The Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce is moving. Here's why that's a big deal for entrepreneurs

La Risa R. Lynch, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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Ruben Hopkins, Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce CEO and Chairman, is all smiles on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at the new location of the the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce at 2900 W. Vliet St. The new two-story building that offers 25, 000 foot will undergo renovations and is expected to be open in a few months. The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. The 1923 building once housed a metal fabrication shop and more recently was storage space for a mattress facility.

A former mattress storage facility on Milwaukee's near west side will be the new home of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce.

The 17-year-old organization purchased the two-story, 25,600-square-foot building at 2900 W. Vliet St. for $400,000, according to the real estate agency Boerke Co.

The chamber had been in the market to purchase a building for some time, and this building became available at the right price, said Ruben Hopkins, the chamber's CEO and chairman.

The new location of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce at 2900 W. Vliet St. on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. The 1923 building once housed a metal fabrication shop and more recently was storage space for a mattress facility.

The chamber now operates out of a property it rents at 3020 W. Vliet St.

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The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. Hopkins said purchasing the building “aligns with what we stand for as a chamber -- to make Black people the largest employer of Black people.”

The chamber plans to redevelop the property for its office space and 40% of the facility will be used for business incubators and accelerators.

Ruben Hopkins, Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce CEO and Chairman, talks about his plans on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 for the new location of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce at 2900 W. Vliet St. The new two-story building has 25, 000 foot and will undergo renovations and is expected to be open in a few months. The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. The 1923 building once housed a metal fabrication shop and more recently was storage space for a mattress facility.

“The future of the nation’s economy rests on the revitalization of central cities around the country,” Hopkins said adding that Black businesses play a key role in that.

The 1923 building also once housed a metal fabrication shop. The building will not stray away from its manufacturing roots. Two tenants will do light manufacturing building prefab walls and trusses for home construction.

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The chamber purchased the building with funds from a $5 million grant it received from the governor’s office. The funding is part of Gov. Tony Evers' $1 billion investment to support small businesses and industries hit hard by the pandemic as well as communities that have been historically unable to access capital or credit to recover. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The bulk of the $5 million grant will support and seed the chamber’s initiative to create 3,000 new Black-owned businesses in the state by 2024.

“This is more about the example of what can happen when you put funding in the right people’s hands,” Hopkins said.

While he didn’t disclose renovation costs, Hopkins said the purchase of the underutilized facility will help revitalize the area.

Ruben Hopkins, Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce CEO and Chairman, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at the new location of the the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce at 2900 W. Vliet St. The new two-story building that offers 25, 000 foot will undergo renovations and is expected to be open in a few months. The move will allow the chamber to do more training focused on access to capital and business development to grow Black entrepreneurs. The 1923 building once housed a metal fabrication shop and more recently was storage space for a mattress facility.

“The goal is to bring the building back to a standard that we can operate in in an effective manner,” Hopkins said, adding that the building was just “sitting there with a bunch of mattresses in it. Now we are going to change that.”

La Risa Lynch is a community affairs reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at llynch@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Wisconsin Black chamber is moving, sharpens goal of growing entrepreneurs