West Michigan Hispanic Chamber opens its new hub on Godfrey Avenue

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting Monday for its new headquarters, a two-story building at 1111 Godfrey Ave. SW, near Hall Street. The chamber calls it the Hub for Latino Economic and Talent Advancement.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand were among the officials at the ceremony, along with U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten and state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, MLive reported.

Guillermo Cisneros, the chamber’s president and CEO, said the building will host conferences, training programs and community celebrations, help people start businesses and connect college students with local employers, according to MLive. He called it a “dignified space” for West Michigan’s Hispanic community, FOX 17 reported.

Inside are a 150-person event space, several meeting and training rooms and a courtyard for outdoor events, WOOD TV8 reported. There is also a children’s lounge, something the old headquarters didn’t have. Cisneros told the station that would-be business owners often come in with their toddlers and babies.

A ground-floor café run by Corazón De Café will sell coffee, Mexican pastries, sandwiches and other food, and anyone can use it. “If you want to utilize our facilities, you don’t have to be a member,” Cisneros told WOOD TV8.

The chamber runs programs in Spanish, which Cisneros told the station is essential when walking owners through accounting, strategic planning or human resources.

The chamber moved in about two months ago, according to WOOD TV8. Cisneros told the station about three-quarters of the neighborhood’s residents are Latino, and that the goal is for longtime residents to share in new development: “instead of gentrifying and pushing people out, we want to bring people in to be part of this development.”

LaGrand pointed to aging industrial buildings nearby and called the project “a flag planted” in the neighborhood, MLive reported.

About $6 million of the cost came from federal, state and local sources, including a $5 million state grant and $850,000 in federal money, and private donors paid for the rest, according to MLive. The city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority also approved up to $513,450 in tax-increment reimbursements for demolition, site preparation and public infrastructure, MLive reported.

Cisneros has wanted the building since 2018, but the pandemic delayed the plans. The chamber started a capital campaign in 2023 and broke ground in May 2025, WOOD TV8 reported.

“This hub is going to represent opportunity — a gathering space. It’s about community and helping Hispanic businesses grow,” Whitmer said, according to FOX 17.

Sources:
MLive, “West Michigan Hispanic Chamber opens $10 million headquarters in Grand Rapids,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/10/west-michigan-hispanic-chamber-opens-10-million-headquarters-in-grand-rapids.html
FOX 17, “New Hispanic chamber hub aims to expand opportunities for Latino businesses,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/new-hispanic-chamber-hub-aims-to-expand-opportunities-for-latino-businesses-workers
Katie Rosendale, WOOD TV8, “Event space, café: Hispanic Chamber unveils $10M headquarters in Grand Rapids,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/event-space-cafe-hispanic-chamber-unveils-10m-headquarters-in-grand-rapids/
West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, “Building Our Futuro”, https://westmihcc.org/building-our-futuro/
Image: AI-generated illustration by The Mitten Daily.

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