a marina… we only have one waterfront restaurant in town.”
The project would grant that wish, in the process, city leaders suggest, lightening the traffic load through Holland’s downtown corridor.
The development, Bocks said, would also better tie the city’s core to Lake Macatawa.
“While it doesn't cost the taxpayers a nickel,” he began. “It provides all kinds of additional tax dollars that will be paid by the developers and the new property owners that will be able to enhance the city for everyone.”
The deal, Bocks said, wasn’t yet set in stone and that planners would be relying upon the people of Holland to continue guiding the process.
“If this passes, they're going to continue to have a voice in the entire development process, because this is not a done deal,” he related. “I love it when the people of Holland get involved and let us know what they're thinking.”
For more information regarding the proposal, visit the Waterfront Holland website.
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