Actually, I was the one who made the primary pitch for the Valley View option last year and met with the Beck Ventures VPās. I took several photos (posted to Makerspace site) and discussed feasibility of having metal shop, wood shop, etc. At the time they had three adjacent open units totaling somewhere around 9000 sqftā¦ canāt quite recall the exact sizeā¦ but I was gunning to get all three and combine into Makerspace 3.0.
Alas, it didnāt work out due to size, limitations on permits, and constantly requiring security to grant 24/7 access after hours. It could have been done, but it wasnāt optimal for our needs at the time. Almost, but not quite.
Honestly, it was hugely disappointing that it didnāt work out. The thought of occupying the inside of a former shopping mall filled with artists and galleries and dancers and indie movie nights and such would have been INCREDIBLE. Imagine flying our drones through a huge indoor atrium and fusing our creativity with the local galleries. Weād have likely signed up several of the tenants to encourage further knowledge sharing and networking.
I havenāt seen anything like this in Dallas since Olla Podrida, the much-loved indoor bazaar near Forest and I75 which was filled with everything from antique zoetropes to winding wooden staircases to endless rows of hot salsas to handmade kites pinned to the ceiling through which natural light filtered through stained glass. Epic and wonderful.
In the future, perhaps another mall option will emerge. Vista Ridge might be one of them. I hear they are in the process of winding down operations. I can think of nothing better than repurposing a dying mall as a new kind of creative arts/tech shop/etsy/entertainment/community center in which creative people set the scene and push new boundaries instead of having it dictated to them by big box stores and national advertising campaigns as we slide into consumerist mediocrity.
Ahā¦ one can dreamā¦