CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 170,000 people in Mecklenburg County identify as Latino, but this community and local businesses do not have an economic hub that tailors to their needs until now.
The Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte seeking solutions to help people and their upward mobility. the chamber breaking ground on Spark Centro.
The $20 million center will serve as a workforce development and economic hub in the Albemarle Corridor of east Charlotte. It will help the Latino community, which is the fastest-growing demographic in Mecklenburg County.
“The east side has historically been a blank canvas, but it has many small diverse businesses," Gris Bailey, President and CEO of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, said. "So it is time to help them scale up. It is time for them to professionalize."
The center is on 9 acres and 45,000 square feet. SPARK Centro will house nonprofits, and host skill-building workshops, entrepreneurship training, and recruitment.
“We want to take our careers to the next level and we want to become better entrepreneurs,” Maurizio Frattini, founder and CEO of Immigrant Culture, said.
Two years ago, Frattini took on a blank canvas and created immigrant culture, a local coffee roaster.
“Coffee is incredible, it is in every culture of the world,” Frattini said, as he explained how he came up with the name for his business. “All of the coffee comes from Africa, it is native to Ethiopia. After it was discovered, it made its way through the world, picking up little bits of culture.”
With the right support from the LACCC, the picture Frattini had for his business became clearer.
“When I first started, I didn’t know what a banner was,” Frattini said. “The biggest challenge is not knowing what you don’t know, but in places like this, you are able to meet people that will help you, that will give you a hand.”
The chamber hopes to have this canvas ready to open in 2025 so businesses in this growing Latino community can hone in on their craft.
“Every time I see a new Hispanic, Latino business, I don’t care if it is coffee, a bakery, a new restaurant, I get excited because I know what we bring to the table,” Frattini said.
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