A couple months ago, we concluded that we were outgrowing our space at PPNA and that we would have to move. Then, PPNA told us they were selling the building and that we had to be out in three weeks. With help from Seward Redesign we found a new space at 2310 Snelling Ave. South in Minneapolis, sometimes known as Seward Commons. May 14 was our moving day.
One of two moving trucks being loaded at our old place
Moving out...
...moving in.
The new building is between Hiawatha and Minnehaha Avenues, right next to the bike trail on Hiawatha, and just three blocks south of the Franklin Ave. light rail stop.
Our new space has over 2000 square feet, about 25% more than we had at PPNA, and we’re very excited about that. While we did like the fact that multiple groups shared the space with us at PPNA, it did impose limits such as how many days we could be open. We’ll have the new space largely to ourselves. There are some other community groups storing stuff in the space currently, but they’ll be moving to the garage/warehouse out back in the next few weeks. We hope to expand our hours in the coming months.
All moved out...
...all moved in.
It will take us a few weeks to get everything arranged in our new home. We had some donated shelving arrive while we were moving; it turned out to be too tall for the new space, so we’ll have to shorten it a bit.
After everything was moved in, we visited our next-door-neighbors at Sisters Camelot. Turns out they are big Ubuntu fans just like we are. We think we’ll get along terrifically.
The new space offers us great opportunities, but it can’t be our long-term permanent home. Seward Redesign plans to eventually raze the whole building and redevelop the space. However, our lease says that won’t happen for at least six months, and it’s possible that it may not happen for a year or two. That suits us just fine. Free Geek Twin Cities is a hive of bustling activity; we’re always busy doing many things, constantly growing. The number of new volunteers showing up each week continues to increase. The space at PPNA lasted us about a year before we outgrew it. It’s likely we’ll outgrow Seward Commons in a year as well. It’s a good problem to have.
So, come see our new digs. Come donate your old computer. Come learn about computers. Come help us teach people about computers. Come help us recycle responsibly. Come make a difference in the community.
