13 West Michigan developments to watch in 2024

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — West Michigan continues to grow and expand, with several businesses and developments opening over the last year.

As we start 2024, there are several developments to keep an eye on, from an entertainment center opening at Woodland Mall to two controversial plants still in the planning stages.

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Here’s 13 developments News 8 is watching in 2024:

ADELAIDE POINTE

Opening spring, summer

A $250 million waterfront project in Muskegon is set to come to fruition this year as Adelaide Pointe prepares for several openings.

The wet marina is set to open in May, while the dry marina is expected to open in April. A multiuse building with an event center and the Muskegon Brewing Company Restaurant is opening in June, while the condos, built with mass timber — a first for West Michigan, developer Ryan Leestma told News 8 — will start moving in residents this summer.

The ‘man caves’ and ‘she sheds,’ private garages with 22-foot tall and 18-foot wide doors, are already completed.

Leestma said when he first started working on redeveloping the property that has sat vacant since the 1970s, he was met with some skepticism.

Now, as it gets close to completion and Adelaide Pointe hosts open houses for the community, marketing manager Aubrey Glick said people seem “eager and excited” for the site, which will be open to the public.

“There hasn’t been a development project this large in Muskegon in decades. There’s $85 million worth of projects going on here, all at the same time,” Leestma said. “Right now it’s a lot for people to consume and it’s not something that they’ve ever seen here, so I don’t blame them being a little bit skeptical, especially after all the big talk.

“But we’re doing it.”

OTTAWA BEACH GENERAL STORE

Reopening Memorial Day

The Ottawa Beach General Store was torn down after Labor Day in 2023. The building had been built in the 1930s and had reached the end of its life.

Crews are working on building a new General Store that is as close to the original as possible — with some upgrades, like air conditioning, better insulation, new equipment and floors that aren’t sinking.

“As an architect, as a design firm, you’re usually brought in for your creativity for new buildings, something that could be original and unique,” said Ken Dixon, the owner of Dixon Architecture, which was contracted to work on the project. “This one’s different in that we’re being brought in to really replicate exactly what’s there as closely as we can with today’s construction methods and techniques.”

The project is expected to be done in time to open for Memorial Day.

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MINES GOLF CLUB

Additions opening spring, summer

Two projects are underway at Mines Golf Club in Grand Rapids, where a new three-hole par-3 course is expected to open around May 1.

When the 40-acre golf course was first developed before its opening in 2005, there were plans for a par-3 course. The was scrapped, but not before three holes were put in.

Current owner Chris Sobieck decided to fix them up and put them into play.

“It’s a good place to go work on your game. It’ll be a good three-hole loop that you can come do during lunch, spend an hour,” he told News 8. “To have … a couple untouched Mike DeVries holes that we can put back into play, I think people will be really excited about that. And we’re excited to get that opening.”

Mines Golf Club is also opening a new restaurant and event center. Crews broke ground on the project in December, which is expected to open around the Fourth of July.

ADA HOTEL

Opening late spring or early summer

Opening in late spring or early summer is the Ada Hotel, which will have 36 hotel rooms, two restaurant concepts, a lounge and a fitness center.

Project leaders say it will be the ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ of downtown Ada, which has transformed over the last decade. In 2023, the village saw the opening of Village East of Ada and Myrth.

“Ada is the perfect spot right now,” said George Aquino, vice president and managing director of AHC Hospitality, which will be operating the hotel. “It’s hungry for a hotel. There used to be a hotel here, called Ada Hotel. Thus we wanted to reestablish it in 2024 as really the epicenter and the soul of downtown Ada village. And we couldn’t think of a better spot. … We’re just so excited for this community to have a hotel.”

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Ada Hotel is named in honor of the hotel that used to be in the village.

MAIN EVENT

Opening this summer

Main Event, opening near Woodland Mall this summer, will include laser tag, interactive video games, bowling, arcade games and billiards. The entertainment venue will also offer a restaurant and rentable private rooms.

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“There’s fun and activities for all ages,” Mikia Ross, the interim senior marketing director at Woodland Mall, said.

The spot near Von Maur in what had been a Woodland Mall parking lot will be the chain’s first Michigan location.

HUB 07

Opening this fall

The new community hub coming to Grand Rapids’ Boston Square neighborhood, HUB 07, is set to be mostly open this fall. HUB 07, a name announced during the neighborhood’s tree lighting ceremony, stands for Hope, Unite, Build.

The 45,000-square-foot space will include health services, child care, a coffee shop and a multipurpose space. Amplify GR hopes it will become a beacon for generations.

“We envision that the hub is going to be not only a place where community members can come and receive critical services that they’ve told us were vital to the long-term sustainability of the neighborhood, we also want this place to be viewed as a front porch in the living room, just a place where you can hang out with your fellow neighbors,” Amplify GR chief operating officer Patrick Johnson told News 8.

36TH STREET MARKETPLACE

DONE LATE 2024 OR EARLY 2025

The city of Wyoming is working on opening the 36th Street Marketplace at the former location of a GM stamping plant that closed in 2009. It will will have space for 24 vendors and food trucks.

“It’s really an opportunity for us to activate a currently vacant site to bring something forward to the community and provide opportunities for delivery of fresh food, vegetables, as well as artisan sales,” Nicole Hofert, the director of community and economic development for the city of Wyoming, told News 8.

A pavilion in the front will serve as a small music venue, and wrapping garage doors will make the building usable year-round.

The $4 million project received a $450,000 grant from the state. The city’s private partner, Franklin Partners, is contributing $1.5 million, and the city’s brownfield authority is using funds from the sale of Site 36.

The project is expected to be done in late 2024 or early 2025.

NEXT CENTER

Done before 2025

A business hub coming to downtown Holland will include Lakeshore Advantage’s new headquarters and a learning lab. It will also include space for up to 50 tech startup incubators.

“Lakeshore Advantage’s mission is to ensure this generation and the next want to live and work in our vibrant community,” Jennifer Owens, the president of Lakeshore Advantage, told News 8. “It is keeping the workforce and the talent we have here and retaining new talent that comes in. So that’s why it’s so important to have a thriving innovation technology hub.”

A pilot incubator located above Butch’s exceeded expectations in 2023. Owens said they hope to have a waiting list for those 50 spots when the Next Center opens.

Construction is expected to be completed before 2025.

HOLLAND ICE RINK

Groundbreaking this spring

Just down the street from the Next Center will be Holland’s new ice rink, a project the city has been talking about for decades. The ribbon ice rink will sit at Window on the Waterfront Park, located on 6th Street and College Avenue on the edge of downtown.

The project has received two $1.1 million donations from local retired educator Frank Kraai and the Jim Jurries family, and an $800,000 grant from the state.

Crews added heated streets and sidewalks for winter snow melt to that part of downtown in the summer of 2023.

“We believe, in the city of Holland, that public investment in infrastructure can be a catalyst to private investment and development. We knew that this neighborhood needed to be catalyzed a little bit, and it’s all starting to come true,” Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks previously said.

Crews are expected to break ground this spring. Skating will likely start in the fall of 2025, the city said.

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ACRISURE AMPHITHEATER

Opening spring of 2026

Looking past 2024, an $184 million amphitheater is expected to come to downtown Grand Rapids on Market Avenue near US-131 in the spring of 2026. Naming sponsor Acrisure, an insurance broker and financial technology company, is providing $30 million to support the project.

“We are thrilled to play a role in the development and growth of Grand Rapids,” Acrisure CEO Greg Williams previously said. “The Acrisure Amphitheater is poised to be the next great cultural landmark of the city and region. It is a great honor to have our name associated with such a first-class venue in a growing and dynamic city . . . a place we call home.”

Grand Action 2.0, the group behind the project, aims to raise $70 million in private donations, while $114 million will be required from public funding. Kent County commissioners in November agreed to contribute $15 million.

The amphitheater will sit 12,000.

SOCCER STADIUM

Could be open by 2026

Still in the beginning stages is a soccer stadium Grand Action 2.0 is planning for downtown Grand Rapids.

The location for the stadium is not yet set, though Big Boy just shut down on Pearl Street near US-131, one of the several possible sites.

Kara Wood, the executive director for Grand Action 2.0, said the project has drawn interest from Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League.

“We’ve had interest from both professional soccer leagues,” Wood said. “At this point, we don’t have a team. We can’t have a team until we have plans for a stadium well underway. The construction of a facility comes first.”

She said the hope is to have a team in Grand Rapids by the World Cup in 2026, which will be hosted in North America.

FORD BLUEOVAL BATTERY PARK

Starting production in 2026

Following a September pause spurred by the United Auto Workers strike, Ford in November said it was moving ahead with the BlueOval Battery Park near Marshall in Romulus. However, it said it was “right-sizing as we balance investment, growth, and profitability.”

The project is now expected to create 1,700 jobs. When Ford first announced the project in February of 2023, it said the $3.5 billion project would create 2,500 jobs.

Residents have voiced concerned about the impact it will have on the community and environment. A judge in September ruled against a challenge to rezoning the site, allowing it to continue.

The plant is expected to start producing LFP battery cells in 2026.

GOTION PLANT

Looking further ahead

A Big Rapids-area project is also seeing pushback as Gotion works on plans for an electric vehicle battery plant in Green Township. Some have voiced concerns about the China-based company’s ties to the China Communist Party and the impact it would have on a small town.

Residents voted out all five Green Township board members over their support of the plant, after a petition was filed by voters to recall the township’s supervisor, clerk, treasurer and two trustees after claims that the township wasn’t listening to the public when it came to Gotion.

On election night, the woman who helped start the petition to oust leadership told News 8 she has received death threats and had signs in her yard taken down.

“We’re moving forward with lawsuits against Gotion. We prepared ourselves a long time ago for a couple-year battle with them, and so we’re ready for it,” Lori Brock said.

The $2.3 billion project is expected to create around 2,350 jobs by 2031.

Have a business opening in 2024? Contact Madalyn at madalyn.buursma@woodtv.com.

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