Did you know that over the past two decades, Grand Rapids has been quietly building medical infrastructure that it now ranks as one of the best collection of medical facilities in the Midwest? Come join Blu House Properties as we take you inside Grand Rapids’ own Medical Mile, and share our insider information to the best clinics and hospitals.
In the mid-1990s, community leaders envisioned the need for better medical care and continued diversification of the local economy. Developers started buying up parcels of land along Michigan Street NE, including vacant lots, restaurants and minor office buildings and started razing the structures to start fresh. As a result, the continued building on Michigan Street from Monroe Avenue to College Avenue has grown the district to almost five times the size originally planned. The Medical Mile is now firmly wedged between downtown Grand Rapids, the Heritage Hill Historic District and the neighborhoods to the north.
The Van Andel Institute opened in 1996 and has jump-started a multi-billion dollar investment into the Medical Mile. What makes the Medical Mile work, is that it is a multi-faceted approach to development that includes several educational institutions (Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University, Michigan State University and Grand Rapids Community College), two hospital systems (Mercy Health and Spectrum Health), as well as incentives from the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County and the State of Michigan. Today, the Medical Mile is a booming strip of land that employs nearly 50,000 people.
Starting on the west end, the Medical Mile consists of the Michigan State University Grand Rapids Research Center, the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, The Van Andel Institute, Butterworth Hospital, the DeVos Children’s Hospital, the Lena Meijer Heart Center, the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion, Grand Valley State’s Cook Center and the Spectrum Health Laboratory. All this development has spurred construction of auxiliary businesses, such as restaurants, coffee shops, medical laboratories, hotels and bars.
There you have it–next time you need medical care, there is no need to drive to Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland, we have the best healthcare in our backyard on the Medical Mile. Did we miss anything? Make sure and drop us a line and let us know what makes the Medical Mile great. As always, thanks for joining Blu House Properties as we take you inside to what makes West Michigan great.
