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Proposed increase and FAQ for BOD consideration.
Hello Everyone,
My name is Dan Jonke, and I am the building manager for Makers Village, also known as “The Norwich Building”. (I'm also the current president of the Makerspace BOD, but not speaking in that capacity in this email) I want announce some changes to space rentals for MMS members at our building. These changes will be taking effect beginning March 1st, 2024. We want to give all current renters time to resize or relocate if desired.
Currently Vault space is priced at $1.20/sqft/month. Under the new plan the cost will go up to $1.75/sqft/month. Example: If you rent a 10×10 space for $120/month, it will go up to $175/month.
Currently shop floor space in the big East and West shop rooms costs $1.10/sqft/month. Under the new plan the cost will go up to $1.20/sqft/month. Example: If you rent a 10×10 space for $110/month, it will go up to $120/month.
Currently ground floor space in the office/craft rooms costs $1.00/sqft/month. Under the new plan the cost will go up to $1.10/sqft/month. Example: If you rent a 10×10 space for $100/month, it will go up to $110/month.
Currently 2nd floor space in the office/craft rooms costs $0.80/sqft/month. Under the new plan the cost will go up to $0.90/sqft/month. Example: If you rent a 10×10 space for $80/month, it will go up to $90/month.
If you are renting a long term space in the parking lot, those are doubling: from $30/mo to $60/mo for normal sized space, and $50/mo to $100/mo for RV spaces.
Basement floor space is staying the same at $0.50/sqft/month. We still have a lot of open space down there to fill.
The changes are all laid out on this map as well: https://wiki.milwaukeemakerspace.org/_media/rental_increase_affected_area_2023-11-15.pdf
Additionally, for people renting more than 250sqft in any of the non-basement areas, there will be a graduated surcharge. Each additional sqft over 250sqft will cost $2/month instead of $1.10/month. We'll give you the cheapest pricing possible if you split space between multiple areas: Contrived Example: if you rent a 100sqft space in the 2nd floor office area, 100sqft in the ground floor office area, and 100sqft in the shop area, it will be priced as follows: (100sqft * $0.90 = $90) + (100sqft * $1.10 = $110) + (50sqft * $1.20 = $60) + (50sqft * $2.00 = $100) == $360/month.
Basement space will not count towards this surcharge!
If any current or prospective tenants would like to discuss this further, you can contact me, the Makers Village building manager, Dan Jonke, at dan@makersvi.com or 516-317-8609. I will also be available in person after the Tuesday evening meetings on the 21st, 5th, and 12th of this month and Dec.
Common Questions:
Q: Why are you doing this?
A: Because we're running out of space in the building, and I have a waiting list of people in my office right now who have exciting projects they want to work on. The hope is that this plan will discourage members from taking up large spaces for long periods of time. We would rather see many small projects getting worked on at the same time. And we want to see active projects that come and go from the building to make room for other, new projects. We started testing out the surcharge for big renters in the shop areas this spring, and it worked well to make space for a few new renters. We're expanding it to the office/craft areas as well.
Q: Are you going to increase the rent again soon?
A: We will not be making any more changes until at least January 2025. The overall lease with the Milwaukee Makerspace is up for renewal at that point.
Q: Are you going to increase the rent at Lenox?
A: That is not up to me. That building is controlled by the Makerspace BOD, they set rental rates and terms in that building. When acting as president I recuse myself from all discussions relating to that. They recently increased vault pricing this summer to $1.75/sqft. Makers Village is bringing our vault pricing up to parity with that increase.
Q: I am on a family membership, me and my partner both rent space. How does the 250sqft limit apply to us?
A: You are on one combined membership, so you share the same limit before the $2/sqft rate applies. If you want to split your membership into 2 individual memberships, and rent 2 spaces that happen to be next to each other, you can creatively dodge the increase.
Q: Can I shrink my rental space to avoid a cost increase?
A: Very much yes! We hope people think about downsizing, so we can get more makers into the building.
Q: Can I move my area into a different room to avoid the cost increase?
A: Yes! if you want to move stuff into the basement please talk to me. That will be the best way you can save money. Smaller savings can be achieved by moving out of the shop rooms into any of the office rooms.
Q: Why not set a hard limit on the amount of space one member can rent?
A: We talked about doing that, and decided that it was fairer to impose the surcharge. We don't actually want anyone to pay that, it's designed to discourage large renters, but allow someone to do a temporary big project for a month or 2.
Q: What about the big tenants like the neon sign shop (Redefined & Co.). Can we kick them out to make more space for members?
A: Redefined & Co. is a MMS member owned business on a direct commercial lease not subleasing through the Makerspace. They're not getting kicked out. If that seems unfair to you, consider that we wouldn't even have been able to buy this building without them committing to being an anchor tenant. They and a few other for profit businesses partnered with the non-profit makerspace to make this happen for everyone's benefit.
Q: You know you're a real greedy jerk Dan!
A: I am aware.
