Finding a space
From Baltimore Node Wiki
Search criteria
Price range
Less than $1000 a month, initially.
Ideal locations
Close to public transportation, near active culture. In the interest of safety, a neighborhood in which we won't attract negative attention or in which organizations like this already exist.
Must have
What are our power requirements?
Bathroom facilities?
Security:
- Windows either covered or up a level
- A strong door with a solid lock
Nice to have
- 2,000 to 25,000 square feet stand-alone, zoned for mixed use.
- Target of $0.50 to $1.00 per square foot total monthly cost.
- Heavy power (400 amps or more, 3-phase).
- Open flex floor plan.
- Fenced back yard or secured side area for working on large projects.
- Secured storage.
- Roll-up door from yard into building for vehicle projects.
- Nice enough area that a parent would drop off their children for classes, and feel safe if we offered intro to electronics projects classes.
- Loading dock
Can't have
- Heavy lead paint (ANY lead paint)
- Asbestos
- Limited ventilation options
- No working plumbing
Legal / insurance / zoning considerations
??
Location types
- Church - Generally large open spaces, plus some office/residential space available. Sometimes includes parking.
- Bank
- Library
- School - The following recommended for closing after 2008/2009 school year:
- Highlandtown Middle #43
- Harlem Park Middle #78
- Dr. Roland N. Patterson, Sr. Academy #82
- Elmer A. Henderson Elementary #101
- Southwestern High School #412
- Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy #429
- August Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts #430
- Renaissance Academy #433
- Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School #420
- Academy of Career and College Exploration #427
- Light Industrial
- Garages — Garage bays are very cheap, have large doors, and offer modular space. It might be possible to lease several neighboring garages for additional space. On the other hand, there is unlikely to be running water or bathroom facilities and heating/cooling could be problematic.
- Store front — A store front would give us more visibility in the community, be easy to find, and invite passersby to see what we're up to. The price per square foot is likely to be higher than other location types.
- Residential home — An entire town house would yield a lot of space with a kitchen and bathroom facilities. Neighbors might be upset with noise and lot of activity around the space. Wood and metal working could do damage to a residential interior.
- Warehouse — Lots of cheap space where we can be noisy and messy. Bathrooms and plumbing could be dodgy and kitchens are unlikely. Warehouses tend to be out the way and more difficult to find for people unfamiliar with the location.
Possible Leads
Google Map showing all leads (Anyone can add markers to this map, try to keep it in sync with the table below)
In order to separate signal from noise, please add entries to the appropriate table.
Less than or equal to $800, Rent, Utilities, Insurance
| Address | Contact Info | Description | Square feet | Monthly rent | price / square foot (monthly) | Links | Contacted by us? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Load of Fun - 120 North Ave (Station North Arts District) | Sherwin Kelly has email | One big room, currently used as theatre. See tour notes on LoadOfFun. | ~700 (18.5' x 36.75') | $600 | $0.97 | About Load of Fun pics | Yes (Kelly + 7) |
| Address (copy and paste this row when you add) | contact | description | square feet | rent | price / sq ft | links | contacted |
Over $800, Rent Utilities, Insurance
| Address | Contact Info | Description | Square feet | Monthly rent | price / square foot (monthly) | Links | Contacted by us? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 463 E 33rd Street 21218 (Charles Village) | Mr. David (410-653-0900) | Former Blockbuster, so one big room. | 4133 | $4000 | $0.97 | ? | Yes (Avery Boyce) |
| 2980 Falls road (Hampden/Remington) | Krauss Real Property Brokerage (410-329-9898) | There are some tenants there now. Nice location on a bike route. Right above Ruintown and below an artist studio | 1300 | 1300 | $1.00 | pics | No |
| 3500 Ash Street | Preller Properties 410-235-7891 | There's a big banner hanging on the building advertising Industrial/Commercial space. Preller Properties / Hilltop Mgt. has a few sites in Hampden that might be interesting. Left fairly generic message 6/29/09. | 1000 - 5000 | ? | ? | ? | Yes (Avery Boyce) |
| 920 Cathedral Street | Mandy Lippman mandylippman@gmail.com 301-770-2007 office 301-770-0898 cell | two story, 5 bay garage, townhouses, parking spaces. Buildings are in "rough shape", Mandy is interested in doing a deal. Garage space or attached row houses are both possibilities. Said $1000 might be a little low, but would consider $1500 for two story garage space, potential for splitting with other groups. Adjacent to the Waxter Center, which may be redeveloped | 8800 | ? | ? | ? | Yes (Avery Boyce) |
| 432 E 32nd St | David, owner (410-653-0900) | Former Halal grocery store, so one room with half-finished basement. Power for industrial freezers etc. Bathroom in basement. Nice storefront on 32nd street, close to other stuff and parking. No outdoor space, only front door entrance, air conditioning but no info on additional ventilation. | 1000 | $1500 | $1.50 | pic | Yes (Jon Lesser & Avery) |
| Around corner from Charles Theatre, Kelly Egan has address | contact | description | 450-500 | 750 | 1.66 | pic | Yes (Kelly Egan) |
| 20 N Eutaw | Former club "The Tunnel" Current tax assessment ~$1m | 55,000 available | |||||
| 506 N. Howard | Mayfair Theater. City Owned. Probably no roof. (Beautiful facade, Definitely no roof -JL) | ||||||
| 1002 N Eden St | Ida Allred (410) 276-2772 | SCOPE sale $29,900 | |||||
| 1518-1536 W. Baltimore St | Chris Cooke 443.802.2728 | Warehouse, 8 car parking, loading dock, office space w/ conference area, loft. | 10,000+ | offered at $3,500/mo. Negotiate! | $.35 or less | listing | yes |
| 2334 Guilford Ave | Steve 202-320-1000 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1248631869.html Negotiate! | 5300 | $2000/mo | $.38 | ||
| Hillen Street | 443-854-1310 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1244832722.html | 1500 | $750 | .50 | ||
| Address (copy and paste this row when you add) | contact | description | square feet | rent | price / sq ft | links | contacted |
Incomplete Listings
| Address | Contact Info | Description | Square feet | Monthly rent | price / square foot (monthly) | Links | Contacted by us? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 720 S Montford ave | April Love Raimond, Prudential Carruthers Realtors 443-474-4404 | For sale (Guessing South, not North -JL) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 1534 Fleet St. | meatP Real Estate info@meatp.com 443-630-9507 | Three Floors (1000 sq/ft per floor) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 1442 Fleet St. | 410-866-8088 | Fells Point Futon Factory. Zoned M3 | 15000 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 3205 Fait Ave | 410-935-2817 | For sale | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2713 North Point Blvd | 410-592-6300 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1253092840.html | |||||
| Catonsville | 410-979-0856 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1253292746.html | |||||
| Unknown | 410-592-6300 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1253093229.html | |||||
| Essex | 410-592-6300 | http://baltimore.craigslist.org/off/1253069747.html | |||||
| 118 N Liberty | |||||||
| 1600 Bush St | |||||||
| 201 S. Central Ave | |||||||
| 170 S. Central Ave | |||||||
| 3 N. Central Ave | |||||||
| 1601 Warner | City Owned | ||||||
| Address (copy and paste this row when you add) | contact | description | square feet | rent | price / sq ft | links | contacted |
Questions for a Potential Landlord
- What power is available?
- Can we weld, cut, grind materials in here?
- Do we have roof access? Can we put antennas on the roof?
- Policies regarding alcohol
- Lease length. Early termination fee?
Resources
Online Industrial Real Estate Search
- Long and Foster (Change map options to "rentals" and "commercial/industrial"
- MacKenzie (rerun search for industrial in Baltimore)
- Craigslist commercial rental
- Loop net
- City Feet
Letter to potential landlords
should express who we are and what we seek to do in an extremely positive and socially uplifting light. the word "hacker" should be deemphasized.
DRAFT
We're hoping for something in the range of 500 - 20000 ft^2, amenable to being used as light industrial/technological workspace. A garage or something similar would be best.
The goal of Baltimore Node is to build a membership based, non-profit open creative space where folks can hold classes, attend workshops, and generally geek out on hardware and electronics. A few examples are:
