Grand River Corridor

The Grand River Corridor Revitalization Initiative restores both the waterway and the waterfront of Michigan’s longest river as it flows through Kent County and the Grand Rapids community.

The project involves removing 5 aging, low head dams in order to—among other far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits—put the rapids back in Grand Rapids. This $45 million catalyst project aims to break ground in 2020-21 on a multi-year construction effort. Along the waterfront, the project aspires to transform the east and west riverbanks into a 9-mile multi-use trail and network of public amenities that link the urban core with two major regional assets—the Riverside Park stewarded by the City of Grand Rapids and Millennium Park stewarded by Kent County. The full vision of this generational project—once completed—is to establish 2 miles of whitewater rapids, 9 miles of urban riverfront trail, and a total potential riverfront park system of 1,780 acres.