2014 and Beyond Building Shopping
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PS:1 will not be able to fit in its current space forever. Opinions on when the move should happen are varied, but we should enter any process well-informed and ready to make a good decision.
The space
- Industrial flex - commercial zoning or betterff
- 13,000 square feet as a minimum
- Existing office/lounge space is desirable.
- If we book with a legitimate company, they may have available the services of an architect/planner and offer buildout as part of a lease
Location
- Close to CTA is important.
- Close to metra is also useful.
- Closer to downtown can encourage groups (similar to LUG) to meet at the space.
- Maybe something like an abandoned school, shuttered Dominick's, old warehouse, etc.
Space requirements
Previous hunts (Newhackspace; 2011 New Space Search) have listed out relevant requirements. They're a good springboard.
Accessibility
- Wide doorways
- Hand rails in bathrooms
- Elevator
- if there are raised entryways, have some ramps that help people drive through
Existing amenities
Power
- Ample household circuits in all rooms - at least 2 20A circuits per room for lounge/classroom. 4 20A circuits for electronics. 8+ 20A circuits in shop, to be distributed by overhead cord reels, in addition to circuits for tools.
- 3 phase is a must. Bonus points for disconnects in place around shop space
- 400 amp service for the building
Rooms
- Multiple single-occupancy bathrooms at minimum.
- Shower in one of those bathrooms is a plus
- A room to hold meetings/classes/lectures, separate from project working areas.
- Small, offfice-like rooms for quiet workspace
Other utilities
- Existing shop air
- Existing dust/fume extraction and ventilation? Feasibility of install?
Parking
- Free street parking has been sufficient in our current space
- If there's a lot on site, 15-20 spaces would probably be the minimum for usefulness (think events like LUG)
The Process
- Begin search ~9 months before move-in date
- "real" companies will offer incentives for quality lessees and long-term leases
- build out, services of building planner
- start of occupancy months in advance of start of payment - allow us to possess two spaces simultaneously for an orderly move
- our neighborhood is very close to PMD zoning
- http://secondcityzoning.org/zone/PMD
- this is good for us
- find and hire real estate lawyer