Foundation moves HQ

Foundation moves HQ

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation, founded in 1925, started with $1,000 from one person and is now supported by thousands of philanthropists. It will soon occupy the former Arcus Foundation building in Kalamazoo. Courtesy Kalamazoo Community Foundation

Before moving to the Big Apple, a foundation left one last gift for West Michigan: its home.

Arcus Depot

Arcus Foundation, a social justice and conservation organization, has donated its 15,756-square-foot building in Kalamazoo to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.

For the past 40 years, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation has rented the third-floor space at the Comerica Bank building, at 151 S. Rose St., which sits about half a mile west of the Arcus Foundation building, referred to as Arcus Depot, said Shannon Bronsink, a spokesperson for the foundation.

On Aug. 28, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation will move into the building it now owns, at 402 E. Michigan Ave.

“We’re really excited to move to the new space,” Bronsink said. “One of the things about a community foundation is it will be around forever, so we’re excited to have a permanent home on a street level.”

The foundation also received a $1-million grant from the Arcus Foundation to help with renovation and moving costs, as well as about $750,000 from other donors.

Community spaces

The foundation will use the ground floor for office space and two stories of the building for meeting spaces for the community and foundation staff, as well as a gym.

“There’s also the winter garden,” Bronsink said. “It’s a glass structure that’s a large room. We’re going to have it as a soft-connect space and for informal team meetings. We’ll be having events there or community groups can have events and training there.”

Firms

A trio of Kalamazoo-based companies are managing the project.

Schley Architects is handling the project’s design.

The construction firm Miller-Davis Company is handling the project’s construction.

Sondra Phillips of SKP Design is serving as the project’s interior designer.