Building a Zoomtopian society

photo by Aaron Rogosin

Several years ago, an artist named Carole Zoom bought a former Goodwill store building in Eugene and rented it out (at a reduced rate) to local nonprofit arts organizations such as the Eugene Ballet. She then sold the Midtown Art Center, as it was called, to the Eugene Ballet and moved to Portland.

I first spoke with Carole two years ago about her interest in trying a similar project in the Rose City. And as of its opening party last Thursday, Zoomtopia is the completed result. The single-story building on SE Belmont at Eighth Avenue was renovated from a BOORA Architects design to include a variety of artist studios and performance spaces.

There have been numerous art organizations that have come and gone in Portland seeking to occupy a building first and consider financial models second. Disjecta and the Portland Art Center both immediately come to mind in that regard. But Zoomtopia is something different.

photo by Aaron Rogosin 

This isn’t necessarily an exhibit space or a source for cutting-edge contemporary art. Instead, as DK Row of The Oregonian wrote in an excellent profile of Carole last week, “Zoom's vision is simple: Give artists and creative people affordable square footage to lease or buy so they can make their work; and, collectively, foster a community… It's also the latest example of inspiring resolve by Zoom, a 44-year-old with muscular dystrophy who uses a ventilator to breathe.” 

Tenants at Zoomtopia include two dance companies, the avant-garde dance group tEEth as well as another called Wobbly Dance that uses wheelchairs. tEEth occupies the biggest studio, a 2,200-square-foot rehearsal space with wood floors. The group intends to rent the space to the public for rehearsal use.

photo by Ross William Hamilton for The Oregonian 

When I visited Zoomtopia last week, it was endearing to see a succession of contractors and subcontractors swirling in and out but never without a wholehearted stop to say hello to Carole. There was a wonderful vibe in the air; Carole was clearly on top of every detail, specifying light fixtures that needed changing, thermostat switches that needed lowering to wheelchair height. And yet there was a familial relationship evident between her and every construction worker or new tenant.

"I don't want someone in here who doesn't interact with the others," Zoom told Row. "This is a community space. People won't be islands in this building."

At one point in our conversation, she recalled having wrestled with the decision of whether  to include a central hallway connecting all of the studios on the inside; Carole had strongly considered making each space open separately onto the outside, and this hall-free layout would have allowed space for more studios, thereby helping the bottom line. But still, I wondered, given how strong a sense of community there already seemed to be at Zoomtopia, and that the bottom line is not at all Carole’s overriding concern, why would she possibly have considered eliminating the communal hallway space connecting everyone—the very thing that architecturally fosters community here?

 

photos by Aaron Rogosin 

It’s because over the years in her motorized wheelchair, Carole has constantly felt scrunched to one side. Most of the hallways she’s ever experienced are too thin to accommodate disabled people in wheelchairs comfortably. The sense of claustrophobia often overwhelmed the communal feeling of such public spaces for her. Ultimately, the right call at Zoomtopia was just to build a wider hallway, not to do away with it altogether. Even so, it says something about the thought she put into the design. Carole was no passive client.

A renovation of an existing single-story building, Zoomtopia is no architectural wonder of the world so much as a simple, thoughtful multi-use space that is strong on natural light, detail, and TLC. Stop by if you're in the Belmont neighborhood and tell Carole congrats - if you can stop her for long enough.

Comments

[CaroleZoom]

Thanks for the thoughtful post! I wanted to mention props due to BOORA and Brix Contracting for working with this demanding client! CaroleZoom

[Charles]

What a great project and story, thanks Brian and Carole. I personally think that one of the ways we will move through these challenging times is small and local creative endeavors like this one. I wonder how Carole is able to afford doing this? A great followup story would be things Carole has learned and tips for others who may be interested in trying to do something like this, but find the whole idea financially and logistically intimidating. Thanks again, just the sort of story I was wanting to read today.

[CaroleZoom]

The economic times made this a difficult project to fund through conventional means. My purpose is to give tenants rates BELOW the market rate and banks will not lend to projects where the leases do not conform to or exceed market rates. Small projects from new developers are hard to get public funding for as well. I used the funds from my last building sale as well as personal funds (all my savings) to pull this off. The former owners of the building lent me a portion of the construction budget and 4 friends also made small loans to assist the project. There are many folks more financially able to take on something like this, and I would be delighted to help forward-thinking folks think about how to pool their money to accomplish something like this for the organizations they believe in. cz

[Charles]

Thanks Carole for your helpful reply. These sorts of details often get lost in talking about what wonderful things you have accomplished. It sounds like you were creative and you had support from people and the seller that believed in you and your vision, which I find inspiring and hopeful for the future.