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Mosaic Makes Its Bid at BH

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Members, organizers, supporters and friends of the Mosaic Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) hope to rally the city of Benton Harbor to their cause, as they tell the story of Mosaic on the Move at the Monday night Benton Harbor City Commission meeting.

Having launched their Mosaic on the Move Capital Campaign to help relocate to a new center with their varied programs, the organization ran into some hiccups when City Commissioners shot down a plan that had been put into place by city management without their involvement. The groundwork for that plan stemmed from a disputed move by a previous emergency manager, prior to the city being returned to local control.

Armed with a capital campaign goal of $850,000 to effectively relocate the Mosaic Retail Store, their Jobs for Life Program and Harbor Shine enterprise to a single site at 200 Paw Paw, the group wants to reassure City Commissioners that the move would be a good one for everyone involved, including the city.

Organizers say that the new building will provide classrooms and computer labs for the Jobs for Life program along with office space for instructors and all Mosaic staff members. The resale store will have a larger space and room for a Mosaic Boutique. Plans are to move the Mosaic Cafe to its own building in downtown Benton Harbor at a separate location yet to be disclosed. The new Cafe would allow for an expanded menu, outside seating, additional catering and job training opportunities.

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Mosaic was founded in 2009 by Rev. Brian Bennett with a number of community leaders and churches. The vision of the organization has always been "A movement mobilizing God's people to seek the peace and prosperity of our city, our region, and beyond."

City authorities balked at the earlier announcement of a Mosaic move to 200 Paw Paw because it had been built using a federal grant from the Economic Development Association to be used as a business incubator creating economic impact and jobs. Mosaic leadership says they would use the property for those same purposes and have demonstrated complete alignment with the building's intent, the city's hopes, and the EDA's lien restrictions.

The Mosaic crew has financing in place to purchase the property from the city. The capital campaign is designed to eliminate future debt and help fund the necessary renovations and improvements on the property. 

The Benton Harbor City Commission agenda for Monday night includes discussion of 200 Paw Paw and Mosaic's bid to relocate to that property after brokering a deal with real estate authorities and the city manager. 

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