Marge Center expands, seeks two new tenants

Published 10:00 am Saturday, October 28, 2006

An outdoor porch is enclosed to create additional office space.

As Marge’s porch, it played host to friends, flowers and late-afternoon sunshine.

Recently enclosed, it will soon host a new set of helpful hands in a building founded – in Marge’s memory – on nonprofit work.

“They all seem to get along pretty well,” said Carol Thornburgh, president of the Marge Williams Center board, of the five nonprofits that now share the 2,000-square foot building on Winslow Way. “Everyone here has thrived since they moved in.”

Come December, the center will add at least one more tenant to the mix following a small expansion.

As required by the building’s charter, any new tenants must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit. They also must require a “downtown presence,” Thornburgh said, meaning that nonprofits that could be just as successful from any location aren’t the right fit.

The building now is home to the Housing Resources Board, Community Housing Coalition, Health Housing and Human Services Council, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and the Arts and Humanities Council.

The center also rents locked mailboxes to nonprofits for $25 per month, which also comes with access to the building’s conference room.

Construction on the expansion began in September at the west end of the building’s top floor, where the late Williams’ porch once sat. When finished, the space will house two new offices, separated by a small hallway, each containing about 100 square feet of space. There is a possibility the space will be shared by multiple nonprofits, but exactly how it will be utilized remains to be seen.

Thornburgh said the board had long wanted to expand, but doing so wasn’t feasible until the city reduced parking requirements in the downtown core.

Parking, she admitted, is a bit sparse and quarters can be tight, but there are several advantages to tenancy there, including the building’s prime location.

Oh, and the rent, at a miniscule $1.64 per square foot each month, isn’t bad either.

“It’s a great deal,” Thornburgh said, “especially considering the prices downtown.”

Board members will soon advertise the opening, but aren’t sure what to expect once it becomes available.

Only one of six mailbox tenants expressed interest in the new space, but Thornburgh is confident someone will be interested.

The amount of demand will also help them gauge the potential for a second center for nonprofits.

“My guess is that within the next decade this community will generate enough need for an additional 10,000 square feet of nonprofit space,” said former board member Norm Down.

Down, along with Ed Kushner, Wendy Johnson and a slew of others, helped bring the original center to fruition in the former Williams residence, following her death in 1998.

Consolidating nonprofit operations in the community was something many had talked about, including Williams, and doing so has been beneficial according to Down. Plenty of trade secrets, he said, are revealed at the building’s shared copier.

“If a person has a problem or a question, someone in the building probably knows the answer,” he said.

The close proximity is also good for morale, said board member Garnie Quitslund.

“Someone may have a down day,” he said. “But another person down the hall has a good day and that lifts everyone up.”