East Hills Council of Neighbors

In 1978, a group of neighbors east of downtown Grand Rapids started meeting about blighted houses and problems along their blocks, and out of those meetings came the East Hills Council of Neighbors. What began as a block-by-block effort grew into a civic organization that still runs out of 131 Eastern Avenue SE. Two of its longest projects are written into the streetscape. The Council was central to saving and reopening the Wealthy Theatre, the 1911 movie house on Wealthy Street that came back as a community arts venue in 1998. It also pushed for local historic-district status along the corridor, and the Cherry Hill Historic District was designated in 1994, followed by Fairmount Square in 1999. One practical note for owners inside those districts: exterior changes fall under historic-district review, so the Council is a useful first stop before a project. The calendar is where the organization is easiest to meet. A summer concert series, launched in 2014, brings music to the neighborhood on warm evenings; Dumpster Day cleanups give people a place to haul what winter left behind; and the Art Works! apprenticeship program, running since 1999, puts young people to work on public art and small neighborhood improvements. The Council also sits inside the larger Uptown story: East Hills is one of four business districts, alongside East Fulton, Eastown, and Wealthy Street, that share the Uptown identity and coordinate on the commercial corridors. Meetings are open, and the group keeps an active presence for neighbors who want to weigh in on planning, trees, and street-level questions. To read about the streets and parks themselves, see the East Hills neighborhood page.