Recruiting firm opens downtown HQ

Recruiting firm opens downtown HQ

From Left: Ginny Koole, Ashlee Lincoln, Ashley Ward and Kelly Bos. Courtesy Hire for Hope

A social impact recruiting firm has moved out of a co-working space into its newly acquired office in downtown Grand Rapids.

Owner and CEO Ashley Ward this week held a ribbon cutting for her firm Hire for Hope’s new office space in Grand Rapids, at 49 Monroe Center St. NW.

The firm — which Ward founded in her home in Rockford, then moved to Start Garden’s co-working space — has operated out of Worklab by Custer, 99 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 200, since summer 2018.

Ward purchased the 3,000-square-foot second floor of the 49 Monroe Center building for an undisclosed sum through her company, Ward Ventures LLC, through which she said she plans to make other commercial real estate investments.

“This is a huge move for me,” Ward said. “As a young professional, it’s exciting to own a little slice of downtown Grand Rapids, the city I love and am passionate about. Now, I have room to scale my company and nothing to hold me back.”

Hire for Hope occupies half of the space she purchased, including a collaborative workspace area, as well as five private offices that will allow the firm room to grow.

The rest of the second level includes a shared lobby, full kitchen, large conference room, meeting room, and private office suites she is leasing to the IT company Custom Business Solutions and civil engineering firm Quandel Consultants, with two other suites still open for leasing. Tenants have rooftop deck and basement access.

The 49 Monroe Center building also houses six condominiums and the ground-floor restaurant Brick & Porter.

The location’s property manager is Anne Ficeli, of Grand Rapids-based Pure Real Estate Management.

Hire for Hope

Founded in 2017, Hire for Hope is an executive recruiting and talent consulting agency with three divisions: executive recruiting, talent optimization and career coaching.

The firm donates 10 percent of its revenue to Safe Haven Ministries, a Grand Rapids shelter and anti-domestic violence nonprofit at which Ward was once a client.

Hire for Hope currently has four full-time employees. Ward plans to hire two to three more in 2020, with a long-term goal of employing 10 to 12 professionals.