GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The downtown Studio Park development took another major step Thursday morning.
Olsen Loeks Development says that Jackson Entertainment closed on a $6.9 million purchase of land in the south Arena District from the Downtown Development Authority. The land will become the Studio Park entertainment development with a nine-screen theater, several restaurants, a four-star hotel, office, residential and retail space and a large public piazza.
Traffic began being re-routed around the area Thursday and the groundwork for a 900-plus space parking tower is expected to begin soon.
"After many years of this project in the making we have finally signed and closed on the property for Studio C so we are incredibly excited," said Emily Loeks, director of community affairs for Celebration Cinema. "This is a project that depends on the collaboration and creativity of many partners and it's all the better for that. We're really going to be proud of the end result."
"It's a significant step to the project becoming reality," said Tim Kelly, interim President and CEO of Downtown Grand Rapids Incorporated. "The business route was shut down this afternoon and in the near future we're going to start moving dirt around. It's exciting for all of us to see it come to fruition."
The project is expected to be complete in the fall of 2019.
