Downstairs available?

Okay, I’m just the new guy… but if this is true, it is a big opportunity. If the space is rented, it can be sub rented. If the Hive rents it… it has a say in what is done with it… otherwise not.

I am told is is damp, and leaky. Okay, so it might need a de watering pump and dehumidifier. If electricity and sewer are free… hey, this is cheap, just the install cost for the most part. Consider… any similar commercial space in the area is going to cost at leas 500k. That is a minimum down payment of say 50k, if not 100. I don’t think this is in the range of what can be agreed upon. A few 10’s k on space renovations? Much more doable.

Large storage spaces could be avail for a fee… odds are the floor is concrete, which is a plus for machines big and heavy. There would be room to separate clean and dirty processes. Room to grow.

Sure, the rental agreement may be a pia. But consider, changing locations sometimes doom an organization… and is also work :slight_smile:

Where did you hear downstairs is available?
-D

Current plans are to sign to lease (starting Feb 1, 2017) the adjacent ~600 sqft adjacent room that is on the same floor as our current ~3500 sqft space. Entrance to this adjacent room is through our currently locked back door, via the hallway (shared with the front stained-glass studio) that goes out a second set of locked doors to the back outside dumpster.

Former member 'PlayerTwo' used to lease the basement space for his video game business, but I am not aware we are considering this space for ourselves now.

JimD

I think we’ve got plenty of room for now.

Every meeting I have been to, it seems to me, conflicts and arguments about space are the norm. 600 sqft is a good start… but what is the cost of the downstairs unit? Sound wise, 2 floors down might be easier to work out than right underneath somebody. I mean if it is 4100 square feet for almost nothing… half could be modded into large private storage that rent out to cover the expansion. Say it is 1000 bucks a month. Set up 20x storage bays @ 50 apiece. or similar. But I think if it is passed up, it will be a great loss of opportunity.

have you seen the downstairs? you couldn’t pay me to want to work in that dungeon…

Maybe we could get a tour and setup a haunted house this fall. :slight_smile:

So, you guys will not mind me pricing it then. Okay. Can do.

Ok, I think there has been a misunderstanding here. My understanding is that the building owner is not interested in renting that space. I’m not sure where the impression came from that it was available, but I am not aware of any intention on the part of the building owner to rent that space to us or anyone else.

  • Ian B.

Was rented once… can be rented again. Landlords do like money. Place is a crap pile? Great. Can be renovated to suit Means it is cheap too. Landlords hate headache. If the noisy tenants move downstairs? Less headaches.

Is there really harm in asking what the current situation is?

Hang on, somewhere between your last email and this one you went from “setting up storage bays” to “moving downstairs”? Now that I can say with 100% certainty isn’t going to happen. For so many reasons. I’m not sure why you are quite so ardent about this when everyone who has actually been downstairs is saying it’s a bad idea, but if you really want to look into it I can’t stop you. However I would ask that you please not do so on behalf of the Hive.

  • Ian B.

The current space when we started out was in decent condition. The current state of this space is the culmination of 7 years of hard work by our volunteer members.

Most people use the hive in the manner it was created and intended: to work on their own projects, learn things, collaborate with people, create awesome things; not working and spending time improving the space. With our current compliment of motivated volunteer members who are working towards improving our space, we will have our hands full fixing up the space next door.

Unfortunately “vollun-telling” people to do things doesn’t work.

They have to be internally motivated and invested in wanting to spend time outside of family, work and their own projects to improve a space they are paying to utilize. It is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect anything else.

Apologies if there are typos or anything is off, as this was sent on a short break at work from my phone

Honestly, asking about if its available and pricing cannot hurt, it puts the Hive into no requirements to do anything. So if you want to price it for A) yourself, B) to give the hive an asking price and to put it up to a vote (which is how we work) as stated by many before, we are a do-acrisy, so go do it! The worse that happens is the hive votes no. No one can stop you from putting it up to a vote for money expenditure, if we have the money available.

Note: only members can put something forward as a vote for our membership. I apologize if you are a new processed member as we are a growing organization and not everyone meets all the new people, but no one could find membership information.

That was a main reason in requesting that this was not done on behalf of the hive, as I feel that should be done by our membership or leadership.

Elly: With how often he was posting, i figured he was a member. I do also know regularly the email listed here is not the email on paypal (my case for example)

When I spoke to Mike at the last meeting he informed me that he was not a member.

To be clear, we are not trying to push you away or discourage you from becoming a member in the future. Non-members and repeat guests can have great ideas and add to our community in the same ways as members. This is a matter of procedure.

You guys told me not to apply for membership until I decided it was right for me and I fit in. I was also told people as far driving time away as me did not last anyway. I figured you would untell me not to apply sometime, or tell me I did not fit somewhere down the road. Haven’t heard anything concrete yet.

A couple nice people showed me the spot. And explained some of the reasoning. And some of the common pitfalls of makerspaces and square feet. Yeah, it’d need new egress… but as storage? You could pack that place with pallet rack storage, set the first rack a foot off the ground to prevent water damage… and go.

All the arguments about storage could be solved.

Group said “We are not interested… nope, nope, nope.” I said I was interested in finding out more about it. Why is that threatening? At the moment any tenant can rent that space… it is open. Anybody can find out if it is available, and what it costs. I never meant I was going to represent the Hive. I meant I was willing to go find that information out. Still am.

See, I want to join a healthy growing organization. I went on a tool run *steady and follow rest for about 12 inch swing, cheap table saw" and missed the meeting. I had hoped that what was tabled last meeting would be discussed. I am told it did not come up. The decision at the last meeting was to talk about storage online in preparation for rewording a motion and voting this meeting. So, why am I on about it? We kinda decided as a group to talk about it online…Which is what I did. I provided a reworded motion summing the issues. Storage ties up square feet, which impacts work space… which more of is needed if capabilities are to be expanded. When I talked with you guys at the makerfaire, I was told you had bridgeports, and you had just expanded and bought a metal lathe. Whohooo! I came here instead of the other place. The metalworking cnc machines are all out for repair. And there is no good spot for them to return. Either something has to go… or some spot must be added. Maybe 600 square feet will do it. Maybe not. 600 square feet fills awful fast. A few workstations and workbenches and bam! All full.

Lots of smart people. Lots of views. Can’t claim I understand why things are the way they are, dunno the history.

But new people in general are going to talk about the issues and contribute. Some will be less shy than others. I am far past and too old for keeping quiet just to get voted in. Here are the warts, I am a frog… and no matter how many kisses I get, I ain’t turning into prince charming. Got space for a frog? Lemme know.

I wasn’t there for the previous conversation so I don’t have context here, but “Until you decide it’s right for you and you fit in” seems like an invitation to decide for yourself when to apply. I’m not sure why you would interpret that as needing to wait for permission? Sorry if there was a miscommunication there.

As far as the downstairs space itself, IMHO it is far too difficult to access to be used for member storage which needs to be accessed with any frequency. Which means the inevitable result will be that it will become a long term dumping ground for things that probably should have just been thrown out. People simply don’t throw things away as long as there is a corner to stash it in and as an organization we have had some serious hoarding issues in the past. And, for that matter, the present. Even if it was viable for member storage, it seems to me that we will need a new building long before we have enough members to need that amount of personal storage.

As I said in my previous email, if you are not doing so on behalf of the Hive you are welcome to look into it. But I would not expect the general opinion toward the idea to change.

And for the record, frog or otherwise, I’m not kissing you. :wink:

  • Ian B.

I’m hoping in donation money to be able to get the hive a 16 or so foot enclosed trailer. A bare bones older racing trailer would be perfect to store ptdr as we have to travel with it anyways… then when the time comes for a new space and the move, for what we would pay in multiple days of truck/trailer rental, we would save A LOT. Plus for makerfaire and events it would be awesome to have a wrapped in vinyl hive trailer with who we are. :slight_smile: I we can get ptdr out and other large non sensitive items we would clear and declutter quite a bit. However that is even a wish list item lol.

From what I have heard of and seen slighty from the years we would not be able to do much than maybe culture bacteria and have an mortician class? Although I’m digging a yearly haunted house. :slight_smile: