GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Putting the final touches on a design for an outdoor amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids, developers are considering a new angle.
On Monday night, Grand Action 2.0 and Progressive AE held a meeting inside Van Andel Arena to answer questions from the public and to unveil a few changes to the proposed amphitheater. One of the changes involves rotating the venue a full 180 degrees.
"I'm very optimistic about it. And they've done a lot of good things," Adam Wise, who attended the meeting, told FOX 17.
That excitement is shared by many as a new amphitheater is set to add to the Grand Rapids skyline and the city's riverfront.
READ MORE: Grand Rapids reveals designs for riverfront amphitheater downtown
"We'd love it getting people downtown. We all remember the Grand Rapids of the 70s and 80s with tumbleweed rolling down the street," Mark Secchia, who's working on starting a business downtown, said. "And now it's vibrant and it's growing and it's amazing."
At Monday's meeting, developers tackled potential concerns about the amphitheater, mostly centered on parking and noise levels.
One solution to keeping the sound down is a simple turn. Bill Culhane with Progressive AE says they decided to rotate the direction of the venue to reduce sound in surrounding neighborhoods, among other solutions.
"The current hard stop is midnight. And there's a provision for the venue operator to communicate with city leadership if we had to go over because of an act of God," Culhane said.
Many people also wonder about the problem of parking. Developers, however, believe there is still enough space in the surrounding area.
"I'm hoping at this time, they can start considering shuttling in because if you look around the amphitheater, there's just definitely not enough parking right now," Secchia commented.
At Monday's meeting, developers also described a few extra details about the project, saying they'd like to add housing units to the 30 acre site. The amphitheater is slated for a 10.6 acre at 201 Market Avenue, which is the current site of Grand Rapids city buildings, and the rest of the land would be used for living spaces.
"Earlier in the presentation, on one of the slides, we identified 300 to 400 homes. And then, south of there, I think each one of those sites has a slightly different target development. The total 310acre development is targeting 1500 to 1700 additional housing units," said Culhane.
Kara Wood, the executive director of developer Grand Action 2.0, says they're still working on funding and total costs for the 85,000 square foot amphitheater, which is expected to attract 300,000 visitors each year.
She says the naming rights have also been sold, but did not disclose further information.
Wood also says construction will hopefully start by next spring, with the amphitheater completed in 2026.
