McAllen, TX Chamber Backs Creative Incubator Initiative
Third Place now open on N. Main Street
Welcome, all McAllen brainstormers.
In 2018, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce launched Third Place on the 2nd Floor, a modern collaboration space that features private offices and workstations for creative individuals and companies to grow their businesses. The innovation center is located at 601 N. Main Street, on the second floor of the McAllen Creative Incubator building.
“This new collaboration space fits into the overall innovation programs that the chamber is pushing and sponsoring these days,†says Steve Ahlenius, president and CEO of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. “It is designed for folks to meet up and have so-called ‘collisions,’ with the hope that artists will end up collaborating on projects with software developers, that programmers will get together with app developers, and so on and so on.â€
The chamber is sponsoring the project in partnership with Wells Fargo and Texas Wilson.
“This is the chamber and our partners trying to attract, retain and encourage inventors and entrepreneurs to successfully launch their ideas to market,†Ahlenius says. “Third Place on the 2nd Floor has quite a few bright people already occupying space there.â€
The Old Church Winery
The chamber is also involved these days with The Old Church Winery, which opened its doors in 2017 as an upscale venue for hosting special events. The building is at 700 N. Main Street in the heart of the city, and plans are for it to also become the first urban winery in South Texas.
“The building is an old former church that was scheduled to be torn down, but the chamber decided to save and renovate it,†Ahlenius says. “Today, it has beautiful architectural features like bright picture windows, refurbished floors, a wooden beam ceiling, rustic wood doors and cedar accents.â€
Ahlenius says the building can now be used as a corporate meeting space or a unique spot for hosting special events.
“Currently, it’s a meeting space, and we are working on the permitting process to also make it into a winery,†he says. “At that point, The Old Church will feature a wine bar along with its existing full catering kitchen, an exceptional sound system and new air conditioning units. It’s sure to become a favorite place for people to host functions.â€