Dearborn Visitor & Welcome Center

Project Description:

• The city is creating a new Visitor and Welcome Center in the historic, centrally located Bryant Library.
• Combined city, chamber and tourism resources will inform and assist visitors and investors.

Highlights:

• The Chamber of Commerce will relocate to newly constructed offices on the first floor, and the Visitor Center will be housed in a newly designed space adjacent to the chamber’s offices.
• The room will have modern technology, such as LCD screens and displays, to promote Dearborn’s various organizations and attractions.
• In addition to the chamber’s offices and Visitor Center, there will be a public conference that all Dearborn organizations and groups may reserve for free. It will have technology needed for presentations and meetings.
• Being in charge of the Visitor Center will help the chamber market its members, and both new residents and businesses will benefit because the chamber has contacts with local hotels, Henry Ford attractions and restaurants.
• The city’s mission is to boost tourism and attract home buyers through various approaches, including beautification of Dearborn and more marketing of the city. The creation of the center will aid these efforts. Jennifer Giering, president of the Chamber of Commerce, has said that “the support has been overwhelming.” The project team was fortunate to receive several grants and donations in addition to the Cool Cities grant.
• Other funding sources have been DTE, Motor City Heritage Fund, and the West and East Downtown Development Authorities. Additionally, Ford Land is donating all the furniture.
• “The Visitor Center is the final piece of our urban pioneer plan for providing incentives to assist first-time home buyers, entrepreneurs and developers in making it advantageous to locate in the West Village neighborhood,” said Cindy Grimwade, the project manager for the city of Dearborn.
• Construction of the Visitor Center is nearing completion, and the grand opening is set for Oct. 2. The center is located at 22100 Michigan Ave.