GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Community members, civic leaders and river revitalization project partners gathered today at DeVos Place to reveal the River for All conceptual designs for the Grand River corridor.
Building off years of extensive community engagement, conceptual plans were shown for the 7.5-mile river trail that eventually will flank both sides of the Grand River from Riverside Park to the north and Millennium Park to the south. River for All is a project of the City of Grand Rapids that includes the design of six opportunity sites along the Grand River and the creation of design guidelines based on feedback from city residents and community stakeholders on their needs and desires for a user-friendly, welcoming and accessible river front.
“Grand Rapids is facing a strong and bright future as improvements continue to be made to our valued park spaces across the city,” said David Marquardt, the City of Grand Rapids’ director of parks and recreation. “Today’s plans build on the momentum behind these park improvements and ground these valued riverfront park spaces in the city’s wider ecological, environmental, social, cultural and economic context.”
The River for All project stemmed from the 2012 Green Grand Rapids Plan and offered an additional year of community engagement focused on the opportunity sites and design guidelines. River for All complements the 2015 GR Forward Plan, 2017 City of Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation Strategic Master Plan and the efforts to restore the city’s namesake rapids being spearheaded by Grand Rapids Whitewater.