Thornapple River Drive Was Due Back This Week. It's the First Finished Piece of the New Tassell Park.

Where Cascade Road crosses the Thornapple near the dam, the village has looked unfinished for most of the fall. Thornapple River Drive was fully closed from Cascade Road to Berger Drive starting Sept. 29. The Kent County Road Commission listed Oct. 27 as the end date. During the closure, local traffic could reach the road from the west by way of Thornhills Avenue. Drivers could not turn in from Cascade Road because of the signalized intersection and the work zone next to it. In its Oct. 14 update, Cascade Township said curb work was mostly done, paving was scheduled, and the road was on track to reopen by the 27th.

The road work is the first piece of a new layout for Cascade Village to be finished. That layout moves cars back from the river and adds two park entrances on the sites of two former auto shops, one on each side of Cascade Road. Most of the visible change comes later.

The Road Came First Because the Parking Is Moving

Phase I mostly happened at curb level. The township's Reimagining Tassell Park project page lists the work as demolishing the remaining pavement and old building foundations, setting new curb lines, resurfacing the road and relocating utilities. The Oct. 14 update said utility poles in the median were about to be moved.

The reason to start with the street shows up in the parking plan. According to MLive's Sept. 1 report, the parking along the river will be replaced with angled street parking farther down Thornapple River Drive. Once the cars move, the shoreline is open for the rest of the plan. The walkway along the water will be rebuilt as a boardwalk, and the bank will get native plantings to help control erosion. Supervisor Grace Lesperance told MLive the new boardwalk is meant to make the shoreline more usable and inviting for anglers.

So the curbs poured this month set up the boardwalk, plantings and fishing access to come. Parking had to move first.

Two Auto Shops and a Former Doctor's Office

The park is 3.2 acres. It's growing by taking in properties the township spent years buying. The township page says the project began under the name "Former Tuffy Muffler & Auto Services Site" before it was folded into the larger Tassell Park plan.

Together, these sites explain the plan. Tassell Park now sits on one side of a busy signalized intersection. The Tuffy site gives it a front door on Cascade Road. The Verburg's site, across the street, will hold the other end of a pedestrian crossing that runs under Cascade Road along the riverfront. MLive reported that the underpass is meant to give people on foot and on bikes a safe way across the intersection.

What the Spring 2027 Work Adds

The township says most of the construction starts in spring 2027. MLive reported that the underpass is part of that second phase. The township's list of planned features includes:

• A sunken plaza and water feature on the former Tuffy site
• A natural playground
• A flex space for food trucks
• An event pavilion and patio closer to the river, which Lesperance said residents will be able to rent for small events
• A new boardwalk along the shoreline
• A fire pit and Ruby's Gazebo
• New benches, tables and other seating
• The pedestrian crossing under Cascade Road

Some details are still being settled. At its Oct. 13 weekly meeting with the Troyer Group, township staff talked through seating around the pavilion, Ruby's Gazebo and the fire pit, along with lighting and security. According to MLive, the park's existing pavilion and restrooms will stay.

How a Roughly $10 Million Park Is Being Paid For

The Troyer Group took over design in August 2025. The Troyer Group announced the project that month, and the township says the Cascade Downtown Development Authority approved the contract on Aug. 19, 2025. Troyer picked up the work from the earlier Village Reimagined plan drafted by OHM Advisors.

According to the township's Aug. 26 board agenda packet, the Phase I base bid awarded to CarbonSix Construction was $661,598.60. A $96,515 alternate was approved only for use if the township couldn't use the Kent County Road Commission's paving contract for the resurfacing.

That first contract is small next to the full project. MLive put the total at about $10 million, all covered by the DDA. MLive also reported that the Township Board authorized up to $13 million in capital improvement bonds and that the DDA will repay the township for the annual debt service. Under the development agreement the DDA approved, the township issues the bonds and the DDA reimburses it each year from its tax increment financing revenue.

Lesperance described the goal to MLive this way:

"We're making it more usable and safer for connecting with bikers and walkers. But at the same time, we're not just developing it – (we) really are trying to keep that focus on the natural beauty and the riverfront."

Public input shaped the design along the way. FOX 17 reported that residents commented on the plan at a Dec. 8, 2025 open house. Lesperance told the station the design reflects what residents ranked as a priority, a walkable village. She said much the same at the Sept. 17 groundbreaking, telling WZZM 13 that the walkable village should keep its small-town character and its setting on the river.

Two Finish Dates on One Page

The township's own project page gives two completion dates. The Oct. 14 construction update says completion is "still slated for fall 2027." The project overview farther down the page says the whole project should be finished by the end of spring 2028, and WZZM's groundbreaking story used that same date. The fall 2027 date is in the newer update. The banner at the top of the page still lists the estimated completion as TBD.

Here is the timeline as the sources lay it out:

1. 2019: the township buys the Tuffy site
2. 2025: the Tuffy building is demolished and the township buys the Verburg's property
3. Aug. 26, 2026: the Phase I contract is awarded to CarbonSix Construction
4. Sept. 17, 2026: groundbreaking at Tassell Park
5. Sept. 29 to Oct. 27, 2026: Thornapple River Drive closed for road and parking work
6. Spring 2027: most of the park construction begins
7. Fall 2027 or end of spring 2028: completion, depending on which part of the township page you read

The Village Calendar Before the Spring Crews Return

Between now and spring, the next big village gathering takes place on Thornapple River Drive. The township lists Christmas in Cascade for Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. at the Cascade Historical Museum, 2839 Thornapple River Dr. SE.

Something closer at hand is happening tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29, away from the work zone. The township's free Halloween Hustle is a one-mile fun run for kids at Cascade Recreation Park, starting at 5:30 p.m. Costumes are optional, and refreshments are part of the listing. Event times sometimes change, so check the township's events pages before heading out.

Once the boardwalk, plaza and underpass are built, they will change how residents use the corner of Cascade Road and Thornapple River Drive. If you live near Tassell Park and want to talk about what the plan could mean for your street, Kate Houseman is glad to go over it with you. Schedule a free consultation.