7/15/21 - Tech company relocation brings investment to underserved Grand Rapids neighborhood

The Madison Square neighborhood will benefit from a new company.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI —(Mlive) -  A long vacant industrial property in Grand Rapids’ Madison Square neighborhood was bustling with activity Wednesday as an information technology company hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new facility it’s building there.

MCPc, a Cleveland-based technology logistics and data security company, is working with Rockford Construction and Amplify GR on the $12.5 million project, which is expected to bring roughly 69 existing jobs and 26 new jobs to the area.

The building is slated to be finished by mid-2022. It’s located in the city’s Third Ward, a stretch of Grand Rapids that has not seen the same level of investment and new construction as downtown and other city neighborhoods.

“We have three facilities today, and frankly, we’re out of space,” said Andrew Shannon, president of sales for MCPc’s Michigan operations. “So, by moving into this neighborhood, we think it will give us an opportunity to give some of these folks job and career opportunities in IT.”

MCPc, which has about 80 employees in West Michigan, has two facilities in Wyoming and one in Kentwood. Those will be closed once its new facility at 1601 Madison Ave. SE opens, Shannon said.

The majority of the company’s regional employees would relocate to the new facility. Some, however, work on-site at various companies, such as Spectrum Health and Steelcase, that MCPc provides services for.

The new jobs do not require a college degree and carry a starting wage of $15 an hour, Shannon said.

“Entry level is $15, but the goal is to develop career planning and a career path,” said Michael Trebilcock, MCPc’s chairmen and founder. “If they want to take additional training that we provide, they can start at $15, and the top end is endless.”

The new, 51,000 square foot building is being constructed at the site of the former Dexter Lock Company factory, which was once a prominent employer within the neighborhood but has sat vacant for years.

Various manufacturers, including National Brass Company and Dexter Lock Company, were based at the building between 1916 and 2016, according to Amplify GR, a nonprofit neighborhood development group assisting with the project. The building has been non-operational, largely serving as a storage facility, for at least the past decade.

The building is now being demolished, with construction to start once that process wraps up.