THE SPACE
When you book The Cheney Place for your event, the whole building is reserved. Just for you. We like to think of the building as a collection of functional spaces. Different rooms to meet the needs of your dynamic event. But I guess on a more practical level, you could think of it as extra elbow room as well. Elbow room with style that is.
First Floor
The first floor is a 10,000 square foot urban palette for your main event with original polished concrete floors surrounded by iconic frosted windows. The exposed wood beam ceiling is lined with cafe lights so it’s easy to ‘set the mood’ and we have hooks strategically placed throughout the room so hanging chandeliers over seating vignettes or tables is no sweat. And if you’re having a dance at your party, we have an installation of 21 disco balls that can definitely help with the vibe.Whoever built the building conveniently put the historic steel vault right near the front door as if they knew someday we’d be using it as a coatroom. And then we also have a large bar in the center of the room (with the option of 2 additional rolling bars), and a side room where your vendors can hide their ‘stuff’ and lounge when they’re off-duty.
The nice thing about a big empty room is that it’s easy to tailor the space to your needs. We can no doubt recommend layout options that work great, or if you’d like to start from scratch, we’re happy to start with the most basic first question, “what would you like to do here?!”
Second Floor
The second floor is a vintage modern lounge complete with nine seating vignettes, cocktail tables, appetizer tables and a bar backed with stain glass windows and beefy french vintage doors. Our collection is an eclectic mix of victorian, mid-century and urban industrial furniture lit entirely by clusters of chandeliers. This space is the perfect overflow for your cocktail hour or for hosting collaborative team discussions during a seminar or workshop.The second floor also has a bridal suite, two bathrooms, and a changing/nursing room for guests with young children.
Parking
Parking is your guest’s first experience with your event. It’s their first impression. Which makes it one of our highest priorities.We have 55 parking spaces right on our property with free street parking all around our building. This provides ample parking that will spoil guests who are used to parking meters and parking garages. If your party has more than 300 guests, we also have overflow lots available.
But having a parking spot is only half the issue. Helping your guests find a parking spot is where great impressions begin, which is why your event package includes parking lot attendants who guide the flow of traffic and direct each guest right to their parking spot. Nice.
Proximity
The Cheney Place sits on a quiet stretch of 1600 Monroe Avenue. Part of Grand Rapid’s urban building restoration row, it is framed by a collection of beautifully renovated industrial buildings-some more than 120 years old.The Grand River is right across the street, and we’re only 1.5 miles to the center of the city. That means we enjoy the benefits of being right by our city’s leading hotels, restaurants, microbreweries, business and cultural events while being able to enjoy free parking and zero traffic. And for couples getting married in our space, it also means we’re just two minutes away from great portraits in the city.