Deborah Johnson WoodA $1 million-plus renovation is transforming a former Huntington Bank building on Grand Rapids' northeast side, preparing it as permanent offices for the Michigan nonprofit Migrant Legal Aid."For 37 years we've rented space and moved three times," says Executive Director Teresa Hendricks. "We've outgrown our space at 648 Monroe NW. Our office is hard to find because it's a suite within a downtown building and our clients speak very little, or no, English. They find it intimidating to navigate cities." The new location at 1104 Fuller NE has on-site parking and is accessible with only one turn off either US-131 or I-196.Migrant Legal Aid provides civil legal services to migrant workers across Michigan. Hendricks says they serve clients at the office and at the camps where the attorneys monitor the workers' living conditions, help them maintain their income, find health care, and get food, shelter and clothing. The nonprofit intervenes to prevent crises between the workers and the farmers, police, schools and others, and represents the migrant workers in court when needed. "We've seen families living in chicken coops, sleeping on a mattress covering the drain on the bathroom floor, and open sewer pits," says Hendricks. "Some of the women want to speak to us about their rights when it comes to domestic violence. They're afraid of the police, of their husbands, of the system."The new offices include "an extremely private office designated for domestic violence cases, so we can address the problem out of earshot of the husband," Hendricks says. The former drive-through banking area is now a learning center for tax clinics, immigration clinics and employee training. A combination board room/conference room/legal library incorporates an existing vaulted ceiling and skylights. Eight offices will provide enough extra space for the firm to bring on an immigration attorney and a paralegal. Hendricks says the building will be LEED certified. A $1.9 million capital campaign goal is underway. "By owning the building, we will save about $50,000 annually in rent," Hendricks says. "That's money we can put into programming instead." Source: Teresa Hendricks, Migrant Legal AidDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

An expanded wind power development plan by a European company proposed this week to add a wind farms offshore in Lake Michigan, to attract a wind turbine manufacturer and to use a local alternative energy laboratory for research. All of this could mean hundreds of jobs for West Michigan.According to excerpts from the story:Scandia Wind Offshore unveiled a $4 billion regionwide wind energy development plan Monday that seeks to attract a turbine manufacturer and thousands of jobs to West Michigan.Adding to its earlier plans for a wind farm near Pentwater, Scandia now wants an offshore wind facility six miles off the Grand Haven pierheads. It also suggests a smaller onshore wind farm at the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System, a utility-sized "test turbine" for the eastern end of Muskegon Lake and offshore turbine research and testing at the Grand Valley State University Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.Read the complete story here.

Do you think about starting your own business in West Michigan and not sure where to turn?

Public schools across Michigan have been struggling for years with cutbacks in state funding and dropping enrollment, while costs for employee health care continued to soar.

Holland-based Louis Padnos Iron & Metal Co. has invested more than $1 million to install a huge rooftop solar energy system at its recycling facility in Wyoming.

Deborah Johnson WoodKathleen Jackson doesn't sugar-coat the story when she says finding the right location for The Candy Shop Café was an answer to prayer – the words come straight from her heart. Jackson and her husband Michael, both 29, opened the combination coffee shop/café/candy store at 2404 Eastern Ave. SE in February. Michael, a former personal chef and a food services manager at Saint Mary's Health Care, operates the catering side of the business. "About three years ago I met Barb Bush, the owner of the building," Kathleen Jackson says. "The first café in this spot had just closed down and I heard about the fire with the hardware store next door. Once I saw the space, I thought this would be an amazing place for us to continue what we were already doing, which was catering. I said, Lord, if you open the doors, we'll walk through." The shop is in the same building as Sundaes in the Heights, directly behind the popular ice cream spot. Both spaces were damaged in 2006 when Alger Hardware caught fire."My husband and I worked for a candy company and loved it. We loved people coming in and seeing the candies they used to get when they were kids," Jackson says. "So we have a small retro candy store inside the shop that sells Dots, Mary Janes, Slo Pokes Suckers, Gumballs, Jaw Breakers. We also carry fudge and gourmet popcorn from Pentwater Popcorn."The café offers breakfast sandwiches including vegetarian wraps, coffee, lattes and cappuccinos. The lunch menu includes gourmet sandwiches – ham and cheese, Reuben, club – and a build your own sandwich option with a selection of breads, meats and cheeses. Taco salad and a chicken Caesar salad are popular picks right now, Jackson says. Customers can keep up with store events on Facebook at The Works Candy and Catering Company. Store hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Source: Kathleen Jackson, The Candy Store Café Related ArticlesNew café in Alger Heights revitalizes vacant building, brings jobs to neighborhood40 years of business resumes after Alger Heights store fireDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].