Creating an inviting space for collaboration and community solutions has been the hallmark of the Third Street Center as it marks 15 years of service in Carbondale.
With its 45,000-square-foot facility serving as the physical foundation for collaboration, the Third Street Center is currently home to a diverse collection of 36 organizations and has served over 70 since 2010.
“We like to think of ourselves as incubators of great ideas and solutions that make our community and region better,” said Executive Director Colin Laird.
Laird likened the Center, which is a multi-tenant and mixed-use facility, to other vital public spaces where people can engage and celebrate together in a context that is both flexible and inexpensive.
The Center prioritizes allocation of its limited long-term rental space toward nonprofit organizations, which benefit from the extra support. Third Street provides rentals for under half the market rate of commercial spaces in town.
“That was the idea: let’s create a more affordable foundation for all kinds of great organizations that are doing great work in our community so they are not spending a fortune on rent,” Laird said. “We did that and it has worked. And it’s more valuable now,” compared with 15 years ago.
The building was originally Carbondale’s elementary school, which opened in 1961. It was repurposed in June of 2010 after the elementary school built a new building on Snowmass Drive.
Laird attributed the Center’s success in part to the welcoming and nurturing environment of Carbondale which fosters opportunities for collaboration between organizations and residents.
“In some ways, we are here in Carbondale because of the way Carbondale is,” Laird added. “It’s very community-oriented, it loves to engage and include, so we were able to create the physical space for that.”
Still, Third Street Center is facing challenges in terms of sustainability as it juggles accessibility in terms of affordable pricing while keeping up with the growing costs of maintaining its infrastructure.
After all, leaks need to be plugged and roofs and parking lots need to be redone, as the Center tries to provide service not only to its tenants but the greater community. The Center is not only home to organizations for office work, it hosts large gatherings for the community such as holiday concerts, dance classes, seminars and trainings. Last year it served as a shelter for homeless migrants during the winter months, a use they do not seek to repeat.
“When we opened, we didn’t realize that the larger community would use the space,” Laird said. “We thought tenants would use the space, but everyone wants to use the space.”
A five-year plan has been crafted that aims to stagger the increase in rents to ensure the Center has resources to maintain its infrastructure while remaining affordable to tenants.
Board members are looking to invest more in the Center to ensure not only the building is duly maintained but improvements can be made over the next few years. These include improving acoustics in the Community Hall as well as shifting to clean energy by installing more solar panels and even tapping into geothermal energy.
“There’s a lot of things that move through this space and create an environment that is accessible and affordable. But at the same time, we need to figure out how we can invest in the building so the tenants have what they need and, for the larger community, so we can meet that demand,” Laird explained. “The main focus is that this is a building that builds community.”
Keep up with Third Street Center news and ways to contribute at www.thirdstreetcenter.net
