The Missing Piece in Grand Rapids’ Riverfront Development: Fulton & Market
Picture a puzzle with one piece missing—a vibrant image that’s almost complete but just needs that final touch to bring everything into focus. That’s where Grand Rapids stands today, as its downtown riverfront transforms into a bustling hub of energy, opportunity, and connection. From the new Acrisure Amphitheater to the professional soccer stadium, we’re seeing bold visions turn into reality along the Grand River and beyond. The riverfront story isn’t complete without Fulton & Market: the vital piece that will connect the downtown like never before.
Creating a Connected Downtown
Today, an expansive surface parking lot sits at the intersection of Grand Rapids’ namesake river and its flourishing downtown sports and entertainment district. Imagine, instead, a vibrant hub, where thousands of people work, live, visit, dine, shop, and access riverfront greenspace and trails daily.
Fulton & Market will fill the missing piece of the GR& Riverfront puzzle.
In place of nearly seven acres of asphalt, picture a Class A office building, residential tower, hotel and condominium complex that will add nearly 700 residences, 130 hotel rooms, and tens of thousands of square feet of retail space for distinct shops, restaurants, and other amenities in the heart of downtown.
In place of the surface lot, each tower will sit atop a dedicated parking deck, with office parking built to accommodate workers by day and amphitheater patrons in the evening.
Like the piece that completes the puzzle, Fulton & Market connects key downtown business, hotel, sports and entertainment districts, extends the riverwalk to the south, creates a public greenspace and promenade that provides river access from the east, and enhances beauty and walkability from Fulton Street to the amphitheater and much more.
Extended trail links and green space will connect southside neighborhoods to the Grand River and to the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, serving as a critical link to more than 100 miles of trails from Lake Michigan to Lowell.
Development site for Fulton & Market.
Fueling Economic and Community Growth
Fulton & Market will represent a total of more than $738 million in private investment. It will create prime space for small businesses and entrepreneurs to enrich the downtown retail landscape with distinct shops, restaurants, clubs, and amenities.
Development of the planned properties will support an estimated 1,938 FTE jobs with average wages of approximately $85,000 and generate at least $32.3 million in new local income tax revenue over 20 years.
Over a five-year period, over 3,822 workers are estimated to be employed in these projects, representing a construction period labor impact of over $286 million in the City of Grand Rapids.
Plus, Fulton & Market aims to address the critical housing shortage in the City of Grand Rapids in two important ways:
1. Project plans call for 671 new market-rate residential units, including 595 rental units and 76 condominiums.
2. Project developers have committed to contribute $8.5 million to the Grand Rapids Affordable Housing Fund, enabling the City to create an estimated 70 affordable housing units.
Image courtesy of Progressive Companies.
Completing the Vision of Grand Rapids
The GR& Riverfront effort is a new and promising transformation, and Fulton & Market is a key piece that brings it all together. This development isn’t just adding to the city—it’s helping to complete it. It’s turning an empty spot on the map into a thriving market square that will connect, inspire, and energize.
As we watch these puzzle pieces fall into place, there’s excitement in the air. Fulton & Market is more than just a project; it’s a promise of what’s to come. The riverfront transformation is here, and with every piece in the puzzle, Grand Rapids is fulfilling its potential and helping its people realize theirs.
