Grandville is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan In 2010, Grandville had 15,378 inhabitants, according to the Kent County census. Grand Rapids is just south of Grandville and is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. The city was first established in 1833 and then re-established in 1933.
Logging activity in Michigan’s history was geographically important at the “river-bend” of the Grand River, where Grandville is located. It was vital to have people there to ensure that the logs didn’t jam as the river turned north-west toward Grand Haven.
Because of the 1980s recession, Grandville experienced more development than before, as a result of the increased population in the Grand Rapids region. Color measurement and manufacture X-Rite were two of Michigan’s greatest success stories in 1987, one year after going public. Following the 1990s, a lot of development was anticipated in Grandville. In 1999, a mall with 1.25 million square feet of store frontage was completed on Ivanrest and 44th Street. It was named RiverTown Crossings.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the city covers 7.25 square miles (18.78 km2) of land and 0.43 square miles (1.11 km2) (5.93%) of water, for a total area of 7.67 square miles (19.87 km2). The Grand River runs north of the town, across from Grand Rapids, and Walker is north of it. The town is bounded on the east and south by Wyoming and on the west by Ottawa County.
All of Grandville’s governmental functions are handled by a council-manager system. The city manager, Ken Krombeen, is responsible for overseeing all of the city’s departments. The council is made up of six members and a mayor, all of whom are elected for life. The mayor has no veto authority and therefore plays a largely ceremonial role. Three council members are elected every two years.
There are currently seven men on the city council, and Carol Pettijohn, the mayor pro-tem and the only woman on the council, retired in 2019. Business manager J.R. Vanderwall was appointed to fill her position. Steve Maas, a business owner and the current mayor of the city, succeeded long-term mayor Jim Buck in 2013.
Tim Steenstra, the former Director of Grandville Christian Schools, and his son, Andy, a sales manager, became the first father-son duo on the city council in 2019. In 2021, Randy Gelderloos, a former councilmember who had been defeated in the previous year’s election, ran again and won. Carl Levin’s constituent liaison Paul Troost, Justin Noordhoek, a teacher, and Josh Meringa, a registered nurse, complete the council.
There are 6,276 housing units at an average density of 863.3 square miles (333.3 sq. km) in the city. 92.0 percent of the population is white, 2.2 percent black, 1.5 percent Asian, 1.8 percent other races, and 2.4 percent multiracial. Six percent of the population are Hispanic. Of the 5,982 households, 33.5 percent have children under the age of 18 present, 54.5 percent are married couples, 11.0 percent have no male spouse present, 4.1 percent have no female spouse present, and 30.5 percent are nonfamilies. There are 24.9 percent of people living alone, and 10.2 percent of people over 65 years old. The average household size is 2.54 people, and the average family size is 3.06 people.
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