A2Y Chamber of Commerce moving Ypsilanti office into SPARK East and cutting hours

By Ben Freed Business Reporter

Posted on Sun, Jul 8, 2012 : 3:38 p.m.

Effective Monday, The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce is moving their Ypsilanti office just a few yards down the street.

The Chamber is moving in to the SPARK East Business Incubator at 215 W. Michigan Ave. The previous office, a 3,360 square-foot space at the Key Bank Building in downtown Ypsilanti, will be taken over by a Washtenaw Intermediate School District program for special needs students.

Diane Keller is the president of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce

“The Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce enjoyed close to two decades in that location, however with the merger of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Chambers two years ago, the large space was not being utilized to its full potential,” Diane Keller, president of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber, said in a press release.

After the merger, the Ypsilanti location went from operating five days a week to two, open only on Mondays and Wednesdays, said Trish Reilly, vice president of marketing at the chamber.

“We have been alternating so different employees work at that office on different days," Reilly said. "Our membership and sales people are the primary people working there, but as appointments come up, we all go over there.”

With the move to the new office space, beginning Monday the Chamber will only be operating in Ypsilanti on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

Reilly said the chamber is looking forward to the increased partnership with SPARK because both organizations are supporting business growth in the region.

“Ann Arbor SPARK is committed to using the SPARK East facility to support the economic redevelopment of Ypsilanti and eastern Washtenaw,” Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, said in the release. “We are pleased that the A2Y Chamber recognizes and will use the Ann Arbor SPARK East location.”

Along with changing location, the chamber will look to be more involved in Ypsilanti community events, Reilly said.

“We’re going to be involved in the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival,” she said. “And we are looking to have more after hours events and receptions in Ypsilanti as well as the ones we have in Ann Arbor.”

According to 990 tax forms from 2010, the most recent financial statements available on guidestar.com, the Ann Arbor Chamber paid $126,820 in occupancy costs, while the Ypsilanti Area Chamber paid $46,864.

The documents also reveal that the Ypsilanti Area Chamber was running a deficit of $8,160 for the year and was $101,241 in debt before the two organizations merged.

The space in the Key Bank Building had been shared with two other organizations promoting business growth in the region. The Michigan Small Business Technology Development Center, a Washtenaw Community College program, will move into the SPARK East incubator and the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, run by Spellman College, has moved to the Ann Arbor chamber location.

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