Public Participation & Partners Make the Space

The first principle of making a great public space is embracing the idea that the community is the expert. To begin generating ideas for animating 555 Monroe, DGRI initiated a conversation with the citizen-led GR Forward Goal 5 Alliance, which advises our organization on public space programming and projects that create an ever more active, interesting, memorable, welcoming and inclusive Downtown.

DGRI also engaged residents in the Monroe North neighborhood where the property is located as well as the Monroe North Business Association, as placemaking strategies that promote opportunity for local business is a core value.

These and other groups honed the concept of a "pallet park" placemaking approach at 555 Monroe which focused around, among other things, greening a historically gray site with plants and flowers, adding seating and lighting to encourage people to linger and turning up the volume on public art.

These advisors, in addition to 30+ volunteers and 40+ local artists were also essential to getting the identified improvements pushed into play. Special thanks to the following partners who played a key role in the project's early implementation:

• The Department
• Friends of Grand Rapids Parks
• Local First
• Lions & Rabbits Art Gallery
• The Lower Grand Organization of Watersheds
• Michigan State University
• Monroe North Business Association
• Sanctuary Folk Art
• WYCE
• The City of Grand Rapids

Fun Facts About Reinventing 555 Monroe

Below are some of the changes put into play to transform 555 Monroe from a parking lot for cars to a "place" that invites people in and begins to change the image of the riverfront and the neighborhood. Overall, more than 60 local artists have participated in the project to date.

• More than 20,000 lights bulbs were hung to illuminate a grand entrance, add festoon lighting, decorate trees and shield an old fence
• The ground mural is 55,000 sq ft and features 67 unique fish murals painted by local artists
• 40,000 yards of yarn deployed by two yarn bombers
• 100 pallets make up the pod seating, high top tables and couches
• Approximately 100 tires were re-purposed as sculptures and flower "boxes"
• 3,000 glow pebbles provide walkway decor
• 30 planter boxes, 6 large planters, 306 flats, 10 wall hanging planters with rows of 7 and 40 grass plants and one new tree
• 150 rock rock climbing walls pegs for kids to play
• 503 community painted wooden fish

A New Special Event Venue

In the wake of the transformation, 555 Monroe quickly began to attract people eating lunch, walking dogs, professional photo shoots and other impromptu activities. The space has also begun to host significant special events.

DGRI in 2018 rebranded its popular outdoor movie series and relocated the event to the site. Movies on Monroe, which features six double-feature movie nights per summer attracted approximately 25,000 attendees. On opening night, the overflow crowd spilled out across the adjacent street with people setting up chairs in the parkway to watch The Greatest Showman.

During the winter of 2019 DGRI will experiment with a temporary pop-up ice rink - weather permitting - for casual sporting leagues and a Silent Disco in February to advance on the community's goal of better utilizing our public spaces in the cold-weather months.

The City and DGRI now regularly receive requests to utilize the space for other public and private events and activities. This is an encouraging trend as it reveals the changes to the property have begun to foster a new sense of interest, ownership and pride in a place that was formerly gritty, underutilized and overlooked.