Holland voters say 'yes' to land sale, clearing the way for landmark development

HOLLAND — After weeks of debate and years of planning, Holland voters spoke on a crucial land sale during the special election Tuesday, May 2, passing the proposal by a comfortable margin of 3,633 to 2,088, according to unofficial results.

The proposal to sell the former James DeYoung Power Plant at 64 Pine Ave. and a piece of land at 255 Kollen Park Drive needed 60 percent "yes" votes to pass. The vote clears the way for a transformational waterfront development planned by Holland-based company Geenen DeKock Properties.

“This was a big decision point tonight in what’s been a five year process of community engagement," Mayor Nathan Bocks told The Sentinel. "The community clearly said they would like us to move forward. Now the work begins in making sure we fulfill the vision of Waterfront Holland.

“I think this will be a truly transformative project for the community. This is one piece of a larger Waterfront Holland vision we’ve had. It’s also Kollen Park, Van Bragt Park, Window on the Waterfront, Windmill Island. The entire waterfront in the city of Holland provides all of the different kinds of access and uses people have said that they want."

More: Holland's march to the waterfront is almost a reality — but will voters approve?

More: Holland remains divided days before transformative land swap vote

GDK is eyeing a land-swap with Verplank Dock Co. — hoping to give Verplank the former James De Young Power Plant and teeing-up big plans near Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant.

The city of Holland invited GDK and two other developers to submit proposals in 2021 as part of "Waterfront Holland", which began as a community visioning process for the future use of the defunct coal plant and creation of a broader waterfront area downtown.

The other two developers invited to submit plans declined to do so.

GDK's original plan was a mixed-use development with 108 units of housing across four buildings, plus a 50-room hotel, a marina with private and transient slips, a "boat-watching plaza," a restaurant and ice cream shop and a much-needed docking area for cruise ships.

A revised plan shared with Holland City Council in January included most of the same items, plus potential docking for the Holland Princess — but focused more heavily on access and traffic flow, adding a public park.

The project is slated to include development of the former Tool Works property and two other city-owned spaces in addition to the former Verplank site, providing a direct connection to Holland Civic Center and the rest of downtown — finally completing Holland's long-awaited "march to the waterfront."

Economic benefits outlined to council include construction jobs, permanent jobs, on-site sales, new resident spending and new visitor spending, with an estimated annual economic impact of $19.7 million to Ottawa County.

But the proposed development failed to resonate with some voters, who argued the heavily commercialized plan failed to incorporate Hollanders' feedback and didn't offer enough public access to Lake Macatawa.

“We want to see more public space,” protest organizer Stacy Hurd told The Sentinel last week. “We don’t feel this proposal honors the feedback that the city spent years gathering from its citizens. We want to see more friendly amenities, more opportunities for recreation, more opportunities to enjoy being on the waterfront.”

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

Bocks said the city has to navigate between providing what residents requested and doing something economically feasible. He said some private development is needed because the city doesn’t have the resources to develop the property without raising taxes.

“There needs to be some sort of private development, profit component to this, otherwise it’s not going to happen,” Bocks told The Sentinel last week. “What we’ve got to do is navigate between what the public has told us they'd like to do and what is economically viable and feasible to do."

Don't expect GDK to break ground tomorrow. The project will need to go through several phases of approval, including going before the Holland Planning Commission, and could change in the process.

“This will follow the same development process, follow all city codes, the Unified Development Ordinance, same as any other project would," Bocks said. "There will be a lot of permitting required, both city and state. I imagine it will be months, if not years, before any shovels hit the dirt on this.

“The public is going to have the ability to be involved in this process, provide input, at the planning commission level, the city council level. There will likely be multiple meetings at each of those levels."

— Contact editor Cassandra Lybrink at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink. Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland voters OK land sale, clearing the way for landmark development