Canal Park opened because people kept walking in. Contractors on the $9.9 million rebuild at 905 Monroe Ave NW would leave a gate open, and city project manager Kristin Pfauth would get worried calls about strangers inside the construction zone. She told MLive that her answer was, "Well, we're basically done. Just take the fence down." FOX17 dates the reopening to October 27. The official ribbon-cutting won't happen until spring 2027.
The same week, a few blocks downstream, the city's river contractor finished its first season of work, and the Grand River started to sound like rapids again. Both of the city's big riverfront projects can now be seen up close ahead of their 2027 milestones. Until then, the downtown river is a working preview that anyone can walk.
The Fence Came Down Before the Ribbon Did
The old Canal Park was a pocket park with more pavement, parking along the street and fencing that kept people back from the water. The new one covers more than half a mile of riverfront. The site was raised several feet as part of the city's flood protection work, and the higher ground also gives better views of the river. According to MLive, the higher sections are meant to stay dry when the river rises, and the playground and some lower areas are built to handle temporary flooding.
Here's what's there now:
- 14-foot-wide riverfront paths. They're part of the Grand River Greenway, the regional plan to connect communities along the river between Lowell and Grand Haven.
- A playground built for everyone. It has a step-free entrance for wheelchairs and strollers and a shock-absorbing surface.
- Anishinaabe words woven into play. Kids spin a feature showing plants and animals, then hunt for matching images and their Anishinaabe names, such as beaver, cedar and sweetgrass. Sturgeon figures on the playground stand for the endangered fish and its ties to the river.
- Outdoor exercise equipment and seated overlooks facing the water.
- A glass-walled, heated pavilion with garage-style doors that open for events.
The Grand River Network project page lists the City of Grand Rapids as lead, with Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, The Right Place and the Monroe North Business Association as partners. VIRIDIS Design Group designed the park and Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. built it. MLive reports that half of the $9.9 million came from the city's parks millage. The rest came from the Monroe North Tax Increment Finance Authority and a $750,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Mayor David LaGrand called the park a "critical building block" for the River North District as new development arrives.
City Built Brewing sits right across the street and noticed the change right away. "We're very excited that we already see people showing up with their kids, and coming over and grabbing a beer," owner Edwin Collazo told FOX17. "Usually, we're the ones making the noise on this corner."
Downstream, the River Got Louder
The Lower Reach restoration started on July 1, 2026, when the city's contractor, Taplin Group, began driving haul trucks across causeways built into the riverbed. The Grand River Network's October 28 progress update says the river "looks and sounds different already."
The low-head dams are numbered one through four, starting at Pearl Street and moving upstream. By late October, Dam 2 was completely gone. Dam 1 wasn't scheduled to come out until the second construction year, but crews started on it in September and excavated part of its west end. That work picks up again next season.
You can see three kinds of new features in the water now:
- Boulder drop structures span the full width of the river between Dams 1 and 2. They work like a natural fish ladder, and they're the main reason the river sounds different.
- Habitat boulders sit south of the Blue Bridge and between Dams 1 and 2. Every boulder in the project came from Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.
- Three J-hooks, arched boulder structures that slow the current and create eddies, sit between Pearl Street and Fulton Street. The first went in late this summer near the Grand Rapids Public Museum riverfront.
The J-hook stretch already has a regular visitor, according to the Grand River Network: a blue heron locals call Bennett. Before the work started, divers moved about 80 freshwater mussels and 1,600 fish out of the way. During the Dam 2 removal, crews dug up a hand-rolled steel pipe thought to date from at least the 1920s, and its remains went to the Public Museum.
Both Are Open This November, and Both Pick Up Again in 2027
Over the winter, these two projects follow the same pattern. Each has enough finished to enjoy now, and each has a piece waiting for warmer weather.
| Open or visible now | Waiting for spring or summer 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Canal Park | Paths, playground, overlooks, exercise equipment | Kayak launch, pulled for the season; pavilion rentals; ribbon-cutting |
| Lower Reach river | Dam 2 gone, boulder drops, habitat boulders, J-hooks | Rest of Dam 1 and the remaining low-head dams in the 2027 season |
| Nearby closures | Gillett Bridge stays open | Ah-Nab-Awen Park stays closed for the whole project |
The city's Lower Reach project page says the second construction season should start in summer 2027. Grand Rapids Whitewater expects the Lower Reach to be finished in fall 2027. The boulders you see this November will look the same all winter. When work resumes, the river changes again. At Canal Park, some newly landscaped areas are still temporarily roped off.
Getting From One to the Other
The east-bank trail between these two spots isn't finished yet. The Leonard-to-Ann extension of the Grand River Edges Trail was nearly halfway done in June, and the city expected to finish it in December. For now, think of this as two stops linked by downtown streets and bridges. Here's one way to spend an afternoon:
- Start at Canal Park, 905 Monroe Ave NW. Walk the 14-foot paths and the overlooks while the weather holds.
- Coffee or a pint on Monroe. City Built Brewing and Field & Fire, the bakery and café, both appear in MLive's September coverage of River North businesses at 820 Monroe Ave NW. Silva, the restaurant and entertainment venue in the former Berkey & Gay factory, opened in 2025 and is close by.
- Head south to the bridges. Gillett Bridge stays open during construction, but Ah-Nab-Awen Park on the west bank is closed. The habitat boulders are south of the Blue Bridge.
- Finish near the Public Museum riverfront, where the first J-hooks went in, and keep an eye out for Bennett.
The November Calendar Around the River
The Grand Rapids Public Museum, whose riverfront overlooks the J-hooks, has two November dates on its website. The Cultural Heritage Festival is Saturday, November 7. The museum also stays open late, until 8 p.m., on Friday, November 13. You might stop by the museum to ask about the pipe pulled out from under Dam 2.
Two weeks later, the Grand Rapids Santa Parade steps off downtown at 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. Santa should reach Rosa Parks Circle around 6:30 p.m., and the City tree lighting starts at 6:45 p.m.
Canal Park's pavilion opens for bookings in spring, and the kayak launch returns around the same time. For now, the paths, the playground and the overlooks are open, and so is the stretch of river where Dam 2 used to be.
The riverfront projects are also changing what it's like to live in River North and downtown Grand Rapids. If you want to talk through what that means for your home, Clark & Clark is happy to walk it with you. Contact Us.
