Hello,
I'm currently working in a collective to start a community bike shop
in Fargo, ND. So far so good, we have a fiscal agent that is very well
respected in the community and is very hands off. We have many
interested volunteers, an agreement with our favorite LBS to get their
old tools and quite possibly their used bike inventory. We have quite
a bit of community support and really feel like we can make this work.
However, we have had difficulty procuring space. We as a city are
currently going through a period of "downtown revitalization" which is
gentrifying many possible locations. Downtown is strategically located
between two cities and three college campuses, so we would really like
to make that our home. Does anyone have any experience partnering with
other organizations? Does anyone have any good ways to talk to
property owners who are holding out to develop into office or condo
space? What are the incentives to rent/donate space to us? Also, we
are beginning our grant writing and are wondering if anyone has an
approximation as to how much we can reasonably write for, who are
friendly foundations, ect. Is there any shop that is funded in some
way other than through grants? Thanks, Andrew
Hi, Andrew.
Acquiring space seems to be the most difficult part of setting up a successful community bike shop. Because of the work that we do, we must be centrally located, and it seems that all the cities in the U.S. these days are experiencing central-city gentrification of some sort . . .
We here at the Yellow Bike Project in Austin (http://austinyellowbike.org/) have been around for ten years now, and have been extremely fortunate to have developed a relationship with the City early on; they have donated space to us for over eight years. This has really freed us up to work on a non-commercial basis, and provide our services for free to the community. However, we are currently in the process of finding a new space and working with the City again because our current space is slated for demolition so that (ironically) a road can be paved over it to access the redeveloped old airport site.
We have gotten a commitment from the City to provide us with a piece of land, but will likely have to build our own warehouse since unoccupied City-owned space is much harder to come by these days. But the point here is that you may want to approach your City to see if they can help. Maybe you can approach them with some sort of tangible service that you will provide to the City such as a free bike program for City Employees (we had a "white bike" program that provided bikes for City employees to check out during the day to run errands etc.)
Another likely place you might look for space is a school or university. If you intend to run educational programs, they may be interested in a partnership.
Good luck -
Jennifer
On 7/20/07, Andrew Bushaw plan_9@riseup.net wrote:
Hello, I'm currently working in a collective to start a community bike shop in Fargo, ND. So far so good, we have a fiscal agent that is very well respected in the community and is very hands off. We have many interested volunteers, an agreement with our favorite LBS to get their old tools and quite possibly their used bike inventory. We have quite a bit of community support and really feel like we can make this work. However, we have had difficulty procuring space. We as a city are currently going through a period of "downtown revitalization" which is gentrifying many possible locations. Downtown is strategically located between two cities and three college campuses, so we would really like to make that our home. Does anyone have any experience partnering with other organizations? Does anyone have any good ways to talk to property owners who are holding out to develop into office or condo space? What are the incentives to rent/donate space to us? Also, we are beginning our grant writing and are wondering if anyone has an approximation as to how much we can reasonably write for, who are friendly foundations, ect. Is there any shop that is funded in some way other than through grants? Thanks, Andrew _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Andrew,
We are in much the same situation in Wilmington, DE. The revitalization has made formerly undesirable properties extremely valuable. We are meeting with as many of the groups as possible to see if we can be a part of their efforts. If you and your org are handy (i would imagine so) you can offer to upkeep the property and even make general improvements to it. Make sure that people you talk to know that your group will be an asset to the community. Lastly, don't get discouraged...We've had many, many meetings and still no space. Every time we talk with someone there is more awareness about our organization and I'm sure that very soon we will find ourselves in a nice workshop space, as will you, doing good by bikes.
Peace & Good Luck,
Brian Urban Bike Project of Wilmington
On 7/20/07, Andrew Bushaw plan_9@riseup.net wrote:
Hello, I'm currently working in a collective to start a community bike shop in Fargo, ND. So far so good, we have a fiscal agent that is very well respected in the community and is very hands off. We have many interested volunteers, an agreement with our favorite LBS to get their old tools and quite possibly their used bike inventory. We have quite a bit of community support and really feel like we can make this work. However, we have had difficulty procuring space. We as a city are currently going through a period of "downtown revitalization" which is gentrifying many possible locations. Downtown is strategically located between two cities and three college campuses, so we would really like to make that our home. Does anyone have any experience partnering with other organizations? Does anyone have any good ways to talk to property owners who are holding out to develop into office or condo space? What are the incentives to rent/donate space to us? Also, we are beginning our grant writing and are wondering if anyone has an approximation as to how much we can reasonably write for, who are friendly foundations, ect. Is there any shop that is funded in some way other than through grants? Thanks, Andrew _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
We've had 8 different shops over 11 years. The current one works best: 2,000 sq. ft, wood floors, on a trail, near downtown the river and U., 2,000 sq. ft. out side secure storage. We pay $500 a month, and raise that money through the shop donation jar.
-Bob, Free Cycles Missoula
On 7/20/07, Andrew Bushaw plan_9@riseup.net wrote:
Hello, I'm currently working in a collective to start a community bike shop in Fargo, ND. So far so good, we have a fiscal agent that is very well respected in the community and is very hands off. We have many interested volunteers, an agreement with our favorite LBS to get their old tools and quite possibly their used bike inventory. We have quite a bit of community support and really feel like we can make this work. However, we have had difficulty procuring space. We as a city are currently going through a period of "downtown revitalization" which is gentrifying many possible locations. Downtown is strategically located between two cities and three college campuses, so we would really like to make that our home. Does anyone have any experience partnering with other organizations? Does anyone have any good ways to talk to property owners who are holding out to develop into office or condo space? What are the incentives to rent/donate space to us? Also, we are beginning our grant writing and are wondering if anyone has an approximation as to how much we can reasonably write for, who are friendly foundations, ect. Is there any shop that is funded in some way other than through grants? Thanks, Andrew
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
-
Andrew Bushaw -
Bob Giordano -
Urban Bike Project of Wilmington, Inc. -
yellow bike