"From the Heinz boardwalk all the way to Window on the Waterfront, there's currently a gap where the public isn't really able to access the waterfront," Mayor Nathan Bocks told FOX 17 in May.
That sentence explains the shape of downtown Holland's shoreline. The waterfront along Lake Macatawa has two public ends, and a working dock sits between them. The plan to join them moves the dock first and builds the connection afterward. For the next few seasons, that order means the Kollen Park side and the Window on the Waterfront side work best as two separate outings, each with its own season and its own route from Eighth Street.
Why the middle stays closed
The property in the middle belongs to Verplank Dock Co., which operates at 233 W. 8th St. It's an active industrial site, and that use is the reason the shoreline in this stretch is closed to the public.
Waterfront Holland's answer is a land swap. Verplank would move to the former James DeYoung power plant site at 64 Pine Ave., and the dock's current property at the foot of Eighth Street would open up for waterfront development and public access. Voters authorized the sale of the city properties involved in May 2023, approving the measure 63.5% to 36.5% in unofficial results.
That vote allowed the sale of the land. It didn't move the dock. The DeYoung site has to be rebuilt before it can take on shipping operations.
The order the gap closes in
In late May, the city received an $11.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration for what it calls the Holland Intermodal Port Improvements project. According to the city's reporting, the sequence runs like this:
- Rebuild the DeYoung site. The grant pays for seawall reconstruction, on-site work for industrial operations, and public road and infrastructure upgrades. Bocks described the existing seawall as "upwards of 90 years old."
- Finish the paperwork. The city planned to spend the coming months meeting the grant's requirements, and City Council would later vote on a formal grant agreement.
- Move Verplank. Bocks called the site improvements and the dock's relocation "phase one." Work at the DeYoung site is expected in 2027 and 2028.
- Develop the end of Eighth Street. Later phases floated for the area include a marina, hotel, condominiums, restaurants, retail space, and possibly cruise ship docking.
The developer side moved in September. On Sept. 3, the Ottawa County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority unanimously approved $26,000 in EPA-funded grants to Geenen DeKock Properties for soil testing and brownfield planning on properties tied to the land swap. The Holland Sentinel's headline on that story said the development "could begin in 2027."
None of the reporting gives a date for Verplank's move or for public access at the old dock property. The only firm timeline is the 2027 to 2028 window for the DeYoung site, and opening the middle comes after that.
The two ends, side by side
The two public ends differ in almost every practical way. One is a long shoreline walk. The other is a park built around marsh views and, starting in November, ice.
| Kollen Park and Heinz Waterfront Walkway | Window on the Waterfront | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you enter | Boulevard entrance from 16th Street | 71 E. 6th St., near College Avenue |
| What it is | About 4,000 feet of walkway: 2,150 feet along Kollen plus 1,800 feet around the Heinz facility | Boardwalks, viewing decks and walking and biking paths overlooking marshland |
| On site | Fishing decks, bandshell, gazebo, playground, picnic areas, restrooms, boat launch | Nature playscape, open space, garden, athletic fields, parking at both ends |
| Cold-weather draw | Fall walks along the open water | Holland Ice Park, with a season listed as November to March |
The west end is the long walk
Kollen Park is where most of the walking is. The city's facility page puts the combined Kollen and Heinz walkway at about 3,950 feet, which it rounds to 4,000 elsewhere on the same page. The path starts along Kollen's north-end waterfront and wraps around the Heinz facility. City history also describes a parking area next to Boatwerks and connecting walkways west of the restaurant.
There are a couple of things to know before you go. Swimming hasn't been allowed at Kollen for many years, so this is a shoreline for walking, fishing and picnics. If you're putting a boat in during the last weeks of the season, the launch requires a $7 daily or $35 seasonal permit, and fishing is prohibited around the launch area. The separate fishing decks are the place to cast.
The same city page mentions a secured easement for another 2,000 feet of future boardwalk west of the park. The page isn't dated and doesn't say that segment has been built. For now, the walkway ends where the Heinz section ends, and the dock property sits east of it.
The east end gets busier as it gets colder
Window on the Waterfront follows a different calendar. The Holland Ice Park added a 700-foot skating ribbon, a circular rink and a curling sheet to the park. As of May 2025, MLive reported that East Sixth Street had recently been rebuilt with angled parking and snowmelt.
The first season beat expectations. Parks and recreation director Andy Kenyon told City Council that between opening day on Nov. 14, 2025, and the end of the season in March, nearly all of the 90-minute skating sessions sold out, along with more than 8,000 cups of hot cocoa. City manager Keith Van Beek said ticket sales, concessions and sponsorships would cover the park's operating costs. The project began with a $1 million donation from former teacher Frank Kraai, who gave his life savings to get it started.
According to WGVU's report, skaters came from Traverse City, Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. With sessions nearly sold out in year one, local skaters should expect competition for time slots. The visitor bureau lists the season as November through March, with tickets bought in advance. Opening day for the 2026 to 2027 season hadn't been posted in the sources we reviewed, so check Holland's ice park page before planning around a date.
Before the ice goes in, October is a quiet month here. The boardwalks and viewing decks over the marsh are open, and the nature playscape gives kids something to do between the two parking areas.
Starting from Eighth Street
The gap also shapes how you get to each end from downtown. No continuous shoreline route connects them. The Macatawa River Greenway, whose paved trail links parks across the region and connects to the Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail and US Bike Route 35, lists both Kollen Park and Window on the Waterfront as partner parks. Its materials don't show a shoreline trail across the industrial stretch between them.
In practice, each end has its own approach. For Window on the Waterfront, head north from the Eighth Street corridor to Sixth Street, then east to 71 E. 6th St. For Kollen, take city streets to the 16th Street boulevard entrance.
West Eighth Street has two new places to start or finish either walk. Lovejoy opened at 90 W. Eighth St. in late January, in the space Poquito used to occupy. It comes from Lucas Grill and 1983 Restaurants. The menu is scratch-made, farmhouse-style comfort food that draws on Grill's German and Polish heritage, with pierogies, meatloaf and roast chicken. Later reports also mention lake perch and whitefish schnitzel, which suit an afternoon on the water.
A few blocks east, Love's Ice Cream & Chocolate opened at 5 W. 8th St. on Aug. 15. Along with scoops, it has a soda fountain serving Lime Rickeys, phosphates, floats and milkshakes. Hours were announced before the opening and may have changed since.
One familiar stop has moved. Cakabakery closed its 82 W. Eighth St. shop on May 9 and moved its downtown business to its store at 48 E. Lakewood Blvd., where it planned to expand its offerings and hours.
So this fall, the waterfront is two outings. Lovejoy and a long walk around Kollen and the Heinz facility make one afternoon. A soda at Love's and the marsh boardwalks at Window on the Waterfront make another, and that one changes in November when the ice park season begins. The stretch between them stays closed until the DeYoung site is ready for the dock.
When the end of Eighth Street does open, it will change how downtown Holland meets the lake, and we'll keep following each step of Waterfront Holland as it happens. If you're thinking about a home near Lake Macatawa, or anywhere along West Michigan's shoreline, Steven A Elder can walk you through what's planned near the water and what's already there. Explore West Michigan Listings.
