Water Damage Restoration in Rockford, MI

ROCKFORD, MI — The West Michigan Sports Commission broke ground Friday on a $13.5 million project that will expand the Meijer Sports Complex in Plainfield Township with new softball and baseball fields, 20 pickleball courts, a new concession building and more.

The expansion, expected to be complete by October 2025, will help the complex serve more youth and amateur athletes. It can accommodate an additional 200 teams annually, and is expected to generate an additional $1 million a year in visitor spending.

“Today is possible because everyone here came together — public organizations, private corporations, government agencies and even individuals — united in a singular cause of creating more spaces for youth and amateur athletes to recreate in West Michigan,” Mike Guswiler, president of the sports commission, said in a statement.

To date, the expansion’s fundraising campaign had raised $13 million, just $500,000 short of its goal. A host of public and private donations have helped fund the project, including a $3 million state grant, a $750,000 federal grant secured by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, and $1.5 million from Alro Steel.

The expansion’s fundraising campaign was launched in October 2022.

Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at $11.4 million, but that was increased to $13.5 million because of higher construction costs.

The expansion will bring a host of new features to the sports complex:

The Meijer Sports Complex opened in 2014 at 3300 10 Mile Road NE in Plainfield Township, just outside of Rockford. It features eight baseball and softball fields, a championship baseball field, and the Nate Hurwitz Miracle League Field for children with physical and mental disabilities.

Since opening, the complex has hosted 208 events, 8,200 teams and 265,750 visitors, the sports commission says. Those events have generated an estimated $60 million in director visitor spending in Kent County, the commission says.

“As a partner of the West Michigan Sports Commission for more than a decade, supporting youth and amateur sports continues to be an important way we live our purpose of enriching lives in the communities we serve,” Ray Hancart, vice president of communications and community engagement at Meijer, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be part of expanding the Meijer Sports Complex to further serve athletes of all ages and abilities.”

Grand Rapids-based Progressive Companies is providing architectural design services for the expansion, and construction is being overseen by general contractor Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., which is also based in Grand Rapids.

ROCKFORD, MI - Rockford residents will vote in November on a tax proposal to expand the Krause Memorial Library with a new wing, a main entrance hub for visitors and a larger community room.

“Krause is the busiest branch per square foot in the Kent District Library system and serves an important role in our community,” City Manager Thad Beard said. “However, the current library is not large enough to meet our growing community’s needs.”

If approved on Nov. 5, the project costing a total of $11.7 million would more than double the size of the Krause Memorial Library, 140 E Bridge St. NE. The city has already raised several million dollars in public and private funds to help fund the project.

Officials say voters are being asked Nov. 5 to support a millage request of 1 mill for the city to finance the expansion project through a bond not to exceed $5.7 million, to be paid back over 20 years. If approved, the average Rockford homeowner would pay $115 annually – or $2.21 per week, according to the city website.

The estimated millage on the ballot proposal to be levied the first year is 0.9784 mills, with the estimated simple average annual millage rate required to retire the bonds of 1.000 mills, according to the Kent County Clerk’s Office website. If successful, city leaders estimate the millage would generate $335,000 the first year.

Under the proposal, the existing library space would be transformed into the adult wing.

The new wing would include a main entrance hub with seating, an expanded children’s room and a larger community room.

In addition to the new wing and larger community room, which would accommodate multiple programs at the same time, the expansion would create six study rooms, a large quiet reading room and an outdoor reading patio.

The children’s room would be remodeled and doubled in size, and a courtyard would be built off the children’s and community rooms for outdoor program opportunities. The expansion would also include a teen area with a study room.

In partnering with Algoma, Cannon and Courtland townships, the city has obtained $5 million in public and private funds towards the total project cost.

A total of $2 million was raised through an ongoing regional capital campaign, according to the city, including “a significant number of donations from library patrons who live outside city limits.”

The city also received $1 million from the state and $2 million in grant funds from Kent County, with another $2.5 million in funding requests pending.

For the city to retain the $2 million Kent County investment, however, the project must be completed by the end of 2026, Beard said, which has amplified the need to finalize all other funding commitments, including the millage.

“Unfortunately, we’re under a tight timeline to retain the grant funding from Kent County,” Beard said. “We are now asking residents to join in this investment and consider a library millage on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The $5.7 million is what’s necessary to complete the project as of July 2024. If additional donations or grants are secured for the project, the millage imposed on residents would decrease.

The library serves the city of Rockford and neighboring communities, which accounts for around 42,000 residents.

That number is expected to grow to more than 78,000 by 2040, according to Beard.

Built in 1937, the library at 140 E Bridge St NE has been expanded twice - in 1963 and 1989 - but Beard said that since that last expansion, the library’s service area and visitor count have doubled.

Now, community members are waiting too long for materials, children are being left out of programming due to limited space, teens don’t have a place to go after school and seniors can’t find a place to sit and read, Beard said.

While the library’s services are provided by Kent District Library, the system is funded by its own separate millage and cannot contribute money to build new libraries or expand existing ones.

Expanding Krause Memorial Library is the sole responsibility of the city of Rockford, Beard said.

“For the past two decades, residents have asked when Krause Memorial Library will be expanded. That time is now,” Beard said. “We are committed to making sure it remains a beloved source of pride for Rockford residents of all ages and a hub of the community.”

Additional renovations to the library funded through the project included adding a drive-up book return, more computer terminals, updating the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems and improving accessibility for vulnerable community members.

According to the city, the updates would enable the branch to better meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards with barrier-free and family restrooms with adult and baby changing stations, a mother’s room, wider doors and aisles and more accessible parking near the entrance.