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

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

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.

“The future in River North is just so bright,” said Mark Secchia, president of the River North Business Association. “We have so much momentum.”

Although still in the planning stages, Johnson’s proposal reflects River North’s ongoing transformation from an industrial district into a mixed-use area with apartments, a hotel, restaurants, an improved riverfront park and employers such as Corewell Health.

Fueled in part by its proximity to downtown, that growth has brought new residents, workers and customers to the area along Monroe Avenue between I-196 and Leonard Street, bordered by the Grand River and Belknap Hill. But the growth has also raised concerns about the potential for rising rents and the effect of high-rise development on nearby neighborhoods.

Industrial buildings find new uses

For much of the past century, River North was known more for manufacturing than housing, restaurants or office buildings.

The Berkey & Gay Furniture Company helped establish Grand Rapids as Furniture City from its sprawling factory along Monroe Avenue, while Wolverine Brass Works produced plumbing fixtures and brass products from a nearby plant. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, both companies had long since ceased operations, and developers began finding new uses for the massive industrial buildings. While some industrial businesses remain in River North today, they are far fewer in number than they once were.

The former Berkey & Gay factory was converted into what became the Boardwalk Condominiums, while the Brass Works building was redeveloped into offices and Founders Brewing Company’s original location. Former Grand Rapids City Commissioner Ruth Kelly, who lives in River North, said those projects and other investments have brought major changes to an area once filled with vacant buildings.

“It’s much safer than it was 20 years ago,” she said. “It was desolate, empty buildings. You didn’t want to go through this district.”

One factor that has continued to drive River North’s growth is its location near downtown. Mary Anne Wisinski-Rosely, executive vice president at NAI Wisinski of West Michigan, a commercial real estate agency, said River North’s former industrial properties can accommodate large developments that have become increasingly difficult to pursue downtown or in nearby residential neighborhoods.

“This is really the most logical extension of downtown,” Wisinski-Rosely said of River North.

After the redevelopment of Boardwalk Condominiums and the Brass Works building, larger projects began taking shape in the district.

Icon on Bond, a nine-story apartment building completed in 2007, brought more than 100 apartments to the area and marked one of the district’s first major residential projects built from the ground up rather than converted from an existing industrial building. Roughly a decade later, Wheeler Development Group completed the $10.5 million Homes at River’s Edge building adjacent to Canal Park. The five-story project included apartments and a restaurant along the Grand River.

Two other major projects followed in 2019.

Developers opened the 16-story 601 Bond apartment tower overlooking the Grand River and downtown Grand Rapids, adding more than 200 apartments. The same year, the $60 million Embassy Suites hotel opened along Monroe Avenue, adding 250 hotel rooms and another destination near the riverfront.

Johnson’s proposal would build on that momentum with another large residential, retail and hotel project.

“I think it says a lot about the neighborhood and where it’s going,” said Jeff Karger, an executive vice president at JLL, a commercial real estate agency. “It creates that density, and density is critical for not only retailers, but for more people to make choices to go into that North Monroe area.”

Johnson is no stranger to Grand Rapids. In addition to the proposed River North development, the Chicago-area developer owns River Flats at 820 Monroe Ave. NW, as well as the Gallery Apartments downtown and Bradford Station in Belknap Lookout.

Corewell adds to River North’s momentum

Johnson’s proposal comes as Corewell Health continues a major expansion in River North.

Corewell began acquiring property in River North in 2019 and has since become one of the district’s largest property owners.

The health system opened its $110 million Corewell Health Place headquarters along Monroe Avenue, across from Sixth Street Park, in 2024. The campus, built for the health system’s nonclinical employees, combines the renovated Brass Works building with a new eight-story office tower. On its busiest days, it draws up to 2,000 employees.

Corewell is also constructing an 118-unit apartment building at 648 Ottawa Ave. NW for medical residents and fellows, with retail space planned on the ground floor.

Kevin Vos, Corewell’s senior vice president of facilities, said River North’s walkability and proximity to the health system’s medical campus along Michigan Street NE made it an attractive location.

“I think, simply put, the walkability from our downtown medical center makes this area very attractive to Corewell,” he said.

Since 2019, Corewell Health has spent about $63.9 million acquiring at least 19 properties encompassing nearly 12 acres in River North, according to an MLive review of property records. About 3.2 acres remain undeveloped.

Vos said Corewell views itself as one contributor to a broader transformation in River North.

“I don’t think Corewell should take credit for the growth in the downtown North Monroe area,” he said. “But we have contributed to economic development that has been attractive to other businesses to join.”

Businesses see new opportunities

Business owners who opened in River North before much of the recent development say they’ve watched the district transform around them.

Julie Kibler, co-owner of Field & Fire, said her decision to open the bakery and cafe at 820 Monroe Ave. NW in 2016 drew questions because “there wasn’t much going on over there,” with relatively little housing and few businesses.

“I think people thought we were crazy,” Kibler said. “But we could see what the neighborhood was going to be.”

Kibler said Field & Fire was attracted by its proximity to the Grand River, available parking and the district’s growth potential. She couldn’t quantify Corewell’s effect on sales but said its employees have become part of Field & Fire’s lunchtime business.

“Over time, we’ve seen more and more people with their Corewell badges coming in for lunch on a regular basis,” she said. “So that has made a difference for us.”

Johnson’s proposed apartments, hotel and retail space could build on that activity by bringing additional residents and visitors to the district, she said.

“We’ve got to get through the construction phase,” Kibler said. “But after that, I think the sky’s the limit.”

For Secchia, Corewell’s investment provided confidence to open Silva, a restaurant and entertainment venue in the former Berkey & Gay factory in 2025.

“Knowing that Corewell, as deliberate as they are, as studied as they are, knowing that they were prepared to make such a large investment in this area, that was by far the overriding thing,” Secchia said.

Edwin Collazo, owner of City Built Brewing Company, said River North was “very quiet” area when the brewery opened at 820 Monroe Ave. NW in 2017.

The district has since become busier as new housing, hotels, Corewell’s headquarters and other investments have brought more people to the area. The health system’s presence has given City Built a boost, he said.

“We see them at lunch, we see them at happy hour, we see them at dinner,” Collazo said of Corewell employees.

But Collazo said the reconstruction of Canal Park across the street from City Built could have an even greater effect. The park’s covered pavilion, river views and improved access to the water could attract a broader range of visitors, he said.

While River North’s growth has brought more customers to City Built, Collazo said rent for his space is already “expensive,” and he worries large developments planned for the district could push rents even higher.

“I expect it to go up once they build a hotel and a 20-story building,” he said.

Growth brings neighborhood concerns

The scale of River North’s growth has drawn scrutiny from residents of Belknap Lookout, the larger neighborhood that includes River North.

A neighborhood association, Neighbors of Belknap Lookout, has raised concerns that Johnson’s proposed 20-story apartment tower could obstruct views of the Grand River and downtown Grand Rapids from Lookout Park.

“Based on the apparent location and dimensions of the proposed 20-story tower, we are concerned that the development will significantly obstruct the views from Lookout Park that make it such a special and heavily used public space,” said Tom Doyle, board chair of the neighborhood association.

The association has asked city officials to give residents an opportunity to comment before final approval is granted, Doyle said.

Surface parking has also been a recurring concern in River North.

Corewell Health faced opposition in 2023 when it asked the Grand Rapids Planning Commission to approve a request to demolish five buildings and replace them with four parking lots with at least 237 spaces.

The health system returned in 2025 with a smaller proposal for a 39-space employee lot, but residents and planning commissioners questioned whether the properties could be put to better uses such as housing, green space or future development.

Corewell ultimately withdrew the request.

Vos, Corewell’s senior vice president of facilities, said the health system viewed the lot as a temporary use and understood the city’s desire for a clearer long-term redevelopment plan before buildings were demolished.

“I think the learning is there’s a perspective that the (planning commission) has that would like to have a defined purpose if we’re going to take down a building, and we’ve tried to be good neighbors with that,” he said.

What comes next

Whether Johnson’s proposal reaches construction remains uncertain, but its scale reflects how far River North has evolved from its industrial past.

Kelly, the former Grand Rapids city commissioner who lives in the district, said the transformation is visible not only in new buildings but also in the crowds that now gather in public spaces throughout River North.

She pointed to markets on Sixth Street Bridge as one example, while events such as the Return to the River festival have also become popular draws.

“I think it’s the people that are coming into the area now,” Kelly said, describing the transformation of River North. “They are coming here to play and visit and build community.”