It's Happening!!

 

 

 

Hi all! It's Rick. I know – rehearsal space, studio space, windows, blah, blah, blah. How long have I been talking about all this?

 

Well, now we’re really here and things are actually being built! Progress is slow when it’s not just about you and your business alone, but I think getting something done the right and thoughtful way takes longer, but is worth it in the end. None of us, including myself, can do anything about droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or other natural disasters, but what we are all lucky enough to have here in Syracuse are man-made solvable problems, or as I like to call them, opportunities that are attainable to any and everyone who wants to hop in the game now!!

 

Here’s what’s supposed to get done and the updated progress report since this article on April 14th, 2015 : “After 10 years of waiting, the Gear Factory's $1.2 million renovation will begin next week” 

 

18-20 rehearsal studios - Well, kind of.

 

          • There are now going to be 22 rehearsal studios of even more sizes for a mixed variety of musicians and bands based on their size, needs and affordability.

          • The framers are about halfway done putting up the sound-deadened double wall framing so musicians can practice without having to worry about bothering other people and/or being overwhelmed themselves from the volume of others nearby.

          • A new heating and dehumidifying system is being installed to create a damp-free, well-ventilated, clean and reliably conditioned collection of spaces so musicians won’t have to worry about moisture or a lot of dust in the air.

          • Plumbing for the new men’s and women’s bathrooms has been installed and as the walls continue to go up, so will the remainder of supply lines and fixtures. Yes, there will actually be nice, yet cool, bathrooms here!

 

What’s coming up and getting done behind the scenes:

           • Updating the cargo elevator was going to be a sad day for anyone who ever saw how cool it was…but screw that, we figured out a way to affordably put a brand new traction passenger elevator in right next to the 109-year-old bad ass cargo elevator! The new elevator is big enough to fit a hospital stretcher and you can push a button that makes it come to you! (That’s kind of an inside joke.)

• The new stairwell will be installed as soon as the engineer figures out how to cut through six stories of 16-inch-thick reinforced concrete floors; I’m not sure what’s so complicated about this but it’s just taking a while. The new stairs will be running up all the way through the building. You’ll have a new view of downtown looking out from the huge new windows!

• The new domestic water and sprinkler system comes into the building from three-foot-diameter water main out front. It’s complicated and messy, but will prevent people and their things from burning!

            • Oh, and a new 2,000 amp electric service panel will be put in. This will ensure that the building not only has enough power for every rehearsal studio to be on their own breaker, but to have enough power for development of the entire building in the future!

• THEN there are the windows. If you’re not a musician or artist looking for awesome studio space and kick ass community to boot, the windows are probably the most exciting thing about this whole project! I’m not going to put you to sleep at this moment with the daunting amount of what goes into picking, purchasing, getting them approved, etc…all I will say is that they will look like old style industrial factory windows, be operable, fill all the concrete block spaces, look freaking awesome and transform the entire corner. They’ll also get installed this year!

• At these early yet significant stages of construction (no really, stuff’s actually getting built! Check out the photos!) I can’t give a specific timeline on when everything will be finished. But I can tell you that we are focusing on finishing the rehearsal studios first and making them rentable for the occupancy of musicians at a cost of $1 per square foot per month. Windows and other improvements to The Gear Factory will likely overlap in construction but again, creating usable space (because I know some of you want to kill me for taking so long) is top on the list of things to make happen!

• In the near future, I’ll make sure to set up some open house dates, private, and or group showings of the spaces so people can see in person what’s going on and further discuss details and rental of spaces.

You all rock!

I’d like to thank everyone for all your support in helping The Gear Factory get to this next huge step! You all made such a difference in making this happen by so many of you posting messages of support on the last blog and signing up on the list showing interest in rehearsal studio space when I asked you to, it totally blew the lenders away!!
 
Please keep checking back for new updates, now that things are in full swing they will be coming more often!

In the meantime, here are a couple more shots of the progress on the rehearsal studios. It's happening!