[Noisebridge-discuss] Space Viewing Report: 2101 Mission Street at 17th Street, #204

[Andy Isaacson]

On Sat, May 02, 2009 at 02:29:07PM -0700, d p chang wrote:
> Shannon Lee <shannon at scatter.com> writes:
> > Add: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/off/1148249383.html
> > Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/milohholim
> > Hi Noisebridge,Yesterday, Miloh, Andy and I went to look at the space
> > advertised in http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/off/1148249383.html 
[snip]
> > The huge drawback is that the ceilings are low, 8 foot, and the
> > "rafters" are even lower.?? Although the owner said he was going to
> > pull them out, at the time we viewed it there were long, long, cheap
> > light fixtures throughout the space add to the "cave" effect.?? Miloh
> > and I both felt like this was nonetheless workable, but Andy was less
> > thrilled.
> 
> is andy's 'reservation' (my word for 'less thrilled') due to the
> low ceilings or something else?

The space is an enormous amount of floor space.  Really, really big, for
a pretty low $/sqft cost.

The ceiling is low.  Really, really, low.  There are multiple spots
where I could hit my head just walking around (6' and a bit of
clearance, so if I have any bounce in my step...)  The floor is wooden
and creaky, and you can fairly easily hear noise from downstairs and
somewhat from upstairs.

The landlord (physical plant guy) assured us "oh yes, the building is
signed off for seismic" in response to Miloh's question; he started to
assure us that it had been retrofitted and then said it was "signed
off".  I don't know what that means, but there's no sign of reinforcing
I-beams or screw plates (it's a ferroconcrete frame with brick walls, so
my layman's understanding is that it's not seismicly sound without
reinforcement).  Maybe they did a really nice cosmetic job on the
retrofit, or maybe the upgrade consisted primarily of a BMW upgrade for
the city engineer who signed off on the project, I don't know.

The other units in the building do not have the same issues this one
does -- in particular, this is the only floor with the height problem
(it's a mezzanine floor, probably a retrofit.)

If it weren't for the height problem I could probably buy into this
space, warts and all.  But I just can't see Noisebridge being happy with
these ceilings.  AFAIK this is the first space anyone's looked at -- I
think we need to move on and see more of the market.

As far as the lease at 83C goes -- if Noisebridge finds another space
and moves out before our year is up at 83C, I am confident that an
accomodation can be reached to satisfy all parties.  Please talk to me
in person if you'd like details.  So, this shouldn't be a blocking
factor in our space search.

Also, I need to get in touch with our upstairs neighbors and see what
their status is -- if they'd like to move out, seems we'd have a
no-brainer on our hands.

-andy