Grand Rapids is the business, financial, legal and cultural center of western Michigan and is the second-largest urban area in the state. With a population of approximately 1,000,000, the Grand Rapids area has been among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwest since 1970.
Grand Rapids enjoys a diversified economic base that includes numerous service industries and manufacturers of furniture, musical instruments, electronics, automobiles, aircraft components and consumer products. More than 100 of our organizations are engaged in global trade. Fortune Magazine named Grand Rapids one of the top 10 “Best Cities for Business” this year. A recent issue of Industry Week ranked Grand Rapids 15th out of 300+ metropolitan manufacturing areas nationwide, labeling it a “world-class manufacturing community.” The article praised the area for its creation of 26,000 jobs in the last decade, and for its diversity (with 2,200 firms representing 19 of the 20 manufacturing industry classifications). Site Selection Magazine recently found Michigan to be first nationally in the number of new plants and expansion—for the fourth year in a row.
The city has successfully combined new development with a concern for preserving the past. The 1980s saw the construction of a convention and performing arts center, a downtown pedestrian shopping mall, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and a 28-story riverfront hotel. Those successful developments spawned several restoration and development projects in the 1990s, including the construction of a downtown campus for Grand Valley State University, two additional downtown hotels and a $35 million public museum and planetarium. Also built in the 1990’s was the VanAndel Arena, ranked 16th in the world for annual entertainment ticket sales. A new federal courthouse was completed. Phase One of the $200 million Van Andel Institute for Education and Medical Research (VMI) was also recently completed. Designed by internationally renowned New York architect Rafael Vinoly, this facility houses a world-class medical research laboratory and scientific facility. Governor John Engler traveled to Grand Rapids and the VMI to sign a bill funding a “Life Sciences Corridor” that will enable four of Michigan’s research institutions to become among the nation's most important in the development of biotechnology applications. DeVos Place, a $220 million convention center with one million square feet of floor space, opened in 2004.
For those who enjoy the arts, Grand Rapids has a renowned professional symphony orchestra, an opera company, a ballet troupe and traditional and experimental theatre companies. The Broadway Theatre Guild annually brings several Broadway plays to DeVos Hall. The city boasts a national reputation for its collection of public art, which includes major outdoor works of sculpture by Calder, Di Suvero, Morris and others. Leonardo DaVinci’s 80-ton, 24-foot high horse, Il Cavallo, was installed recently at the Frederik Meijer Botanical Gardens and Sculpture Park. Grand Rapids also has an art museum, a natural history museum and planetarium, and a zoological park. The city’s three-day arts festival on Calder Plaza draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and is the largest all-volunteer arts festival in the United States.
Grand Rapids offers many housing alternatives, from downtown condominiums and loft apartments and the Victorian houses and apartments on Heritage Hill (all within walking distance of the firm), to suburban and country living (within minutes of downtown). Several members of the firm have chosen to live on Lake Michigan or on one of the nearby inland lakes which abound in the area.
The recent Special Millennium Edition of the Places Rated Almanac ranks the Grand Rapids area third in the nation for recreational opportunities. The area boasts several professional sports teams, including a CBA basketball team, a minor-league baseball affiliate, an arena football team and an IHL hockey team. Michigan’s natural beauty presents unlimited opportunities for outdoor recreation. Lake Michigan and numerous other lakes, streams and forests are within a short drive for those who enjoy sailing, power boating, biking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, camping, skiing, snowboarding and other outdoor activities. West Michigan is a golfer’s paradise, with over 700 public and private courses in the area. In fact, Michigan has more golf courses than any other state.
Grand Rapids is known as a big city with a small-town personality. From block parties to ballet, opera to sporting events, natives and newcomers will tell you, “Grand Rapids has it all.”