From factories to high-rises: How River North became a Grand Rapids growth hub

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Construction equipment hummed Tuesday as crews worked on a six-story apartment building for Corewell Health’s medical residents, the latest project transforming Grand Rapids’ once-industrial River North district.

Once complete, the Karl and Patricia Betz Resident Physician Living Center will bring 118 apartments and ground-floor retail space to Ottawa Avenue NW, near where a spring and metal-stamping factory once stood.

Just blocks away, Chicago-area developer Jay Johnson is proposing an even larger addition to the district north of downtown. His $185 million project would include a 20-story apartment tower, a six-story hotel and a nine-story parking garage with a rooftop amenity deck and retail space…

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