Flooring by Design opens in Jordan

Flooring by Design provides various flooring solutions for homeowners, but its overarching goal is to help provide vocational jobs and training to former convicts, people disadvantaged in life and refugees. The business was started as a continuation of the work that Alves and his family do through Hope 4 Venezuela, their nonprofit organization that helps Venezuelan refugees.

“The business has a dual purpose,” Alves said. “It’s part profit, part giving back to the community, part helping train people who want to learn a trade.”

Alves, along with his business partner, Tim Altman, help provide a space for those just entering the trades to get a foot in the door. Altman, with 30 years of experience in the flooring business, helps with the actual installation and physical labor of a flooring business. And Alves does a lot of the marketing and customer outreach. Before entering the flooring business and his nonprofit, Alves and his wife, Emily, were engineers. Alves was a civil engineer and his wife was an agricultural engineer before making their nonprofit their main job.

Mayor Mike Franklin and city staff were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. While they were there, they got a tour of all the various types of flooring that Flooring by Design offers by Altman. The business specializes mostly in vinyl plank flooring and engineered hardwood, but it also has carpet options and installation.

In addition to Alves’ remarks, Franklin also gave a short speech at the grand opening.

“It’s always exciting to open a new business that’s making an investment into the community,” Franklin said. “In my time as mayor, I’ve never seen this many people at a grand opening and it’s really exciting to see.”

Flooring by Design is located across First Street from City Hall at 223 1st Street East. More information about the business can be found on their Facebook page or at 952-492-2211 or email gessi@flooring-bydesign.com