by the CSPC Building Committee
We've all heard the talk about how someday we want to buy our own building or at least lease one. We want you to know that we have looked at over 3,000 buildings online and visited quite a few in person over the past several years. Much of what complicates the process of finding a building is our extensive list of requirements, as well as the rules and guidelines of cities and counties.
The adult business requirements have been difficult to get around. Many cities have specific adult business areas where we “could” be located, plus we must be a certain distance away from churches, schools, and other businesses/places where children gather. Most also require an adult business to be a certain distance from other adult businesses.
What makes things increasingly difficult? Our list of requirements includes an elevator for accessibility. But elevators are expensive and are not usually available in buildings we can afford. We will have to adjust our expectations to find a place that has a majority of our prerequisites met. For example: being near a bus stop and food as well as easy highway access and adequate free parking. There are also requirements for the construction of the building itself.
There's a long list of things that we must do before we can take on a new location. We need to make sure we have the funds to expand and that may require fundraising. (Email info@thecspc.org to donate funds, as well as new or gently used items.)
We need to make sure that we have a detailed list of expectations of upgrades that we plan to do and how much those may cost. Having it on some sort of spreadsheet is a bonus! Research is imperative and time intensive.
Once that plan is in place, we can get started on finding a location that fits the majority of our needs. This has been a multiyear endeavor with many eyes and ears helping to find something that will work, as our building unicorn home. We’ve even considered building from the ground up!
We need to think about the donation of labor as well. We will need many volunteer hours to get our new home ready in a short amount of time. We are including installation of a sound system, plumbing, office area, décor lighting, storage, moving existing and building new play equipment. All of this is in addition to fixing any preexisting issues the building needs. For example: adding a sprinkler system, shower, washer/dryer, kitchenette, etc.
We will be reaching out to prior members in addition to current members to help with this endeavor. These are people who have previously dedicated their time to the CSPC. They volunteered with us over the wider 25 years of our existence as an organization. Everyone has been waiting for a new building that is wider and taller, addressing the need to be able to play more extensively. These members are highly likely to renew and help assist in the process of opening a new community center! This means that the old community from Interbay and the new community that we have built at Gallery Erato will integrate and become an even more amazing membership.
We hope to bring back the idea that we are a community center where all the different organizations can find a place to meet safely and be supported.
It would be extremely helpful to know what skills everyone has to bring to the building process. If you have special skills in interior design, electrical, plumbing, carpet/flooring or carpentry, please contact us so we can build a plan for getting a new expanded CSPC up and running quickly. Even just a general, “I can build stuff and hold up a wall. Let me help!” Please let us know.
Our building committee lead is Larry, CSPC Board Member. You can reach him at facilitiescoordinator@thecspc.org.