Ever look at something truly old and out of date? Think to yourself that, as you look at the object and say how can this be made into something that we can use today? There are many Youtube videos of bringing something well made and wiping off all the old and adding some new so that the object works again. The object just needed some care, and expertise to be brought back to its intended use. But what happens when you need to change how something is used? How do you get an object designed for one use to be able to work for another? The exercise is a big game of “what if?”
The what if we were able to get that company to come here. Or what if we could change the shape to this? Many questions and finally something comes up that seems to make the most sense. Next your energy and momentum go from option to this is truly a possibility.
Many businesses do this out of necessity. They think of an idea, start the process of making it a reality, but there is a point where they look at a space to work and they see the future sitting there in their head. They then go about making that a reality.
When you see opportunities, you look for solutions. Sometimes those solutions are not what you first believed were possible. The key is to learn. Understand the area you are finding an option for. Talk to as many people as you can to find out what would work in that market.
We bought a church in Oliver, British Columbia. We originally were working out the details of the sale with the idea of moving from an assembly space to a sales space and a learning and functional space that would have been used by an opportunity workshop, a government funded program that helps mentally disabled kids and adults. We knew the building was for sale and saw an opportunity to create a wonderful space for this local business that really helps the community and helps people. We looked at the space of the church and could adaptively reuse the space in another form that helped the community. For a few reasons this endeavor did not work out. So what do you do? You work out the next adaptive use. You pivot from one idea and look for another usable idea.
Rogers Management Group is based in British Columbia, and so we know there are cities and large areas with significant housing needs. This allows us to look at options of creating more housing. Our plan B is to meet the needs of Oliver with providing additional housing by converting the assembly use space into apartments.
Turning open spaces and defined areas into something different takes a different talent. But the most important aspect is being able to take opportunity and bring that together with community needs. Then you can adapt and conquer.
This is by no means a complete project yet, and if you would be interested in more information or the progress of this project please contact Cameron Rogers or Jeff Klam. We will share ideas and progress, but you can also invest in this project or similar projects. Just reach out and talk with us.