Crain's Grand Rapids Business

Crain's Grand Rapids Business Essential business news, insights and analysis for West Michigan’s decision-makers.

Crain's Grand Rapids Business launched in 2023, bringing together MiBiz, the Grand Rapids Business Journal and Crain Communications to create the top source of business news, analysis and information in West Michigan.

Grand Rapids is six months away from a new professional soccer team’s home opener at the $175 million Amway Stadium, a v...
09/18/2026

Grand Rapids is six months away from a new professional soccer team’s home opener at the $175 million Amway Stadium, a venue that project architects say was designed for a top-tier fan experience.

Design leaders of the 8,500-seat stadium say the project is on budget and set to be completed in time for Athletic Club Grand Rapids to play its first match there on March 19, 2027.

Soccer matches are defined by passionate fan bases that march to games together, said Robert Ferguson, senior design architect at Progressive Companies. The firm designed the structure to serve players while giving fans that same immersive experience, he said.

The stadium will also have two separate supporter sections on the north and south ends of the venue that are meant for the most passionate and dedicated team supporters.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/real-estate/commercial/cgr-amway-stadium-progresses-20260915/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

Leaders in the energy, construction, economic development and digital infrastructure spaces recognize they’re up against...
09/17/2026

Leaders in the energy, construction, economic development and digital infrastructure spaces recognize they’re up against thinning public support for data centers, but see a way forward to address concerns and deliver economic benefits to communities.

Panelists at the Sept. 16 Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Power Breakfast, titled “West Michigan’s Data Center Dynamics,” drew a sold-out crowd of approximately 270 people to Cascade Hills Country Club.

Randy Thelen, president and CEO of The Right Place Inc., gave opening remarks on how West Michigan could benefit from data center development while acknowledging it’s a “challenging topic.”

Thelen and the panelists said they’ve watched the pushback from community members gain steam within the past two years — pushback that took most of them by surprise.

Thelen said some of those concerns are being addressed, such as companies using closed-loop cooling systems to reduce water consumption and state-level regulations that protect consumers from rising power costs.

Other concerns about noise and light pollution, for example, can be addressed through local ordinances, Thelen said.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/real-estate/commercial/cgr-data-center-power-breakfast-event-20260916/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

A pair of suburban Grand Rapids developers are adjusting their plans for a 180-unit for-sale housing development south o...
09/16/2026

A pair of suburban Grand Rapids developers are adjusting their plans for a 180-unit for-sale housing development south of Holland after neighbors and the planning commission pushed back on the project’s density and layout.

Ada Township-based Covenant Developments and Grand Rapids Township-based Eastbrook Homes are partnering on the project called Laketown Green. The site is located on about 51 acres at the southwest corner of 60th Street and 147th Avenue in Laketown Township.

Covenant Developments acquired the three vacant parcels in 2022 and 2023 for a combined $1.3 million. The firm then received approval for a planned unit development that was never built.

The Laketown Township Planning Commission voted 5-0 on Sept. 2 to table the project after about a dozen residents spoke out against the project, raising concerns that the development is too large for the area and doesn’t fit the community’s rural character. Others had concerns about traffic congestion, given the site’s proximity to three separate schools.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/real-estate/residential/cgr-laketown-township-tables-laketown-green-project-20260910/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

An Upper Peninsula-based developer is transforming a 98-year-old former bank in downtown Holland into a 42-room boutique...
09/14/2026

An Upper Peninsula-based developer is transforming a 98-year-old former bank in downtown Holland into a 42-room boutique hotel with a speakeasy, targeting an opening by Tulip Time 2028.

Braveworks Inc., a Houghton-based real estate and development company, plans the The Vault Hotel at the former People’s State Bank building located at 36 E. Eighth St. Fifth Third Bank last operated in the building, and shut down the location in January 2022.

The project would repurpose the existing 25,000-square-foot building, which the city has designated as a landmark property, and also includes a two-story addition behind the historic bank building, Braveworks owner Jennifer Julien said.

The bank building was constructed in 1928 and features tall, arching windows and columns on its exterior.

Julien anticipates breaking ground early next year and opening by Tulip Time 2028, which is traditionally celebrated for 10 days around the end of April and early May.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/real-estate/commercial/cgr-downtown-holland-bank-conversion-boutique-hotel-20260908/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

Bridget Metz did everything right. The Grand Valley State University graduate landed a 2024 internship at United Wholesa...
09/11/2026

Bridget Metz did everything right. The Grand Valley State University graduate landed a 2024 internship at United Wholesale Mortgage, parlayed it into a full-time role at UWM in 2025, and is now pursuing a master’s degree, all by the age of 23. But for many of her classmates, that path has been a dead end.

“It’s just been a struggle for them,” said Metz, a team leader in people analytics at UWM. “I’ve heard a lot of just getting no responses from recruiters, or maybe they’re looking for a certain role, and they haven’t found their spot yet.”

Entry-level job postings are significantly lower than they were pre-pandemic, both in Michigan and nationally, according to data from the Indeed Hiring Lab.

It’s more difficult than ever to secure an entry-level job in Michigan, experts say — and the issue isn’t limited to just one industry or one driving factor. It’s an issue that’s of particular importance to Michigan, which has long grappled with how to keep college graduates in the state after they earn their degrees.

“In terms of what’s happening for recent college grads, there is a mixture of uncertainty induced by tariffs and tariff policy, and uncertainty over AI … a lot of companies are waiting for things to shake out,” said Greg Handel, chief education and talent officer at the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/economy/cgr-entry-level-jobs-shortage-20260904/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

The latest iteration of the U.S.-Canada trade dispute debuted this week, when Canada imposed new tariffs of 15% to 50% o...
09/09/2026

The latest iteration of the U.S.-Canada trade dispute debuted this week, when Canada imposed new tariffs of 15% to 50% on hundreds of products it imports from the U.S.

The tariffs — applied to products from dairy to steel to construction materials to sewing supplies — are set to act as a slow squeeze on American manufacturers and consumers if the disputes continue.

U.S. and Canadian negotiators sought for weeks to reach a deal to lower trade tensions and had appeared to agree on the broad terms. President Donald Trump even announced on Aug. 18 that they had a preliminary deal and gave three days to work out the details. Then it fell apart.

After talks collapsed last month, Trump announced that he would hike tariffs on autos to 50%, from 25% currently, and also impose a 50% rate on auto parts, with both effective Jan. 1. He hasn’t yet taken formal steps to implement those levies and it’s not clear whether that amounts to his promised retaliation on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tariffs.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/economy/cdb-canada-retalitory-tariffs-impact-michigan-20260908/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

Michigan farmers who had just started to breathe easier after years of surging labor costs now face a new wave of uncert...
09/09/2026

Michigan farmers who had just started to breathe easier after years of surging labor costs now face a new wave of uncertainty — and potentially a back-pay bill — after a federal judge struck down the Department of Labor’s revised migrant wage formula.

On Aug. 26, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected the Department of Labor’s new method for calculating the wage rate paid to migrant workers, a change agricultural leaders say puts farmers on unstable ground heading into the new year.

The Labor Department’s updated formula significantly lowered Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for migrant farm workers on H-2A visas, which had risen for 10 consecutive years before declining slightly in 2025 under the old formula and again in 2026 after the new formula was introduced.

Farmers are on edge as they await the department’s introduction of another methodology for calculating the AEWR and the court’s ruling on whether they owe back pay to make up any difference in the two wage rates.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/agriculture/cgr-farms-brace-for-federal-courts-aewr-ruling-20260828/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

Long Road Distillers has seen a 30% jump in its canned cocktail sales volume this year as the category outpaces its spir...
09/08/2026

Long Road Distillers has seen a 30% jump in its canned cocktail sales volume this year as the category outpaces its spirits growth, fueled in part by a string of collaborations with local institutions including Grand Valley State University and John Ball Zoo.

As canned cocktail sales lead spirits nationwide, the Grand Rapids-based distillery is doubling down on the category, expanding production and developing collaborations that put Long Road’s brand in front of audiences it couldn’t reach on its own.

Long Road’s canned cocktail growth tracks a broader national shift.

In its annual report released in February 2026, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States noted that while spirits sales declined by 2.2% in 2025 compared with the prior year, ready-to-drink cocktail sales grew by 16.4% to a nearly $4 billion category.

Over the past nine months, Long Road has seen that growth play out in its cocktail lines with 30% sales increases in the category since the start of the year, while spirits continue to struggle. O’Connor noted that the distillery’s non-alcoholic cocktail line has seen similar growth since the start of 2026.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/consumer-products/cgr-long-road-distillery-leverages-local-partnerships-for-cocktail-growth-20260802/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

It’s almost time to harvest soybeans. The rows and rows of the crop are already thigh-high.But it could be the last harv...
09/04/2026

It’s almost time to harvest soybeans. The rows and rows of the crop are already thigh-high.

But it could be the last harvest for the 400-acre farm south of Lansing. Even though soybean prices are high, margins are slim as fertilizer and fuel costs have skyrocketed.

The high-voltage transmission line strung over the farm at the corner of College and West Columbia Roads in Vevay Township is a dangling carrot, and has attracted developers from Ohio interested in building a data center.

The landowners, a family farm, are interested — but the township is not.

The township now stands to lose both control of what happens on the land and the potential for millions of dollars in elusive new tax revenue as the landowners are petitioning for the nearby town of Mason to annex the farm into the city’s limits.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/technology/cdb-vevay-township-mason-data-center-20260903/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

A southeast Michigan developer will invoke Saugatuck’s history as a fishing town in its plans for a new mixed-use buildi...
09/03/2026

A southeast Michigan developer will invoke Saugatuck’s history as a fishing town in its plans for a new mixed-use building at a former bait shop and charter fishing business on prime downtown waterfront.

Saline-based AMK Holdings Inc. expects to start demolition and construction in October on 640 Water St. on the Kalamazoo River. A vacant one-story building will be removed to make way for a two-story, mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial and three short-term rental units above.

The current building was home to a bait shop and boat chartering company for more than 50 years. It also housed a fueling station from 1970-1997, but has sat vacant for the last four years.

The company will leverage a $1 million brownfield grant that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy awarded the overall $1.6 million project in August to remediate contaminated soils and remove underground fuel tanks from the site.

Read more here: https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/real-estate/commercial/cgr-former-saugatuck-bait-shop-conversion-20260902/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

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