Yeah, the building has a lot of potential. It would be a shame for it to just be thrown away. I've actually been talking to a local electronics company called Addicore about a similar possibility. They are already (literally) based just a stones throw away from there, and since Utah electronics supply shut down, there really isn't a good place to just go buy the kind of things they already sell.
The city council will be meeting in the council chambers at 351 West Center street, Provo at 5:30 pm tonight. I hope to see you there! -John Fenley On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 10:00 AM, Jonathan Duncan < [email protected]> wrote: > On Sun, Oct 18, 2015 at 5:23 PM, John Fenley <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Tuesday night will be the last chance for public comment on the > demolition > > of the old jail in south Provo. > > Please come and support ProVolt if you can. > > > > The old jail is a 65,000 square foot building on 7.40 acres that the city > > has left abandoned for many years. The city claims that the building is > > worthless, but in my opinion that is a grand overstatement. I estimate > the > > cost to renovate the building will be on the order of $600,000, and that > > the cost to re-build a similar building would be about $5 Million. Many > > grants exist to renovate or update facilities, but grants for new > > construction or purchase are virtually nonexistent. Only about 1/4 of the > > building is jail cells, and the rest is office space, a server room, > > equipment rooms, a commercial kitchen, etc. Damage to the building is > > mostly broken windows, graffiti, and broken drop ceiling tiles. > > > > Appraisals I received put the value of the vacant land at $1.3 Million, > and > > the city has been trying to sell the property for $500,000 to a developer > > who would demolish it to build over a hundred town homes. > > > > If you want to see a walk-through of the building, it is available at: > > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR-TjP_4v1OBRgWz-kONUx7Z8pe6gmfwu > > > > The results of this council meeting may determine whether ProVolt > continues > > here in Provo, as this has been the intended location since before > ProVolt > > began. > > > > > I think it would be awesome. I was passing the building the other day and > had the thought that it could even become an outlet or distribution center > for electronics supplies. Perhaps a partnership with SparkFun or Adafruit. > > Where do people meet today to comment? > > /* > PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net > Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug > Don't fear the penguin. > */ > /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
