As the song goes, “when I get knocked down, I get up again,” and that’s exactly the attitude and plan for our friends at Cycle-Re-Cycle of Benton Harbor. The local not-for-profit bicycle shop essentially got knocked down by losing their original home along Main Street in Benton Harbor, however, they have recovered nicely and their move to a new home will provide great new additional opportunities going forward.
Cycle-Re-Cycle is moving onward and upward after closing the deal on a Benton Harbor building for their new operations.
Cycle-Re-Cycle recently signed the papers on new headquarters at 159 East Napier, a location that was formerly the long time home to Ivelise’s Yarn Shop. The organization’s Presdident, Michael O’Hearn says the new building gives the organization room to grow and build even more momentum for its mission to promote cycling as a healthy and environmentally responsible form of transportation for people in the Benton Harbor/ St. Joseph area.
If you’d like to get a look of the space prior to the planned remodeling, an informal open house will be held next Thursday, December 7th, from 5 – 6:30pm, with brief remarks slated for 5:30pm. Renderings illustrating what the new interior will look like will be on display, according to O’Hearn, and the remodeled store is scheduled to be opened April of 2018.
O’Hearn says, “The new building will have a showroom for bicycles and accessories that is more than double what we use to have.” O’Hearn worked closely with SCORE, a volunteer business mentoring organization, and Powell Construction in securing the deal. “More importantly,” he says, “It gives us added visibility and accessibility to children, teenagers, and adults who share our love for bicycles, the skills they teach, and the wonderful experiences they can give.”
Cycle-Re-Cycle’s mission for the community also centers around diverting used and discarded bicycles away from landfills to refurbish them. The operated across the parking lot from the original home of the Mosaic Re-Sale store and Cafe Mosaic until those businesses, too, were relocated to new sites in downtown Benton Harbor.
In conjunction with this expansion, Cycle-Re-Cycle is conducting a $50,000 fundraising drive for building renovations. Those interested in helping donate money, can find more information at the link connected below:
https://www.cycle-re-cycle-swm.org/donate
For more information, you can reach Michael O’Hearn at 269-470-3396.
