The area occupied by the mall was initially the site for Shoemaker Airfield, which was constructed in the 1960s.[4][5] Plans for a commercial development in Grandville began in 1980 when citizens narrowly approved to rezone 100 acres of land near Rivertown Parkway and Wilson Avenue in an election following a petition initiative.[6] A year later, General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased 99 acres of land on what is now Rivertown Parkway.[7]
In 1990, Homart Development Company, a subsidiary of Sears, had begun eyeing a development of a new mall near the intersection of 44th Street and Ivanrest and met with the city for approval.[8] In November 1990, Homart Development Co. originally proposed a 1 million square foot, 120-store indoor mall on 94 acres of land near the intersection, seeking for the land to be rezoned from high-tech industrial to commercial.[9][10] GGP pushed against Homart's rezoning plan, saying that they sought to build their own mall, though city officials heard little from GGP regarding their plans.[8] The City of Grandville turned down the plans in January 1991, stating that a 99-acre lot on Rivertown Parkway, which was adjacent to the property sought by Homart, was already zoned for commercial usage and was owned by GGP.[10][11] Homart's plan for a mall was then put on hold after its director, Roy Vice, left the company[10] and Homart Development Company was put up for sale in 1994, later being sold to GGP in 1995.[12][13][14]
In October 1994 after waiting for the economy to strengthen, GGP vice president John Bergstrom proposed a 150-store mall with 4 anchor stores, stating that the project could be completed by Spring 1997.[15] This plan was also declined on October 12, 1994, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating that more commercial was not needed in the city.[16]
In January 1996, GGP proposed the use of a 425 Agreement between Grandville and the neighboring city of Wyoming in order to obtain 80 acres of land in the latter city.[17] The proposal suggested that Grandville provide permits, public services and utilities while Wyoming granted access to the land and received tax revenue.[17] GGP then proposed to acquire more land adjacent to the site within Grandville in August 1996, with a new proposed mall site totaling 138 acres.[18] GGP and the City of Grandville made a deal in October 1996 after GGP promised in August that the mall would only remain in Grandville and not span into Wyoming, with Grandville Mayor James Buck stating, "The construction of this mall has been anticipated for years. ... Our goal will be to provide the finest shopping mall in Michigan".[19][20]
In 1997, a petition initiative began so that GGP could rezone 16 acres to improve drainage on their property.[6] The project faced some opposition from local citizens and businesses.[2]Taubman Company, then the owner Woodland Mall, pushed back on the plan.[2] Some believed that constructing the mall would result in areas where street gangs could congregate.[21] Others raised environmental concerns about the mall's construction in wetlands, though these arguments were turned down in court.[2] With elections approaching and a proposal of rezoning land towards the mall on the ballot, GGP spent $41,534 ($81,355 in 2024) in support of the initiative while Taubman paid $13,378 ($26,204 in 2024) in advertisements opposing rezoning.[22] Opponents of the mall said that city council member Ken Bouma was paid by GGP and questioned his objectivity.[22] Bouma had previously pushed for Grandville to annex the land in Wyoming instead of using a 425 Agreement.[17] Voters in Grandville ultimately voted in favor of the mall's construction, prompting Woodland Mall to spend millions of dollars to renovate its interior.[2]
Construction and design
A revised plan for the mall was approved in May 1997 which reduced the size of the mall[23] and provided the name for the center; RiverTown Crossings.[24] Construction for the mall broke ground on December 6, 1997[25] with about 344 workers being present on site daily[26] and a total number of 1,000 workers involved in building the shopping center.[27] For construction materials, about 400 loads from concrete transport trucks, 5,000 different cans of paint, 200,000 floor tiles and 7,600,000 pounds (3,400,000kg) of steel.[26] On the interior, glass and brass fixtures were used as materials while images of the Great Lakes were displayed.[27] Murals painted by Chicago-based artist Thomas Melvin in 1999 were featured in the mall's interior space.[citation needed] Outside, about 7,000 parking spaces were placed.[26] At the main entrance, neon lighting was utilized to welcome visitors.[27] For landscaping, nearly 10,000 plants were installed, including 3,000 shrubs and 1,600 trees.[27]
Fearing the growth of online retailers and their convenience, GGP Properties designed RiverTown Crossings to have "clusters" of similar, competing retailers located in certain wings of the mall in order to lower shopping times for customers, with the shopping center serving as the first model for this concept.[28]
The construction of RiverTown Crossings occurred over a period of 498 days, a few weeks short of a whole two years[26] with a cost amounting to about $160 million, the equivalent to $302,005,593in 2024.[29] Overall, the mall, located on 116 acres of land, has the capacity for just over 130 stores and has about 1,249,697 square feet (116,100.7m2) of retail space available.[23][26]
RiverTown Crossings opened on November 3, 1999[1] just prior to the holiday season with five original anchors: Sears, Hudson's, Kohl's, Younkers and JCPenney with Barnes & Noble and Pottery Barn featured as junior anchors. A 40-rider carousel was a central feature located at the center of the second floor, costing $1 for a two-minute ride.[26] Surrounding the carousel was a food court with six restaurants operating during the opening and the seating capacity for 1,000 diners.[26] South of the food court was a 20 screen Cinemark movie theater.[26]Kahunaville, a tropical themed restaurant, was also located in the mall and one of the only restaurants being able to serve alcohol.[30][31][32][33]
In the morning, shoppers waited in lines up to about two hours prior to entering the mall, queuing outdoors in temperatures hovering near 35°F (2°C) and a wind chill between 15°F (−9°C) and 25°F (−4°C) accompanied by some snow flurries.[26] Local news station WZZM was present, interviewing visitors throughout the day.[26] Tens of thousands of shoppers visited during the grand opening of RiverTown Crossings and in the subsequent week, over 200,000 shoppers were projected to visit RiverTown.[26] Around 345,000 people visited the mall in its first five days, beating GGP's projections by large margins.[27] At the time of RiverTown Crossings' opening in the holiday season of 1999, local malls were using promotions to attract shoppers in an effort to counteract growing competition from online retailers.[34]
The mall was one of the first developments in the area and following its construction, many other restaurants and stores opened around it.[3] Now the area is well developed and a major shopping district for the West Side of Grand Rapids including the Holland Area.
2000s
2000
By late 2000,[26] the restaurant Tumbleweed,[27] a Disney Store,[35] the sporting goods store Galyan's and clothing retailer Old Navy opened, with Old Navy becoming another junior anchor and Galyan's becoming the mall's sixth anchor tenant. At its grand opening on October 6, 2000, Galyan's, with an area of 90,000sqft (8,400m2), hosted various sports celebrities and Olympians to sign autographs and featured a 45ft (14m) tall rock climbing wall.[36] A NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway racing center was present at the mall shortly after its opening.[37] In June 2000, Rivertown Crossings became the first mall in Michigan to promote online shopping and coupons for shoppers, using the Mallibu.com website.[38]
2001
In 2001, Hudson's was renamed Marshall Field's. That year, NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway Racing Center was closed after Silicon Entertainment, Inc., its creator, ceased operations.[37] In August 2001, American Eagle Outfitters opened its 24th Michigan store in the mall.[39]
2002-2007
On March 26, 2002, a Meijer store opened adjacent to the mall.[40] By 2004, Kahunaville closed and a replacement was being sought out.[32] Also, in 2004, Galyan's was renamed after being acquired by Dick's Sporting Goods.[41] In September of 2005, UBU Home Furnishings replaced Kahunaville. Marshall Field's was renamed Macy's in 2006. The Cinemark theater was acquired by local movie theater company Celebration Cinema in 2007.
Panoramic photo of the RiverTown Crossings Mall food court and carousel, showing the mall's original decor
2010s
2017-2018
Exterior of RiverTown Crossings in 2019
Duluth Trading Company opened on the mall's property on November 16, 2017.[42] In 2018, original developer General Growth Properties was acquired by the Brookfield Property Partners and ownership of RiverTown Crossings was transferred.[43] During Brookfield's ownership, the mall experienced a lack of investment, with maintenance and structural quality deteriorating, affecting the satisfaction of visitors with the space.[3] On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Younkers would be closing its doors due to its parent company, The Bon-Ton Stores, being unable to find a buyer forcing the chain to go out of business. The store closed on August 29, 2018.[44]
2020s
2020-2023
On November 9, 2020, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 7 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 24, 2021.[45] UBU Home Furnishings became Harrison's West Design + Furniture in June 2022. In the fall of 2023 and 2024, Spirit Halloween operated a seasonal location in the northern part of the lower level in the former Sears space.
2024
In 2024, multiple developments occurred with the mall. In early 2024, Soar N Bounce signed a 10 year lease for the upper floor of the vacant Younkers space. Local investors sought to purchase RiverTown Crossings, though they withdrew their offer of $80 million after Poag Development Group shared their interest in purchasing the mall.[3] On August 30, 2024, Poag Development Group bought Rivertown Crossings from Brookfield Properties for an undisclosed price and shared a plan to work with Jones Lang LaSalle to revitalize and to keep the mall up to date.[3][46] Poag shared visions of bringing a hotel, more adjacent retail space and even residential properties.[3] On December 2, 2024, TGI Friday's permanently closed due to "unforeseen circumstances" after they filed for bankruptcy. Soar N Bounce opened on December 14, 2024, and became the first location of the franchise as well as the largest trampoline park in West Michigan by square footage.
2025
On January 13, 2025, it was announced that the parking deck, which was closed off for some time, would be demolished.[47] Future plans are to replace it with surface parking and two new parcels for future tenants. In March 2025, Harrison's West Design + Furniture relocated to the former Versona. Also in March, Celebration Cinema announced that they would renovate their RiverTown location. It was the last remaining location in the Grand Rapids area to be renovated. Phase one of the renovation was completed in early July 2025, and phase two is to be completed around fall. On October 1, 2025, it was announced that Inspire Marketplace would replace the old Harrison's West. Also in October 2025, the Grandville City Planning Commission approved plans to replace the Sears Auto Center with a Raising Cane's. Construction is expected to begin in February 2026 starting with demolishing the building, and be completed by October 2026. In November 2025, Inspire Marketplace opened in the former Harrison's West Design + Furniture location.
Current features and attractions
Interior of RiverTown Crossings in 2018
The mall has a capacity for 130 tenants with about 1,249,697 square feet (116,100.7 m2) of retail space available.[23] Food and beverage merchants are located throughout the mall. On the second floor, there is a food court with 8 quick service restaurants and a carousel in the center.
North of the food court, there is a newly renovated 20-screen Celebration Cinema movie theater that serves as one of the mall's anchor tenants and one of the most popular cinemas in Michigan, consecutively performing as one of the top 3 theaters in the state.[1]
Across from Dick's Sporting Goods on the second floor, there is a Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park, which was the first location of the franchise and currently the largest trampoline park in West Michigan.
The mall features murals painted by Chicago-based artist Thomas Melvin in 1999, when the mall first opened. As part of a minor renovation in 2017, the murals in the center court and the two wings were covered up, with only those above the anchor stores remaining.
The mall's slogan was Mix it up when General Growth Properties owned the mall. This was one of few major slogans that General Growth Properties used with some of their malls.
1 2 Weiker, Jim; Heibel, Lawrence R. (March 25, 1997). "Plan for mall still unclear The Grandville council OKs rezoning land for a mall, but initiates a petition drive that could reverse its decision". The Grand Rapids Press. pp.A1 – via Proquest.
↑ Calabrese, Dan (February 7, 1994). "Grandville thrives on success stories". Grand Rapids Business Journal. 12 (6): 1.
↑ Heibel, Lawrence R. (October 4, 1994). "Developer proposes shopping center for Grandville". The Grand Rapids Press.
↑ Heibel, Lawrence R. (October 12, 1994). "Power shopping center' proposal is spurned". The Grand Rapids Press.
1 2 3 Heibel, Lawrence R. (January 30, 1996). "Grandville City Council response mixed on mall proposal General Growth Properties Inc. wants Grandville to take responsibility for some Wyoming property, but share tax revenues". The Grand Rapids Press. pp.C7.
↑ Heibel, Lawrence R. (October 17, 1996). "Residents extra land for mall The watchdog group fears the developer's purchase of 70 additional acres means the project is about to grow". The Grand Rapids Press.
↑ Radigan, Mary; Heibel, Lawrence R. (September 5, 1996). "3 anchor stores set for mall Sears, Dayton-Hudson and Younkers will join two others as major retailers at the new mall". The Grand Rapids Press.
↑ "General Growth starts work on Michigan regional mall". National Real Estate Investor. 38 (11): 8. October 1996.
1 2 Weiker, Jim (June 14, 199). "Firm mauls foes in mall spending The company planning to build a mall is far outspending opponents - inclucing another shopping center developer". The Grand Rapids Press. pp.A1 – via Proquest.
1 2 3 Sher, Joanne M. (May 8, 1997). "Revised plan reduces mall's size A professional planner has been hired to help the city get ready for the project". The Grand Rapids Press.
↑ Coleman, Calmetta Y. (February 8, 2000). "Making Malls (Gasp!) Convenient --- Faced With Online Threat, Developers Race to Improve Their Layouts and Maps". The Wall Street Journal. pp.B1 – via Proquest. In the three months or so since RiverTown Crossings opened its doors in Grandville, Mich., the 35-year-old mother of six has rarely ventured beyond just one section of the mall. ... That's the idea. In an effort to compete with the allure of online shopping, mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. decided on a design that runs counter to decades of retailing wisdom: It clustered competing stores together. Shoppers were asking for such clusters long before Web retailing took off, the Chicago developer says, and it began experimenting with the idea three years ago.
↑ Weiker, Jim (October 31, 1999). "SETTING UP SHOP... RiverTown Crossings mall shakes up local retail landscape". The Grand Rapids Press.
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