A new union building?

About four years ago we (the Guild executive board) kicked around the idea of getting a new building. I wrote a Pegboard column on it in the March '02 issue (go to the Guild's website, click on the 'Pegboard' tab, and see the column entitled Mi casa, su casa). Because the industry was contracting at the time, the idea was put on the back burner, but several e-board members brought it to the front recently. We formed a subcommittee to explore the issue, and earlier this week several of us met with a realtor and visited a couple of potential buildings. Today about half the e-board spent the afternoon kicking the possibilities around with the realtor and a couple of architects at one particularly promising building. The more we looked at our current building, and at what we could have in a new building, the better we liked the idea. Local 80 (the Studio Grips) went through this process not long ago, buying and completely refurbishing a building at 2520 W. Olive. I recently visited their place, and local 80 president, Dave Ahuna, was kind enough to give me a full tour and relate some of their experiences. Initially their e-board was hesitant, and only passed the motion to go forward by a 9-6 margin. A lot of their general members were likewise initially resistant. Now that they've completed the project and lived in it awhile, there's overwhelming support and pride in their new home (and for good reason -- check out a photo on the local 80 homepage or drive over and visit). The overriding goal of doing this is to have a more functional and flexible space, one that will be a greater benefit to our membership and serve our needs well into the future. We'd love to get your input as we go forward. The '02 Pegboard article is a good place to start with some of the thinking behind this, and maybe in another post I'll publish the "wishlist" the subcommittee came up with for a potential new building.