GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The city of Grand Rapids is seeking a development partner as it looks to reimagine 6.4 acres of the River North neighborhood.
The project centers on three adjacent parcels of land in the area of Monroe Avenue NW and Coldbrook Street NW: 1120, 1165 and 1101 Monroe Ave. NW.
Currently, the land is used mainly for administrative offices, parking and storage, according to city documents. It includes the city’s Development Center and the historic Coldbrook pumping station, which was decommissioned in 2022. But the city anticipates “mixed-use, mixed-income development” in the area, it wrote in a request for qualifications issued Wednesday.
Mural celebrates newly renamed northeast Grand Rapids neighborhood
The city’s top priority is housing, it said: It’s hoping for a minimum residential density of 40 units per acre across the three parcels on average, with a diverse mix of housing types and at least 20% of the units considered affordable. The city’s other priorities for the area include commercial space that would “prioritize local, independent businesses and minority-owned enterprises” and “enhance rather than compete with existing neighborhood businesses;” waterfront access for the public, with improved pedestrian and bicycle connectivity; environmental sustainability; and economic viability, the document says…