The City of Lansing has plans to give the Common Ground music festival, other musicians and performance artists a permanent space on the Grand River with the construction of a $1.7 million outdoor amphitheater.
“This will really bring our parks up to a national level and we’ll look like Chicago or Seattle,” says Murdock Jemerson, Lansing Parks and Recreation director.
The amphitheater will be in the Adado Riverfront Park off of Grand River Avenue in downtown Lansing. The proposed theater will include a stage, speakers, storage space, restrooms and dressing rooms, and will weigh 50,000 pounds.
Funding for the Lou Adado Riverfront Park will come from the sale of the current City Market building. The sale is part of the city’s plan to move more market businesses down 
to the riverfront. Developer Pat Gillespie is planning to buy the City Market and redevelop the area around the property, turning it into a $45 million mixed use space.
“This will help us become an entertainment district and be a magnet for people all over the country,” says Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero about opening up the riverfront.
The city hopes to break ground on the project in 2009.
Source: Randy Hannan, City of Lansing
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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