WALKER, Mich. - The shopping corridor on Alpine Avenue once was the main attraction in Grand Rapids, but a growing downtown and changing retail market has drawn economic attention away from the area.
Many people are spending time in other areas of the city and spending money shopping online.
With that, Toys R Us closed last year, and it may be only a matter of time before a similar fate descends upon other big-box stores that were popular in the 1990s.
To prevent continued decline and allow Alpine Avenue to adapt to ongoing changes, community leaders are creating a vision for growth in the area between Interstate 96 and 4 Mile Road.
The city of Walker is working with Kalamazoo-based McKenna Associates to develop a 2040 master plan that will include Alpine Township and other municipalities in the city of Walker.
Plainfield Avenue once was the place to be with a mall and a movie theater. That district’s attention turned to Alpine when its shopping district was built, said Frank Wash, assistant city manager for the city of Walker.
The difference with this situation is there isn’t another major shopping center replacing Alpine. Instead, it’s being affected by changing trends in retail and transportation, said Chris Khorey, McKenna’s West Michigan manager.
To keep Alpine from becoming the next Plainfield, Alpine will have to be allowed to change with the times, Wash said.
“Cities that don't adapt do not age well,” Wash said. “That is the poison pill for a lot of communities, where they keep grasping onto something whose time has passed.”
To read the entire story, pick up the Grand Rapids Business Journal or visit their website.
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