GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — By the end of the year, a new incubation hub is set to come online. Bamboo GR is set to call the former Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts building in downtown its new home.
This 40,000-square-foot building has been vacant for years. Many who have walked by or driven by have wondered if anything was ever to come of this space. On Thursday, I got a tour of the space as crews work to welcome entrepreneurs.
“This will be a co-working lounge. So imagine a lot of lounge furniture during the day, and then it can be a venue gathering space,” Bamboo Founder Amanda Lewan said.
This is her latest project, providing companies with a space to work.
“We started in 2013 in Detroit as a small community group wanting to help each other grow our companies, and then evolved it over the years to develop and operate buildings,” Lewan said.
This is Bamboo’s largest project to date. A lot still needs to be done as frames start to take shape of the different workspaces. Scattered throughout the building are floor plans showing what has been sold and what is still available to lease.
“We're almost 50% leased. So if you are thinking about getting a private space, we encourage you to come talk to our team,” Lewan said.
I walked much of the five-story, 40,000 sq. ft. building. One floor has a theater with around 200 seats. There's also a large 4,000 sq. ft. rooftop patio.
Bamboo has four other locations: two in Detroit, Royal Oak, and Ann Arbor. Lewan said that people who lease from one location have access to all the other locations throughout the state.
“We found that this building was also part of why we picked Grand Rapids. It was so unique and so iconic. We knew these resources, like the theater, needed to be activated in a way the community could use them again,” Lewan said.
The owner tells me this building isn't the only reason why she got the keys.
“Grand Rapids has a rich history of entrepreneurship, and we have so many friends and partners like Start Garden and Midwest House who have been building this diverse ecosystem here for entrepreneurship,” she said.
This space isn't just for entrepreneurs, but also for people looking to host events.
“We’ve partnered with Star Garden and Midwest House and a lot of our local partners to help bring this particular location back to life,” Lewan said.
Membership to use the space ranges from $60 to $500 a month. Lewan says right now they have 50 parking spaces, but are working to get more.
Bamboo offers tours on the third Thursday of the month, as they inch closer to their opening day later this year.
Incubation spaces for startups and tech enthusiasts are not new to Grand Rapids, with physical locations already established to support innovation.
According to the city, locations include Start Garden, situated on Pearl Street downtown, and The Bridge on Medical Mile. At The Bridge, the Michigan State University Research Foundation, along with Spartan Innovations, provides mentoring, programming, and networking opportunities.
West Michigan is also home to several other incubation spaces. The Surge Center in Holland is hosted by Lakeshore Advantage. Additionally, Grand Valley State University operates the Muskegon Innovation Hub. Another is Can-Do Kalamazoo, which hosts a small business support hub.
