DETROIT — The Southeast Michigan Region of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC) Detroit service location has a new home. It is now operating out of the former Barden Building, located at 163 Madison Avenue in downtown Detroit, across from Comerica Park.
Formerly housed in TechTown, the Eastern Michigan University-operated MI-SBTDC service location will counsel clients out of the historic, 1908 building, now owned by Grand Valley State University (GVSU). The building will now be called GVSU Detroit Center – 163 Madison.
GVSU purchased the building earlier this year and plans to house its Charter School Office there, supporting the 24 charter schools it operates in the Detroit area. GVSU houses the State Headquarters for the MI-SBTDC at its Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
“We are excited to be in downtown Detroit,” said Wendy Thomas, associate regional director of the MI-SBTDC Detroit location. “Being in the heart of downtown will enhance our visibility and position within the community and of course, allow us to continue to serve the small business owners of Detroit.”
The MI-SBTDC is a statewide business assistance program that provides no-cost one-on-one counseling, business education, market research and technology commercialization support for Michigan small businesses. It annually works with more than 14,500 businesses with 56 percent being existing businesses, with many being growth companies that employ more than 10 employees.
The Southeast Michigan region is headquartered at the Eastern Michigan University College of Business in the Center for Entrepreneurship and serves Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties with full service locations at the EMU Business Center in Detroit, the Schoolcraft College Business Development Center in Livonia, the Oakland County Business Center in Waterford and the Macomb County Business Center in Mt Clemens.
