Pie in the Sky

The Home Hardware store in Providence Bay, Ontario is up for sale, for $219,000.  It's a big old rambling building with tons of character, most of which you can't see from the real estate listing.  They're moving to a huge new facility on the other side of Mindemoya.

There's actually two storefronts here, with the one on the right being a false front on a regular gable-shaped building.  At the far left of the picture you can just make out the first storage shed.

There's 10,000 square feet of floor space in this building, with 60% of it on the main floor, and 6,500 square feet of storage shed space (according to the listing).  There's a art/craft collective already on the main street of Providence Bay, and I think it would be a lot of fun to re-develop this property into a combination gift shop / art gallery with artist's studios to rent out.

Here's my concept of how I would lay out the space.  On the north gabled side, I would frame out eight 15' by 19' studios, each like a little house on the main street of the hallway.  They'll have their own lockable doors, of course, and a window into the hallway that can open for ventilation and companionship, or be shuttered closed from the inside.  I'll put two skylights over each one on the north-facing side of the roof - natural north-facing light is best for artists, right?  At this latitude the sun will never shine directly in the skylights, so no problems with glare.

The hallway is wide enough to move large materials in and out, and maybe even put a bench opposite each door with some storage or display shelves for personalizing, perhaps by pinning up inspiration.

If the storage sheds are used as storage lockers, there should be enough space for each artist's studio to have an additional good chunk of space.

Ooh... and another good idea - a place for salvage and a kind of thrift shop in the storage sheds, with all the great stuff I retrieve from the dump and from local builders and carpenters!