Woodbridge development group launching arts/biz incubator with its new office space

A former bank building on Grand River at Warren will become a business and arts incubator and headquarters of the Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corp.

The actual bank building, at about 2,500 square feet, fronts the corner and will be used by WNDC for office and event space.

To the rear is another 2,500 square feet of storefronts that will house the incubator. The idea is to provide five entrepreneurs with individual spaces, plus a common space that would be developed by WNDC.

Possible scenarios include an office incubator with common copy and fax machines, a culinary incubator with common kitchen space, a glass-blowing incubator with a common kiln and furnace or a fashion incubator with common sewing and manufacturing equipment.

"The common theme is that we would be looking to find funding to build out the common area and whitebox the storefronts," says WNDC executive director Graig Donnelly. "Then there is a relatively small investment someone would have to make to be able to leverage that into a business for themselves."

Donnelly says that what the project incubates is besides the point. "It's not as important as the overriding incubator principle. We see a lot of promise in that kind of approach," he says. "We're trying to give artists the opportunity to make a living at what they do." Ultimately, Donnelly hopes the bank building becomes a corner hub for Woodbridge's burgeoning arts district.

WNDC will be hosting events in the space to raise money for its redevelopment. Contact Rachel Klegon at 248-894-0139 or [email protected] for more information.

Source: Graig Donnelly, WNDC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh