New home on Ward Parkway: $4M minority chamber project brings Black, Brown entrepreneurs under one banner
March 5, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
A history-making project on Ward Parkway — said to be the first minority-owned property on the storied Kansas City thoroughfare — already is demonstrating the power of unity amid divisive times, said Kim Randolph.
Unveiled to the public Saturday, the new Minority Chamber of Commerce Development Center at 9100 Ward Parkway is now home to both the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce and and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — two competing organizations that in many communities would otherwise be competing for resources and political influence.
“It is our duty to make this a historic moment, a historic place, something that is going to be positive in the history of this country that’s being divided right now,” said Randolph, president and CEO of the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce Saturday at a ribbon cutting for the joint development center. “We are uniting. And that’s something that’s not heard of.”
The development center — in a space formerly home to InQuest Marketing — was made possible by $4 million of Community Project Funding secured by U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri.
U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, details federal funding that helped support the Minority Chamber of Commerce Development Center during a ribbon cutting event for the project; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“That $4 million can be translated into visibility and into a brick and mortar,” explained Cleaver, who presented the chambers with a large check and joined in the ribbon cutting. “I’m looking forward to more opportunities and for better opportunities for us to work together. Because if we work together, there are few things we cannot accomplish. If we work together, this community will have to stop and take notice. When they take note, they will realize that some of the best, smartest, and most energetic people are in the Black and Brown community.”
The joint partnership is the first of its kind in the nation, officials said Saturday. The two chambers have always worked together, noted Carlos Gomez, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, but that collaboration really took off during the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“We were worried about the Black and Brown businesses that may not have the resources and the information that were connected with us,” he said. “And from that other collaborations came. We collaborated on CARE dollars. We collaborated on other grants, and before you knew it, we’re here. There’s no such thing as coincidences. This was meant to be.”
Carlos Gomez, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Kim Randolph, Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce, share a laugh during a ribbon cutting for the Minority Chamber of Commerce Development Center at 9100 Ward Parkway; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
The 15,000-square-foot building with multiple levels will allow each chamber to have its own floor to provide resources for minority businesses looking to start and grow to the next level, Randolph and Gomez shared.
Randolph specifically thanked Brian Olson — former owner and CEO of InQuest Marketing, which was acquired by Walz Tetrick Advertising in January 2023 — for holding onto the building for them for a year until the two chambers could buy it.
“This is not only a historic moment for us,” she added. “But this is historic for Kansas City. I don’t know if anybody realizes, but this is the first minority-owned piece of property on Ward Parkway. As Kansas City is growing to obliterate that redline that has divided us, we are part of that history.”
Nilson Goes, IEC Engineering and Construction, speaks at the Minority Chamber of Commerce Development Center; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
This joint partnership is the birth of a transformative movement, noted Fahteema Parrish, owner and president of Parrish and Sons Construction, a member of the Heartland Black Chamber.
This Minority Chamber of Commerce Development Center symbolizes hope, opportunity, and progress for other entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders like myself,” Parrish continued. “So I want to say, ‘onward and upward, and continue to press this forward. We are all stronger together.’”
“I think today is a fantastic day,” added Nilson Goes, president of IEC Engineering and Construction, a member of the Hispanic Chamber. “The coming together of two chambers like this — to me — is long overdue.”
Check out more event photos below from Startland News’ Nikki Overfelt Chifalu and Taylor Wilmore.
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Opening day: Long-awaited halal food franchise arrives in KC with more locations on the menu
Osama Hanif was as hungry for an opportunity to prove himself as he was to eat his favorite halal food in Kansas City, he said, reflecting on the years-long process to open an east coast franchise restaurant in the Midwest. “Once I had my first taste of growing a company, I knew I wanted to…
Amplified to scale: Superstars initiative shines brighter as Chamber widens spotlight (Photos)
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. For the roughly 400 entrepreneurs who gathered Wednesday at lightwell, being a small business owner began to feel like something much bigger, said organizers of the KC…
Tamba Hali traded cleats for beats; former Chiefs linebacker’s latest music release runs from the field to the fine arts
Tamba Hali spent his entire 12-year NFL career with Kansas City. Now — as an Afrobeat recording artist — the home of the Chiefs still factors heavily into his career. On Valentine’s Day (and two days after the Chiefs Super Bowl victory), the former Pro Bowl linebacker released his latest music video — “Fine O”…
From exclusive to expansive: What Pipeline’s first hire in three years (and a $3M grant) mean for its efforts to close region’s resource gap
Kansas City — and the world — miss out when the potential contributions of promising entrepreneurs goes untapped, said Don Carter, pointing to Pipeline Pathfinder’s impact on minority, women, and rural-based entrepreneurs. “There are so many people doing so many dope things, so many cool things in the world, but they just aren’t connected to…