recently my railroad club was kicked out of the place where we run trains and have our meetings due to alpenrose being sold and we cant find anywhere to stay and keep the trains it has been hard on all the members including me. there is an estimated 90% chance we will never open the club back up again. so I would appreciate it if we could get some help finding a place to keep the layout and meet. the clubs contacts are here in this website.
https://www.beavertonrailroadclub.com/
Where are you located?
Good luck,
Richard
GN24recently my railroad club was kicked out of the place where we run trains and have our meetings
Hi GN24,
Don't give up! My old club suffered a similar problem. We weren't kicked out per say, but the 'clubhouse' was in the back of a cabinet shop. The entire club space was less than 400 sq.ft and it was filthy thanks to the constant sawdust and paint overspray that was circulating in the air. There was no way to seal the room off. Potential new members would take one look at the place and turn around and walk out. We had to get out.
We searched for more than two years before we found a suitable, affordable 1500 sq. ft. space in an old factory that had been renovated into offices. The place is not fancy but the landlord has proven to be very supportive. We were able to sign a five year lease. The rent money comes from the club's annual train show and sale.
I'm sure that you have done some searching, but there may be places that are somewhat off of the radar screen that might suit you. In the interim, those members who are willing could host meetings at their homes on a rotating basis.
Good luck!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Having been deeply involved in a major real estate purchase by a 501c3 non-profit, I'll echo what Dave says about patience. The real estate market is constantly changing, so if nothing looks likely in your area right now, keep looking.
Especially in a pandemic where some businesses may never reopen for various reasons, keep a watch in the business news section of the local paper (or whatever is left of the local press) for news that you might use. Sometimes contacting the business on the way out can be useful, say if they have a lease you might take over and benefit both parties.
There are usually a few property management or business space realtors once you start looking for them. Talk to them, describing your needs and budget. That may result in a few laughs but you never know when opportunities can pop up.
Speaking of that, if everyone or a substantial majority is committed to finding a new building, then it's time to talk money or even better, start collecting it in an accountable manner. Even if you'll be renting if can cost substantial sums to prep. clean, and renovate spaces. Do your best to get an idea of what your local market costs in terms of dollars/square foot (or $$/SF).
If the chance of a having a good conversation along those lines seems far-fetched in your club, then you'll know what you need to know. If the response is on the other hand is positive, that's when the work really begins with fundraising, strategic planning, and operating expenses - do NOT forget to figure in those.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
When it all shakes out there will be real estate. Buy a building with a space for you and a tenent or two that pays all the bills. As a non profit you get lots of perks other buisness don't. You say you don't have the money, I got my start with a nothing down deal, you got to look for opertunitys.
Most of the clubs here in Delaware are closed for Covid anyway.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Our club is located in a wing of a Pentacostal church, that was used as a daycare for 35 years. Only three members of the club are church members, so no biases there.
We will help the church ladies move tables and chairs if asked, etc. And we we do not work on the layout during services.
Beware though of outfits like the business college my club once rented space from. About the time we got our 20x40 space cleaned out, painted, and lighted (all via donated time and materials) the college found a need to expand. 40 years later, the college is long gone and I don't know what's in the space. Not sure what happened to the core of club members, either.
Since companies are seeing a new smaller office concept, lots of spaces will open up as The coming year as they move to the new smaller spaces. Some properties management might sell an etire building cheap. Keep some
of the space occupied by tenets to pay the bills.
its almost going to have to go to that club owned building model as the space most clubs occupy is good for the smaller office space bussiness model develops. Beneficial to the clib though
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Why not look at renting an empty office space somewhere?