No, not the virtual community, a real space. Yesterday afternoon I took a look at the retail space I spoke to a realtor about. Now I have it implanted in my mind that it's the future Light of Islam Bookstore.
(One day I'm going to write a post about the difference between obsession and determination; sometimes I can't tell the difference, like in this case - am I obsessed with that spot because it makes me feel like I can picture the future and so in my head I can envision an actual location? Or am I determined to achieve the goal of making that space the future LOI?)
Anyway - as I mentioned in yesterday's post the store is 980 square feet, which I thought was definitely going to be too small, but when I eyeballed it I thought it looked like the right size. It's in one of the strip malls that abound here in Clear Lake (virtually every retail business is in a shopping center of one size or another). There's plenty of parking and it's on a major street less than 1/4 mile from the intersection of two major streets, which makes it easy to access from the highway. (It's a little over 3 miles from my house, another bonus.) It has good visibility and unlike some shopping centers around here it's very easy to access from the street and in fact has two entrance/exits, one from the major road and one from the intersecting side street.
It was formerly a video store and has a couple small rooms in the back, one of which must have been their x-rated room. If I expanded the larger one a little it would make a good enclosed classroom. The store is a total dump right now. The convenience store next door has been using it as a storage space for their discarded or unused equipment and fixtures (e.g., there's an ice cream freezer sitting in there). It looks like no one ever cleaned up after the video store closed. I asked the guy at the convenience store how long it's been closed and he said he'd been working there 8 months and it had been closed since he started. The rent is $1400 and if I seriously considered it I would definitely negotiate that and see if I could make a deal regarding renovations.
Anyway, I really like the space, and even though it's probably going to be a year till I open, it may very well still be vacant in a year.
3 comments:
$1400 sounds awefully high... you know where the NASA CLIC masjid is... its in a strip center too, there is another strip center across it that had places to rent... I remember the store space next to us rented for like $500 (I think it was 500 sqft)... Since this place has been empty, you should probably offer only $800 or so for a one year contract (don't offer any more... bad experiences from a past non-profit adventure)...
Salaams. Yes, they're totally dreaming if they think they'll get $1400. I wonder if the agent even had it right. My mom, who owned her own store for over 20 years, advised me to "run away as fast as I can"! LOL. She said the dirtiness and long vacancy sounded like, in her words, a "recipe for disaster." We'll see...
There actually is a vacant space at that strip mall, I think two doors down from the musalla. It's on my list. It's a little off the beaten path and the parking is minimal, but it's nice that it's near the masjid. I think there are also vacancies in the center across the street but I haven't really stopped to look. I am curious what the rents are there.
Salaam alaikum
May Allah bless this effort. You know this is one of the things I complained to my wife about.. the lack of a bookstore in the Clearlake area. We used to drive about 45 minutes to Dar-us-salam or to the South West. Masha Allah. Everyone should donate generously towards this project. wa salaam
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