Lakeshore Advantage announces plans for new downtown Holland space
HOLLAND — During its recent 20th anniversary celebration, Lakeshore Advantage announced plans that will impact entrepreneurship in the West Michigan area for years to come.
In the announcement, it unveiled plans to build the “Next Center” for entrepreneurship and innovation. The plan is for a three-story, 20,000-square-foot office building that they will operate, to serve as a business incubator, community education space and the home of Lakeshore Advantage.
Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage
“The startup community is important to the ecosystem of even mature businesses,” said Neil Boehm, chairman of the Board for Lakeshore Advantage. “We work with startups all the time. Many times, they are thought leaders in technology. I think it’s going to add so much into the community.”
Lakeshore Advantage is located in Zeeland where it serves as a nonprofit economic development organization serving Allegan and Ottawa counties. In 2022 alone, the organization supported 33 business growth projects made up of $2.38 billion invested by local companies.
The Next Center will be in Holland’s SmartZone, at 65 E. Seventh St., and will feature a multifunctional first-floor business incubator with space for up to 50 tenants. There is currently an existing warehouse at the location but the plan is to demolish the current structure to make room for the new building.
The second floor will house Lakeshore Advantage’s headquarters to go with a home to second-stage startup companies and the third floor will house an anchor company and partner to incubating startups.
Lakeshore Advantage's Jennifer Owens said the organization has been working towards a center of innovation since 2015 when the Holland SmartZone was created. The hope is for the new space to be a welcoming place where start-ups can thrive while also being showcased to local employers.
Owens said it will also contain a 50-person learning lab to be used by K-12 schools, colleges, universities and nonprofits, allowing for entrepreneurial, innovation or technology education.
Total construction and operational costs are estimated to be $15.3 million. Lakeshore Advantage is seeking to raise $2.3 million in funding to finalize the project.
"This Center will be a visible, accessible technology hub in the heart of downtown Holland,” Owens said. “It will allow us to accelerate our next generation of business but also our established employers. To bring this dream to a reality and ensure it is world-class, we need to secure our final foundational funding.”
Construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed by the end of 2024.
— Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Lakeshore Advantage announces plans for new downtown Holland space
