Children’s Healing Center completes $8.5 million expansion in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – West Michigan’s recreational facility for immunocompromised youth and young adults has completed its move to the East Beltline.

Children’s Healing Center is now located at 1580 E Beltline Ave. SE in Grand Rapids, formerly owned by Calvin University, after living on Fulton Street for the past nine years.

The center, which has expanded from 7,000 to 15,000 square feet, offers families a free refuge from the burden that a complex medical diagnosis can bring. The new space was renovated to meet the needs of the nonprofit’s growing membership base.

RELATED: What’s being built on the Beltline? It has a gym and a cafe.

Melissa Block, director of development and growth at the Children’s Healing Center, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that the expansion would not have been possible without an $8.5 million fundraising campaign.

Construction took about a year, starting in August 2023 around Labor Day. The nonprofit officially moved into the renovated building late this summer and began programs in the new location last month.

“Each room allows us to serve more people at the same time,” says Block. “It is specifically designed to limit the spread of disease so that our families can travel somewhere with confidence. We are there for the whole family, because if one person has to be careful, everyone does, and if one person in the family suffers, everyone suffers.”

The Children’s Healing Center serves families with a child ages 0 to 26 who has a life-altering illness that makes them more vulnerable to others.

Families using the space have at least one eligible child who is immunocompromised, often preventing them from visiting public places for fear of getting sick.

“That isolation and loneliness that a complicating illness can impose on a family really takes a physical and mental toll,” Block said. “So at the center they can have friendships and community, and the caregivers can really get a chance to connect with people who understand what they’re going through.”

Some of the new key features of the 15,000-square-foot space include:

• A half gym for fitness and group classes, sports activities and various other programs throughout the year, where all members can play more freely.
• Entrance and intake space for multiple family health screenings at the same time, and ample space for wheelchairs, walkers and strollers, as well as places to store items.
• A mechanical room with a high-performance HEPA-HVAC unit, a water filtration system and other equipment necessary to ensure the integrity of the center’s ultra-clean environment.
• Extensive exploratory play to support exploration and play-based learning, including an educational environment for the centre’s Little Tots University Preschool and spaces for creativity and imagination.
• Special art and snack area for Little Tots University.
• Space for teens and young adults to participate in group activities and games.
• Separate communal areas for parents and carers to relax, including a café, lounge and advice room.

Block reminds the community that the organization is a non-profit and there is no charge to use the space.

“We want this to be a free service, and we rely on the generosity of the community to help us make that happen,” she said. “We want to build friendships with families here who understand these challenges. It really is something beautiful.”

For more information about the nonprofit and its other new location in Ypstialnti Township, visit Childrenshealing.org.

Want more news from the Grand Rapids area? Bookmark your local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free “3@3Grand Rapids” daily newsletter.