Cherry Hill Historic District is located in the southeast corridor of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It consists of three streets named after kings - James, Charles and Henry - as well as the west side of Eastern between Cherry and Wealthy, the north side of Wealthy between Eastern and Union, Cherry Street between Union and Eastern, and part of Packard Street.
Cherry Hill was historically designated in 1994 after neighbors came together to reclaim their neighborhood from crime and declining property values. Today, Cherry Hill is a thriving area filled with mixed demographics of individuals - many of whom with immediate local ties to area businesses. The homes are reviewed by the Grand Rapids Historic Preservation Commission to maintain historic accuracy, while homeowners can do anything they wish to the interior of their owned properties.
Businesses within the Cherry Hill Historic District include Cherry Hill Market, Donkey Taqueria, and Elk Brewing, and Cherry Park falls within the boundaries of this neighborhood.
History
In the early 1990s, the vast majority of properties were owned by absentee landlords and in a dismal state of repairs. Crime ran rampant, especially on Charles street, hockey stick wielding Cherry Boyz gang terrorized the neighborhood, drug dealing was all too evident and the "store" was a haven for both underage alcohol purchases, and other criminal activities.
That year two separate incidents sparked reaction from neighbors to band together and defend their neighborhood. In the first of these events, four neighbors who decided to walk the block from Henry to Charles, in broad daylight, were overpowered and beaten by youths- one severely.
The second incident involved members of the Cherry Boyz who came out of the store with hockey sticks in hand and began vandalizing properties on Cherry and attacked anyone who may have been outside their home. One younger tenant at 700 Cherry was held down on the ground while a fellow gang member crushed his leg with a large rock pulled from a retaining wall. Again, this took place about four in the afternoon. Soon after these incidents over 20 neighbors held a meeting at the current East Hills Office and it was decided to revive the old JHCCO Block Club. It was also decided that a concerted effort MUST be put in place to do something to turn the neighborhood around. Some members of that original meeting group are still property owners in the area and include Gabriel Works, John O'Connor, John Fetter, Sharon Wierenga, Ken Wierenga, J.B. Schott, Bill Peterson, Ron Portenga and Michael Smith.
At a second meeting held a couple weeks later, it was decided that the term "block club" did not fit the overall effort and John Fetter suggested the term "Cherry Hill", it was voted on and accepted. To this day it is that title that helps define our area from Cherry Street to Wealthy running north south and includes Charles, Henry and James running east to west.
After an arduous period of rehabbing, in which much of the neighborhood pitched in, the new Cherry Hill Market opened December, 1991. The transferring of ownership of the Short Stop Party Store marked a huge milestone and the end of "phase one" revitalization but much work remained.
During this 1991-1994 period Cherry Hill organized a series of "How to Own Your Own Home" seminars. These demonstrated how affordable Cherry Hill housing was and, with the help of realtors and mortgage specialists, demonstrated how first timers could actually own their own home! Starting in 1992 these were then supplemented by our "Practical Preservation Workshops" which demonstrated how home buyers could rehab their homes in the correct manner.
Today, Cherry Hill Historic District is a thriving residential and commercial area on the southeast cooridor of Grand Rapids that is seeing property values increase and vacant commercial buildings be swept off the market in favor of new businesses coming to the area. Walking down the streets, you'll meet all kinds of friendly faces - some whom are still present from the early years.