Grand Rapids' skywalks cover nearly a mile above city streets

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- For Beth Allspach and Amy Hartman, the skywalks in downtown Grand Rapids are their personal health club.

Nearly every day, they are among dozens of downtown workers who use the skywalks that stretch nine-tenths of a mile through the hotels and office buildings between DeVos Place Convention Center and Van Andel Arena.

"We do it in the winter to stay out of the snow and we do it in the summer when it's too hot," Allspach says.

Built mainly to accommodate convention guests, the skywalks offer a variety of tableaus as they carry visitors carpeted atriums over busy streets, cavernous tunnels with brick pavers, long unadorned hallways and carpeted hotel lobbies that are sometimes hosting cocktail parties, business receptions or convention registration areas.

In the evenings, sports fans and concert goers use them to find covered parking away from the busy parking ramps and lots near the Van Andel Arena. During ArtPrize, the skywalks become giant art galleries linking the most popular venues.

We recently took a walk along the skywalk from Van Andel Arena to DeVos Place. Watch the sped-up version of that trip:

The downtown area also has a network of tunnels and passageways below Vandenberg Plaza, the area that was redeveloped in the urban renewal movement of 1960s.

First built in the 1980s to link the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel to a parking ramp, the skywalks were developed in a piecemeal fashion over the years to include the Van Andel Arena and most recently, DeVos Place.

The last skywalks, which link the JW Marriott Hotel to parking ramps and the main skywalk, nearly faltered before they were built.

In 2005, the city's Planning Commission rejected the skywalks on a 4-3 vote after some planners argued they robbed the city of a vibrant street life. City commissioners overruled the planners and voted to let the skywalks continue.

Ever since, the skywalks have generated mixed feelings.

"In a perfect world, as an urban design aficionado, I would rather have people on the street and give them the opportunity to engage with storefronts on the street," says Sam Cummings, managing principal of CWD Real Estate Investment.

CWD owns a couple of downtown office buildings, including the PNC Bank building, that are linked to the main skywalk.

"I'm also a pragmatist," Cummings said. "If using the skywalks broadens the appeal of our city, bring it."

Explore the various entry points and destinations along the skywalk's twisting and turning 0.9 miles:

Cummings said the cost of installing skywalks has grown prohibitive and can mess with a historic building's design. That's why they did not link The Rowe apartment project to DeVos Place even though the convention center was built to accommodate a skywalk to the building.

Unlike other cities, like Minneapolis and its extensive skywalk system, Grand Rapids' has not resulted in much retail activity, Cummings said.

In planning for a hotel at 50 Monroe NW, Cummings said building a skywalk that would connect to the parking ramp across the street and the existing skywalk system was not seriously discussed.

"It would be tough to justify the expense," he said. "It would be an expensive proposition."

Rick Winn, president of Amway Hotel Corp., says the skywalks give them a big advantage when recruiting groups that consider holding winter conventions in Grand Rapids.

"It's very convenient for the attendees," says Winn, who oversees operations at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, the JW Marriott Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott. All three are linked to the skywalk and to parking ramps operated by the Amway Hotel Corp.

Winn notes that most of their guests are willing to venture outside of the skywalks when it comes to finding a restaurant or bar while in town.

"I think as we get larger as a city and the more robust, it's going to be a less important feature," he said.

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