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$82.6M in investment reshapes Grand Rapids neighborhood — what’s built, what’s underway

Posted By: mlive on March 9, 2026.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Amplify GR hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday for a 45-unit apartment building and food hall in Boston Square, a project that pushes its investment in the Southeast Side neighborhood to at least $82.6 million. For an area that has long gone without large-scale development, the moment carried extra weight.

Grand Rapids City Commissioner Kelsey Perdue said the new housing project — along with the slate of developments Amplify has completed or launched — amounts to “one of the most significant investments in the Third Ward in generations.”

What makes it meaningful, she said, is that it’s not just about putting up another building.

“It’s about the opportunities and the connections being created within that building and within the neighborhood — opportunities for families, young professionals, and kids to thrive,” said Perdue, who represents the city’s Third Ward.

Amplify GR is a nonprofit created by the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation and the Cheri DeVos Foundation with the goal of supporting community redevelopment in the Boston Square, Cottage Grove and Madison Square neighborhoods.

Working with neighbors, the organization created Boston Square Together, a plan for a 10-acre stretch of the neighborhood that was adopted by the Grand Rapids City Commission in 2019. Its goals include expanding access to high‑quality housing, entrepreneurship opportunities, health services and early childhood education.

Here’s a look at the projects in Boston Square that have been completed or are underway:

New 45-unit apartment building: $25 million

The four-story building, expected to be complete in July 2027, is set to include a mix of one‑, two‑ and three‑bedroom apartments.

Thirty‑six units will be reserved for households earning up to 60% of the area median income — $51,120 for a two‑person household in Kent County — with the remaining nine offered at market rate.

Rental rates have not yet been finalized for the project, located at 1480 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.

Beyond housing, the project includes a 10,000‑square‑foot food hall on the ground floor that Amplify envisions as both a neighborhood gathering space and an incubator for local food businesses. Early plans call for room for six food vendors, shared seating and potentially a bar.

The building’s $25 million budget does not include the food hall build‑out, which is expected to require an additional $3 million to $5 million. Amplify will need to raise those funds separately, officials said.

Kabo Flats: $30 million

The 57-unit mixed-income apartment building, near Kalamazoo Avenue SE and Evergreen Street SE, is expected to open in June. With a $30 million price tag, it includes 17 one-bedroom units, 30 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units. Eighty percent of those units are set aside for low-income families, while the remaining 20% are reserved for “missing middle” housing.

Depending on household size and income, the apartments could range in price from $453 to $2,500 a month, Amplify previously said. In addition to apartments, Kabo Flats will include 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space for between two and three local businesses.

Hub 07: $27 million

The two-story, $27 million community center officially opened in December 2025. Shaped with input from residents, the building includes co-working areas, public gathering spaces and a special event room. The community center includes a health clinic, childcare center, and offices for educational institutions and nonprofits. Tenants include Corewell Health, the Boston Square Early Learning Center, Calvin University, A Glimpse of Africa, Positive Impact for Life, Health Net of West Michigan, Young Money Finances and the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute.

Kzoo Station: $600,000

Kzoo Station is a one‑story commercial kitchen at 1445 Kalamazoo Ave. SE that gives local food entrepreneurs a place to cook, prepare products and grow their businesses. The kitchen, which opened in 2023, sits inside a small building that used to be a car dealership and had been vacant for years before Amplify GR renovated it. The renovation cost about $600,000 and turned the empty space into a fully equipped kitchen designed to support small food businesses in the Boston Square neighborhood. Kzoo Station is operated by SpringGR, a business entrepreneurship program created by the DeVos family.

Amplify has also helped develop projects outside the Boston Square neighborhood. Here’s a look at those developments:

Gentex building: $1 million

Gentex Corporation, a Zeeland-based manufacturer known for its automatic‑dimming rearview mirrors and other automotive electronics, partnered with Amplify GR to open a small satellite production facility at 355 Cottage Grove St. SE. The project represented about a $1 million investment from Gentex. When the company announced the new site in February 2023, it said the facility would employ roughly 50 people. The building sits in the Madison Square neighborhood, about a mile west of Boston Square.

MCPC building: $12 million

Amplify also helped move forward the redevelopment of the former Dexter Lock building on Madison Avenue SE. The long‑vacant structure was torn down and replaced with a new 60,000‑square‑foot building, completed in 2022, that now serves as the Grand Rapids headquarters for MCPC, a Cleveland‑based information technology firm. MCPC’s employees help clients with everything from purchasing and managing computer equipment to securely wiping data from devices ready for recycling. The new building at 1601 Madison Ave. SE cost an estimated $12 million to develop, according to Amplify GR, and is located in the Madison Square neighborhood.