Our Story

Our Mission

“We just tried to take everything up a notch so that people can really enjoy the space when they come,”

- Brad Veneklase

Christa Ferguson, Wood TV8, "New hotel open in Grand Rapids: Inside The Finnley", Nov. 5, 2021

Brad started his career in real estate reinvesting back into Grand Rapids. He was always on the look out for interesting properties that he could bring back to life.

In 2005, Brad chose to concentrate his work specifically in downtown Grand Rapids. There wasn’t much downtown at that time but it felt like growth was around the corner and those feelings couldn’t have been more on point. Grand Rapids is absolutely thriving. It’s rated as one of the top places to live in America in 2021 by Livability. The city is full of bustling breweries and a thriving arts and culture scene. Downtown is the place to be when visiting this midwestern city and it has so much to offer.

Brad followed his intuition, bought a downtown condo, and started brokering real estate deals at some of the larger condominium projects like Union Square Condos and Boardwalk Condos. He then decided to start his own brokerage, Urban Soil Realty, in 2014 to expand his services to residential and commercial sales and leasing as well as downtown development.

“My wife and daughter believe in me and what I do. When I bought 65 Monroe Center I did not have plans for the building. I started figuring out what the best use was and decided on a hotel. I knew I had to call it The Finnley (after my daughter). Having them being part of the design and creation was fun for all of us. I hope that owning a place downtown makes Finnley proud, gets her involved in the downtown area, and ignites her future career, as downtown did for me.”

— Brad Veneklase

Brad and his family are excited to share this exquisitely designed space with native Grand Rapidians, frequent Grand Rapids travelers, and those that are experiencing downtown for the first time.

We hope your stay is as exciting, enriching, and pleasurable as the love and care we’ve put into bringing The Finnley to life. Thank you for taking the time to experience everything Grand Rapids has to offer!

If you're looking for an event space or another option in Grand Rapids, check out our sister property, The BlueJay Hotel & Events, located in the Bridge Street Entertainment District.