10BitWorks Needs Your Support! (And Your Votes!)

It’s been a while since our last update, and there’s been a lot of great changes, new faces, and cool projects in the 8 years since your favorite makerspace moved into our current home on West Lachappel.

But here in 2025, membership is down, and rent is going up. Clutter and dust has accumulated faster than it’s been removed, certain zones, infrastructure, and machines have fallen into disrepair, and we’ve been coasting on a rent payment based on a lease that expired years ago.

Now more than ever, the pressure is on to make the space more appealing to newcomers, clean up and sell unused equipment, and brainstorm outreach ideas to increase membership. Fortunately, a few quiet heroes have made headway on this recently (thank you!), and as we head into a new board election cycle, there’s optimism that we can generate new traffic and income to reinvigorate the space (before melt season inevitably arrives to slows us down).

If you’re not around often and want to help us thrive, please consider contributing to our efforts with a donation.

You may have noticed that our new neighbors have already started to move in…

(Special thanks to the emergency volunteer crew that helped clear the patio the night before it arrived!)

Downsize or Die… or Move?

Unfortunately, even if we recruit new members, update our dues structure, or add new income streams quickly, it won’t be fast enough for 10BitWorks to stay the same. The rent we’re now being asked to pay is dramatically more than we’ve been sustaining, and after much negotiations it seems the only way to stay in this warehouse on Lachapelle is to reduce our footprint.

The tire company that just moved in two doors down from us wants more space, and is paying for it. While we seem to be close to agreeing on a new lease to regain our financial security, it looks like we’ll be giving up roughly half the building, with some sort of partition in between. If we go through with the latest plan, we’ll have to clear the right side of the shop by the end of April

If you have projects, materials, or belongings in this area, please remove them before April ends.

On that note…

The space would be split vertically, where the interior rooms and garage door end.

Volunteer Weekend: April 11-13

Come out this weekend to help clean up the space! April 11, 12, and 13 will be dedicated to volunteer efforts as we make our way through a list of tasks together to prepare for the consolidation.

Please wear closed toed shoes, comfortable/flexible clothes, lifting belts (if you have one), safety/moving equipment, gloves, any other PPE that might be helpful.

The Planning will mostly consist walkthrough the space and identifying changes to make to meet footprint.

Call for Board Nominees 📢

Last year, an early departure on the board threw off our election cycle cadence. While we had an early departure this year as well, we’re planning to keep to having our elections this month.

Who do you think should be on the board? Let a board member know your nomination, or type their name into this form.

Elections will occur at the next monthly meeting, currently scheduled for Thursday the 17th. Stay tuned to cast your vote.

Call for Moving Locations, Realtors, and Commercial Real Estate Attorneys 📢

If you are, or someone you know is a realtor, or can otherwise professionally help with the situation - please reach out.

Please keep an eye out for commercial properties that would be a good fit for us - join us on the #moving channel to discuss a potential move!