By James Windell
At the Downtown Development Authority Meeting on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the DDA approved plans to move forward with proposed improvements to the pavilion in the downtown area.
In introducing the project at the meeting, Suzanne Brock, DDA Director, said that at the July 9, 2025 DDA Board meeting, the DDA approved moving forward with the Four Season Pavilion improvements presented in the original scope of work detailed in a December 13, 2024, feasibility study.
“So, what we are doing in this phase is to put the cooling system for the ice rink underground,” said Brock after the meeting. “Previously we had a feasibility study by Century A & E so that they could determine if we could bury the cooling system and they said we could do that.”
The Four-Season Pavilion design construction proposal was submitted by Century A & E, a Grand Rapids architectural and engineering firm. Cost of the next phase in the work on the pavilion is $189,700.00.
The overall pavilion improvement project will include demolition of the existing paving, curbs and storm system under and around the existing pavilion. The original project also called for the temporary disconnection and relocation of the chiller and pump skid located to the northeast of the existing pavilion so a new elevated steel framed structure can be erected. However, the DDA Board decided to change that.
“In the prior meeting,” Brock explained, “the Board asked if we could raise the chiller. But it was decided in this meeting that they would rather not have the chiller on a raised structure. However, we have added some water spigots to the project so that there is access to water in the pavilion for the farmer’s market and food trucks.”
The work in this next phase will be completed in 2026. “The timeline is to start in March of 2026, and it will all be broken up in a couple of different segments,” Brock said. “Work would take place between March and June 15, 2026. Then, it will pick up again after August 15, 2026, and be done on Nov. 15 when the ice rink is open for the 2026 season.”
Brock said that the improvements on the pavilion are very important for the City. “We utilize that area under the pavilion year around for festivals, the farmer’s market, and the ice rink,” she said. “This is really beneficial to the city to draw people in. In addition, we also provide free skating to school students.”
She also noted that the DDA wants to make sure that the pavilion is ADA accessible.
“We wanted to do the repairs in the right way,” she said. “We knew we had to replace the cooling system and cement, but we didn’t want a quick fix. We wanted the improvements to be beneficial for the future.”
