90 Garry St

As mentioned in the "Potential rent locations" discussion thread, Fernando, Justin, Russ, and I (Jay) checked out two potential spaces to rent at 90 Garry Street.    A 1,150 sqft basement unit, and a 865 sqft second floor unit.  Unlike the McDermot location, they are not simply large open rooms - both units are partitioned into smaller offices with a reception area.  The 865 sqft unit's floor plan is simply too cramped for our purposes, so I won't speak of it again.  The 1,150 sqft unit works out to be around $941.08 per month before utility's (the owner was unwilling to give us a quote including utilities).

A PDF with details and floor plans may be found here (compliments to Russ): http://www.jjb.com/Client/JJB/JJBNA%20Web%20Listing%20db.nsf/5b1d91a237abc91f852570d800775fbc/bab04fc2848267088525771f004e6d8a%21OpenDocument

Justin has once again taken excellent pictures of the place.  I recommend that people also take the time to read Justin's comments on the photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/takaji/sets/72157626429855754/

Now review the space requirements document (http://www.skullspace.ca/wiki/index.php/Physical_space_requirements):  

Tier 1

24 hour access for many people:

The building is locked in the evenings, but access can be granted by either buzzing into the building or using a card.  Access shouldn't be an issue and the building seems to take security fairly seriously (including a CCTV in the entrance that tenants can view).  Everything above the second (or third?) floor is residential giving us the security benefits of a building that's always full of occupants without the worry of getting noise complaints about our behavior in the basement.  

Accessible location

Space is downtown and near decent bus routes.  

Sizable space

Overall the unit is approx 1160sqft.  However, the space we have is divided into six different rooms (see pdf linked above for the floor plan).  No individual room is much larger then 200sqft, making organizing events in the space challenging.  The space itself also seemed to smell musty or at the very least a little off.  

Tier 2

Kitchen area

There is a sink with running water.  Room for appliances, but I don't see wiring for a stove.  

Private bathroom

Bathroom is shared with other tenants and smells funny.  

Tier 3

Street-level roll-up doors

No roll-up doors and no service elevator. I have no idea how we'd get even a couch down the stairs or the existing elevators.  

Private outdoor area for smokers (courtyard or rooftop or something)

Sidewalk appears to be in good condition for standing and smoking.  

Rooftop access for antenna/radio/internet projects

Unknown, but unlikely.

Conclusions

My personal thoughts:  Poor layout, expensive, and smells weird.  The building itself would be nice for an actual office or even for apartments, but not so much a hackerspace.

If anybody has any questions or comments, please post them to the mailing list for all to see and reply to.