ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Downtown Ada is set for another round of development, with a new three-story mixed-use building planned along Headley Street that will bring commercial, office and residential space to the heart of the village.
For those who call Ada home, downtown’s continued growth is hard to miss.
Alison Kraai Mckee, who lives in the village, serves on the Ada Business Association board and helps organize community events, sees the development as another part of that momentum. She regularly walks to downtown businesses and events and believes continued development can help connect different parts of the village while bringing people to local businesses.
“There’s a lot of positive momentum going on in Ada, and I think it’s just drawing more people. Whether they come here to go to the events or parks, and then they see the community that’s here, and then they want to maybe move their business, larger or smaller.”
Alison sees the area around the development as a potential walking corridor connecting newer and historic parts of Ada with the library, shops and restaurants.
A parking lot becomes a three-story development
The project will transform an existing area along Headley Street near the Amy Van Andel Library into a three-story building. The first floor will include commercial space and indoor parking, the second floor will contain office space and the third floor will have residential condominiums.
The building’s triangular design has earned it the nickname “Flatiron.”
Ada Township Planning Director John Said said the shape is unique.
“Very rarely, in my experience. I cannot recall any time when I’ve worked myself on any kind of a plan review of a triangular shaped building."
Said referenced similarly shaped buildings in downtown Grand Rapids and New York City.
Growth brings concerns for some neighbors
As more investment flows into the heart of Ada’s village, Kristyn Brady, who lives in the Ada area, said her concerns are less about development itself and more about ensuring that growth and investment extend beyond the village core. She said she would like to see similar development and improvements reach other areas of the township rather than being concentrated downtown.
“I guess my concern would be that there are other parts of Ada that maybe don’t get as much attention as this downtown project, and it feels like this project is becoming sort of full.”
Brady said she supports development when it is done well, but believes long-term planning should consider how people get into and around a growing downtown and how the broader community benefits from that growth.
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Parking and pedestrian access during construction
The building will include 15 indoor parking spaces and approximately six or seven outdoor spaces. The development process is also expected to create an additional 21 parking spaces behind the building on township property.
Construction will temporarily affect how people move through the area. Some sidewalk access and parallel parking in front of the site will be restricted to provide space for construction operations and help separate the public from the active construction site.
Headley Street itself is expected to remain open. Downtown Development Authority Director Kevin Austin said visitors will continue to have plenty of other parking options downtown.
“We do know that the construction is going to create some disturbance on there, but there’s still going to be large, large amounts that are going to be accessible to the public.”
When construction could begin
Neighbors could begin noticing activity at the site as early as the end of November.
Township officials said the project could be underway by early spring 2027, depending on factors including weather and construction conditions, with construction expected to take roughly a year to a year and a half.
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