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Press Release:
Artists, Musicians and Small Businesses Team up to Take Over Former Wonder Bread Factory
It’s been almost a year since Wonder Bread moved out of their Italian Village bakery on 4th Street near the Short North. Now, a group of innovative entrepreneurs are looking to turn the 65,000 square foot factory into a hub for the creative class in Columbus and beyond.
The project is being called “Wonderland” and it will combine artist studios, shared office space, band rehearsal and recording facilities, venue and performance space, gallery space, and a mix of start-up and established retail all under one roof. The goal is to provide a resource for artists, musicians, and small businesses to achieve individual success, as well as to establish an icon in Columbus that highlights our outstanding local creative industries to the world.
Getting things off the ground are Adam Brouillette (Couchfire Collective), Andrew Dodson (Central City Recording), David Hunegnaw (The Sandbox Columbus), Kevin Lykens (Lykens Companies) and Josh Quinn (Tigertree). The group is forming a non-profit organization to manage the property, to keep rent costs down and to provide a vehicle to seek donations and grants to encourage growth and job creation within the creative community. They will each focus on a specific area – arts, music, business, retail – and provide business counseling and information resources for tenants as well as day-to-day management of the property.
There will be an informational meeting on January 29th at Junctionview Studios (889 Williams Ave, Grandview Heights) from 6:30pm-9pm for anyone who may be interested.
More information can be found online at WonderlandColumbus.com
boy. this looks great to me! nice work all around!!
Gooooo Wonderland!
any idea on sqft price point?
“So what is going to happen to Junctionview?”
Nothing for a long time. Possibly longer than 4 years. This city has more than enough energy to support two facilities now. There is a huge call for it.
I see questions on price points and amenities… hopefully everyone will come to the meeting and we can tell you what we can. I know we all appreciate the enthusiasm and support and we are hoping to make this an awesome thing for Columbus.
Sherm, They were asking about $18 per sqft to buy the building. $1,200,000 / 67,000 sqft = aprox $18 sqft. It’s important to note that is to buy, not lease or rent and does not include the cost to rehabilitate the building?
I couldn’t be happier about my new neighbors! Anything I can do to help, seriously, anything – I’ll dig investor’s retinas out with a spoon if need be.
affordability to tenants is important. i couldnt help but notice a certain bald headed fellow in the walk through photos on FB. is he involved with this in anyway?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ob59hsRaFU
sherm –
a. please change that avatar photo, it is more disturbing than that book i saw you reading last weekend
b. where is this facebook walkthrough photo montage you speak of?
i threw that book away…
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=138239&id=250355214145
@Sherm – No, N is not involved.
The creation of this project has been wonderful to watch. The players have done an amazing job conceptualizing, laying the groundwork & taking action. With this team at the helm I am sure that we will have many more great updates all year long. This is a perfect example of why Columbus is the perfect place to live, work & play.
The project is really, really exciting for Columbus.
One of the best aspects of the project in my opinion is the merging of creative and business density under one roof.
A criticism you hear over and over about Columbus is that it’s “disconnected”. Well, here’s an opportunity unfolding that will have an unprecedented level of connectivity where those of disparate disciplines can get together to do new and amazing things – innovate.
Couldn’t be more excited about this new venture and what it means for the greater good of Columbus!
This is the best news I’ve heard in years! Congrats guys all the best!
very cool.
So where did the funding come from? Is the building purchased or is it leased? Regardless, *great* use of the space.
This is great news. Walking down 4th there with the abandoned Wonder Bread factory and the half-sold condos-turned-apartments, it was starting to look like the redevelopment of this area stopped short of its potential. I’m really excited about this project!
@sherm and @jonmyers – i was wondering the same thing. i even asked someone when i saw that person in the pic. they thought he was going to be involved, but when i saw the list of ppl who were listed in the press release, i was relieved.
I also think this is a great idea and I would like to throw my 2 cents in that i hope a lot of the factory equipment is left in place. i think it’s super cool. especially to see what creative people will turn it into. of course so of it will have to go so ppl can walk but i’d love to see a lot of the space left raw for renters to finish themselves.
This is out of control awesome!
This sounds awesome. And it’s a short walk from my place. Has the property actually been purchased yet?
I won’t be able to make it to the meeting but will be reaching out to the main group about ways of getting involved.