GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss has never been more hopeful about the future of the city and region.
That’s the message Bliss concluded her 2022 State of the City address Tuesday evening with after touching on the work the city has done and will do on five key topics: development, housing, public safety, environment and nature.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do things differently to make significant, catalytic investments, and we are working to maximize this moment,” Bliss said. “I have described a number of initiatives and areas of momentum tonight. Together we are building a foundation that will deliver far-reaching benefits for years to come. Now we must keep moving forward.
“We must keep moving forward with a clear purpose and a clear sense of optimism. Moving forward together, believing, all of us believing that great things are indeed ahead. They will emerge from the efforts of today and they will impact lives for decades to come.”
Bliss’ address Tuesday, March 1, lasted about 40 minutes and was streamed virtually on Facebook. It was held at New Vintage Place, a banquet hall on the city’s West Side. During the address, Bliss didn’t introduce new initiatives.
The full address can be viewed on Bliss’ Facebook page at this link.
Here are four takeaways from the mayor’s address.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine
Bliss opened her address with what she described as a terrifying situation in Ukraine, which continues to be under siege by Russian forces. The Russian Federation invaded the country on Feb. 24.
Bliss asked people to come together to hope and pray for a quick and peaceful resolution to the conflict as well as pray for the safety of Ukrainians.
“I believe that we all feel devastated and emotional and deeply concerned as we watch the invasion of a free and peaceful country,” Bliss said. “As we stand with really determined, amazing people of Ukraine, we are inspired by bravery and pride in their country in the face of an incredibly dangerous situation.”
Related: ‘My heart dropped:’ Grand Rapids’ Ukrainian church parishioners recount moment Ukraine came under attack
Housing
The need for more housing, both affordable and market-rate, was again a topic of Bliss’ annual address.
“Recent population projections estimate that we will grow more than 4% in the next few years. That is a rapid rate of growth that clearly confirms the sheer need of housing units we need,” Bliss said. “A 4% growth rate means that we need to build not dozens, not hundreds of more homes; We need to build thousands of more homes as quickly as possible. We need more homes at all price points throughout our community to accommodate both the diversity of the people already living here as well as the people moving here.”
Last year, Bliss said, more than 700 hundred new housing units came onto the market in Grand Rapids. About 350 of those units were categorized as affordable and priced to families with modest incomes.
Bliss went on to talk about the city’s new Affordable Housing Fund as well as Housing Kent, a new coalition of 130 public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit groups aimed at aligning efforts and resources to ensure access to affordable housing.
Established last fall, the city’s Affordable Housing Fund is intended to create and preserve affordable housing developments in the city through investments and incentives.
Related: To avoid displacing residents, ‘full-court press’ needed on new housing developments, Grand Rapids official says
Public safety
Another familiar topic of the annual address, Bliss spoke about police reforms, public safety initiatives and other efforts to make the city safer for all.
“Grand Rapids is a safe city, but we have challenges,” Bliss said. “Progress often requires patience, and sometimes it may seem we’re moving too slowly on important and complex issues like police reform. But often the most significant change comes from unwavering persistence and commitment, and we have brought notable change to public safety. Reaching out and collaborating in new ways is at the core of this effort.”
Some highlights she mentioned were retraining officers to engage in neighborhood-based policing, seeking recruits who hail from Grand Rapids ZIP codes, establishing the Cure Violence Prevention and Intervention program, adding social workers to victim support services and continuing to work on a mental health co-response team.
In her address last year, Bliss talked about the city exploring the use of a team of mental health workers to respond to mental health crises, nonviolent drug use complaints and other related calls.
“This is the year”
In one of her last topics, Bliss made a statement she said she had been holding off on at past State of the City addresses.
This is the year, she said, when the city will see “real, visible action” on the restoration of the whitewater rapids on the Grand River near downtown.
“We have dreamed about, discussed, planned, prepared for the Grand River restoration for over a decade, over a decade. This is the year. This is the year,” she said. “This is the year that we will see that vision evolve into real visible action. Putting the rapids back in Grand Rapids is an exciting and catalytic prospect for our region. It is part of our effort to grow the Grand River Greenway in our urban core and make connections to adjacent neighborhoods and cities.
“We have numerous isolated and industrialized properties along the river corridor that can be put to higher and better use as new riverfront parks or housing and other amenities.”
Bliss pointed to several examples of transformations both in and along the Grand River scheduled to take place this year.
They include Grand Rapids Whitewater beginning the first phase of in-river improvements as well as groundbreakings on the Grand Rapids Public Museum expansion and renovation and the redevelopment of Lyon Square, located along the river between the Amway Grand Plaza and DeVos Place.
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