Grand Rapids starts work on $1.7 million West Side gateway arches over Stockbridge, West Fulton and Leonard business districts

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Work is starting on three lighted gateway arches that will span streets in the West Side’s Stockbridge, West Fulton and Leonard business districts, a $1.7 million project the city of Grand Rapids announced Monday.

The arches are a project of the West Side Corridor Improvement Authority, one of the boards the city uses to plan improvements in its commercial districts. The city said construction would begin in the coming weeks and that installation is expected to wrap up next spring. Crews took measurements Monday, with foundation and utility work next, WZZM reported.

What they will look like. Each arch will carry its district’s name and colors, light up at night and have signs that read from both directions, according to WZZM. The Stockbridge arch will also mark the West Side’s link to downtown. Business associations and residents helped shape the designs through the authority, the station reported.

“The west side is the best side, and we know it,” Verah Narh Kamara, the city’s senior advisor for corridor improvement authorities, told WZZM. “But we want people to know it when they get there.” She said the arches are part of a wider push that includes storefront improvements and marketing for neighborhood businesses.

Who pays. The city’s announcement called the $1.7 million price a reflection of the boards’ long-term commitment to beautification and placemaking, but it did not break down where the money comes from. Corridor improvement authorities are set up under Part 6 of Michigan’s Recodified Tax Increment Financing Act, which allows the use of tax increment financing, in which a share of the growth in property tax revenue inside a district is captured for the district’s own projects.

Michigan Street, too. The city also announced a $75,000 pedestrian safety project by the Michigan Street Corridor Improvement Authority. It adds street safety measures alongside pedestrian flashing beacons already planned by the city’s Mobile GR department under a grant-funded project, and it is expected to be finished in November.

“By coordinating our internal resources and streamlining interdepartmental operations, we are putting the full weight of the City behind the vision that community and business leaders have built for their corridors,” Kamara said in the city’s release.

Sources:
City of Grand Rapids, “Corridor Improvement Authorities drive major infrastructure and safety upgrades for business districts,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/city-news/posts/corridor-improvement-authorities-drive-major-infrastructure-and-safety-upgrades-for-business-districts/
WZZM, “Grand Rapids’ West Side getting a $1.7 million welcome with three gateway arches,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/grand-rapids-west-side-getting-a-17-million-welcome-with-three-gateway-arches/69-7c546b18-ce47-485e-bde7-acb2651e1f88
Michigan Legislature, Recodified Tax Increment Financing Act, Act 57 of 2018 (Part 6, Corridor Improvement Authorities), https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Act-57-of-2018
Photo: Discountfrozenpizza, “Leonard Street, Grand Rapids 12-28-2013.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Street,_Grand_Rapids_12-28-2013.jpg

Grand Rapids

Tags: Grand Rapids · West Side · Corridor Improvement Authority · Taxes · Leonard Street · Stockbridge