By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Seven new business incubator spaces are only one of the business opportunities coming to Madison Square next year. Plans for renovating a long-vacant eyesore at 1167 Madison Ave. SE, the proposed $1.6 million LEED-certified Lighthouse Development Center, include a restaurant, a recycling center, and office space.
The Madison Square business district has seen a lot of changes in recent years: modern commercial spaces, attractive townhomes, a busy public library branch, the new Gerald R. Ford Middle School and a residential center for senior citizens. And the momentum hasn’t stopped.
The incubator, recycling center, and a breakfast restaurant developed by Robert Ball, owner of Southern Fish Fry, will occupy the main floor.
“The goal [of the incubator] is to take the person who has the dream and the vision for a business but doesn’t know how to make it happen and connect them with groups like Neighborhood Ventures, Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, Lighthouse Communities and others,” says Darel Ross, president of Lighthouse Communities, the developer.
“The recycling center will be run by School-to-Career Progressions, a program for middle and high school students” he adds. “They’ll take in recycling and hold classes on green initiatives.”
The second floor will become a hub for community services and a new location for Lighthouse Communities’ offices.
“We’ll have classroom space for our homeowner preparedness classes,” Ross says. “The neighborhood associations, the Boys & Girls Club, and other community groups can use the space.
“Lighthouse Communities develops for community revitalization,” he adds. “You can’t just revitalize buildings, you have to revitalize people or you end up with a community of new buildings but the same social issues going on.”
Destigter & Smith Architects is the architect for the project. To date, a construction manager has not been selected.
Source: Darel Ross, Lighthouse Communities
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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