GVSU reports regional impact of $849 million

The annual economic impact that Grand Valley State University has on the region is estimated at $849 million. Grand Valley issued its yearly tri-county economic impact report during its April 27 Board of Trustees meeting held at the L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

The economic impact report covers Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties and used 2016-2017 data. Grand Valley employs more than 3,600 people and enrolls more than 25,000 students who spend money and pay taxes in the region.

Some additional highlights of this year's report include:

• New construction and renovations pumped more than $109 million into the local economy in 2017, creating 2,295 trade and construction jobs.

• A $20 million addition to the Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts was completed on the Allendale Campus. Construction will begin in June for a new $70 million health building at 333 Michigan St., next to Grand Valley's Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences on the Medical Mile. The five-story, 160,000 square-foot-building is scheduled to be finished in May 2021.

• Grand Valley alumni now number more than 117,000 and nearly half are living or working in West Michigan's tri-county area.

The entire Economic Impact brochure can be found at www.gvsu.edu/economicimpact. For more information on Grand Valley's impact visit www.gvsu.edu/accountability.

In other board discussion/action:

• James Moyer, who retired March 31 after serving as associate vice president of Facilities Planning, was honored by the board for his 22 years of dedication and service to Grand Valley. Moyer was commended for his reputation for delivering high-quality LEED certified buildings on-time and on-budget, and for his Boots on the Ground program which ensures persons of color have an equal opportunity for employment on Grand Valley projects.

• Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall, at 500 Lafayette on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus, will open for classes May 7. The $46.5 million, 84,000-square-foot health building includes classroom, laboratory and office space to support the College of Health Professions and Kirkhof College of Nursing. It includes four classrooms, 15 teaching laboratories, a computer lab and 100 faculty and staff offices and parking spaces. The building also includes student study spaces, student organization space and work/break rooms.

• Utility work is underway on Michigan Street in downtown Grand Rapids in preparation for a six-level parking deck that will provide 1,200 spaces for Grand Valley students in the health professions and nursing programs, and for Spectrum Health employees. The ramp will be completed in May 2021.

• The Movement Science Department's athletic training program for undergraduate students will transition to become a master's degree program in order to reflect the clinical practice requirements of athletic trainers in the changing health care environment. The program begins in fall 2019. Students will now be able to earn a combined degree with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a master's degree in athletic training, or they can choose to apply to the stand-alone two-year master's in athletic training degree program.

• The board approved the reauthorization of eight charter school academies, including: East Arbor Charter Academy (Ypsilanti), Forest Academy (Kalamazoo), Washington-Parks Academy (Detroit), Arbor Academy (Battle Creek), Detroit Merit Charter Academy (Detroit), Oakland Academy (Portage), South Canton Scholars Charter Academy (Canton), and Vanderbilt Charter Academy (Holland). The board also approved the appointment or reappointment of charter school board members to GVSU-authorized public school academy boards.