Opinions and Strategies on Funding a New Larger MAG Lab Now

[Trent]

A new space has become available in our industrial complex, an opportunity to finally move into a larger space without the sacrifice of location and the upside of minimal cost of moving equipment.

Details on the proposed new MAG Lab location:

-Address:  3930 W valley blvd unit F

-3,900 square feet

-approximately 2/3 warehouse space and 1/3 office space

-2 bathrooms

-3 office rooms

-1 network room

-3 phase 208 200 service

-Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in the office space

-warehouse area has large ventilation fan

-Open relation with property owner to modify internals as needed

-additional 1.5 feet in vertical space

-1 "front office" door and one rear man door next to large roll up door

-numerous pre-installed electrical boxes for hanging ceiling power

-security system wiring and sensors (no cameras or motion detectors just reed switches at doors)

-modern thermostat

-next to dumpster

-south facing office

-less wall exposure to weather + orientation + higher ceilings = cooler warehouse area

I've hopefully attached a brief video (with some mild profanity) of the larger space here.

Please discuss, ideas plans and action on moving MAG Lab into a larger Industrial unit.

[profmason]

Thanks for the video Trent.  I won't be able to join folks tonight as Katie has an Orchestra performance. 

Thoughts:
1.  I am excited about a larger space in the existing complex, it seems like this would give us room to do the projects that we want to do.
2.  It seems that we need 6 distinct spaces to meet the needs of the hacker space. These spaces should be acoustically and visually separated.

1. Hang out area with couches etc.  
1. Socializing is a critical element of a hacker space.  We have this in our current space but it is implanted in the main space and thus doesn't harmonize with making.  Seems like we need about 150 square feet  in a room for this.
   
2. Presentation space
1. Something we haven't had, but recognize the need from other hacker spaces that we have visited. This needs to be at least 200 square feet to fit 20 people.  If we plan to offer classes as a revenue source we need a place to do it.
   
3. Electronics / Programming space
1. We have a SMALL space that basically fits 1-2 people.  My  sense is that we haven't been serving the large population of software / computer hackers because there hasn't been a space to serve them. This room should be at least 150 square feet.
   
4. Kitchen space
1. We have combined the kitchen with the electronics space.  I think a galley type space with refrigerator, stove top and sink would serve the space well. This doesn't have to be a large space but needs to have water and drainage. 50 square feet.
   
5. Bathroom with shower
1. We have managed without a shower so far, but it is something that we have listed as a strong desire.  We have had some great all night events and not having a shower has made it difficult to go from all night at the space to class or work.
   
6. Large open area for machine tools, woodworking and making. 
1. This has been the core of the space.  We have a good selection of tools to do most projects!  However, we have suffered from "horizontal surface disease" in that there hasn't been places to work on projects since the space is packed with tools and equipment. I think we have also suffered from not being able to have more then 2-3 people able to work in the space at a time due to limited open space. 

3,  Having a larger space would allow us to have a better space that more people could work in concurrently.  Thus we could have more members that were able to get use of the space. I think this new space could well serve 3 times the number of members that we currently have.  I could see 10+ people working concurrently on projects in the main space with 5-6 people working in the electronics room and 5-6 people hanging out in the hang out area.  I don't think this space would feel crowded with 20 people, which means we could sustain 60+ members.

4.  Based on the numbers for the 3600 space, we need to generate an additional $2500 a month to move in to the new space.  (Higher rent, utilities etc) This would put our total monthly budget at ~$4000 to have the space be sustainable. Trent may want to update these numbers based on this conversations with Warren.  To have this kind of revenue we would need:

1. 30+ keyed members
2. 60+ general members
3. $250 month in "other" revenue

5.  I would like to see us be able to fund a new larger space for at least 3 months before making the move.  What this means is that we should have enough pledges ABOVE current funding levels to sustain the new space to survive for 3 months while we try to DOUBLE our membership. I do believe that our membership will increase when we move to the new space, but we have to find a way to pay for the new space while we are gathering new members. 3x $2500 is $7500.  I can pledge $600 ($200/month above my membership for 3 months) I know that other folks will step up BUT we are not a wealthy community!  The $75 / month or $25/ month that folks contribute is already a large contribution to the community.  I think that folks need to look at how much extra per month they can put in for 3 months to get the new space started.  We need ideas for how to put this money together.  Here is revenue sources that I see.

1. Increase keyed membership cost
   
2. Increase general membership cost
   
3. Find other revenue sources
4. Increase number of keyed members
5. Increase number of general members.
   

6.  If we sign a 2 year lease and can't make it after 3 months, what are the consequences? 

To reiterate my points:

1.  The new space looks great!  It would  be AWESOME to be there.

2.  We need to have the money lined up to pay for it for at least 3 months.  This means commitments of $7500 above what we currently have in membership.

Cheers,

mmason

[John Cunningham]

Good breakdown Mason, thank you. 

Another idea to attract more members: structure and market (at least) the hang out area and the presentation room as a co-working space. I'm pretty sure this has been brought up before, but it would be worth exploring again in a big space.

I'm planning on being at the meeting tonight (as much as I can plan anything these days). Looking forward to seeing you guys, it's been too long!

John

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[John Cunningham]

Spoke to soon :P Won't be there after all. I will support whatever you-all decide..

[Trenton Wilson]

John

[Trent]

After some deliberation at the meeting last night, it was decided that we wont be financially able to make the jump on the 3,600sf unit.  There were two strong arguments against doing so at this moment in time.  The first being the concern over the slow and steady decline in membership over the past few months, where we had once maintained a comfortable 12keyed and 16general, we now only had 6 and 6.  we felt it would be wise to address why this was, and to see what could be done to recoup and increase our membership numbers from what they have historically been.  The second, and most critical point brought up, was that quite simply we have not been able to put enough funds away to pay for even a small portion of what would be required for us to move into such a large space.  Again, the issue of mediocre membership numbers lends to this point, however we do have a pretty real cap on how many members that we can realistically support here.  So, I feel that forward looking, we may have to attempt more aggressive "advertising" "public communication" and be more active in social media content creation.   How aware people are of us that support the idea of hackerspaces, the more that can be drawn from that pool whether it be fundraising membership or other tangible and intangible resources.  We need to figure out how to reach out to the community resources around us.  

To step back for a moment.  After the no-go decision, discussion immediately turned to making the space useful and the kind of activities we can foster that will have the strongest community and member support.  Everything from limiting the space commitment to a few activity types (machining, 3-d printing, work area, etc) by amputating the low use stuff, to reaching out to community interest groups and offering up a place for them to meet.  Details that I will get a bit more into in another post, as I feel that it is a separate discussion.

We will not be making a move to a 3,600sf unit at this time.

[End of Rant]