a new home!
back in april 2007, almost an entire year ago, the BKS iyengar institute of LA on 3rd street announced to their students that due to a dramatic rent increase, they could no longer afford to stay at the location they had occupied for the past 22 years.
then in december 2007, they announced that they were closing their doors on march 21st (this coming friday) and were planning a special farewell to 3rd st day.
but as we know, things change; fortunately, it's all good -- thanks to the all the support they've received from their members and friends, they've finally found a new home! and while the renovation of the new space is going on, they've received an extension from their landlord until may 15th so they can continue to remain open for business while the renovation is in progress. needless to say, they're very excited about this good news, and rightfully so!
the institute sent out two email updates last month, but for some unknown reason, i never got around to posting either of them here... my sincerest apologies!
here's the first one, dated february 13th:
Dear IYILA Community,
Dear friends, it is with great pleasure that your Relocation Committee announces that we are now in the final stages of lease negotiation with La Cienega Plaza (La Cienega and 18th street in Los Angeles) for our new home.
We will be moving into a 3000 square foot suite, with completely new studios and facilities, built to our specifications. We will have larger dressing rooms and restrooms, a larger lobby, a larger office, and a dedicated storage space, as well as two large asana rooms separated by a soundproof moveable wall which, when opened, will create one very large studio of approximately 1800 square feet. (Our current large studio is 1110 square feet.) Additionally, we will have access to virtually unlimited parking in the three-story parking structure.
While as of this date the final lease has not yet been signed, we feel sufficiently confident to share this exciting news with you. Also, our current landlord has indicated a willingness to extend our deadline while we prepare our new facility. Therefore, although we announced our official closing as March 22, we will in all likelihood extend our stay on 3rd Street until we can move the two miles south.
Once commenced, the preparation of our new Institute facility will take approximately 8-10 weeks. During this time, we will keep you as up to date as we possibly can, and our regular schedule of public classes at our 3rd Street facility will continue.
We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who sent us leads and suggestions via the Relocation email hotline. It is abundantly evident that our Iyengar community cares very deeply about our Institute, our teachers, and our ability to function at our best.
Sincerely yours,
The IYILA Relocation Committee
and here's a follow-up, dated february 25th:
Relocation update:
Though not yet complete, we are in the final negotiations for the lease at La Cienega Plaza.
The general terms of the lease have been worked out. Our monthly rent will be virtually the same as we are paying in our present location, for an extra thousand square feet.
This site is truly the needle in the haystack that we have been seeking for over a year. We are still in negotiations for the scope of the build-out, as well as architectural details.
Our kind 3rd Street landlord has extended our stay until May 15. We will continue our regular schedule of classes until at least that date.
The Capital Campaign is still open for donations. We will certainly need every penny that we have raised to create our new dream Institute, and we are already facing the reality of some cutbacks in our initial architectural plans.
We have received some donations from the community who were reluctant to give without knowing that we had a place to go to. Now that we have our place, perhaps there are others who also waited to give until we had a target for their giving. Click here to donate via PayPal.
then in december 2007, they announced that they were closing their doors on march 21st (this coming friday) and were planning a special farewell to 3rd st day.
but as we know, things change; fortunately, it's all good -- thanks to the all the support they've received from their members and friends, they've finally found a new home! and while the renovation of the new space is going on, they've received an extension from their landlord until may 15th so they can continue to remain open for business while the renovation is in progress. needless to say, they're very excited about this good news, and rightfully so!
the institute sent out two email updates last month, but for some unknown reason, i never got around to posting either of them here... my sincerest apologies!
here's the first one, dated february 13th:
Dear IYILA Community,
Dear friends, it is with great pleasure that your Relocation Committee announces that we are now in the final stages of lease negotiation with La Cienega Plaza (La Cienega and 18th street in Los Angeles) for our new home.
We will be moving into a 3000 square foot suite, with completely new studios and facilities, built to our specifications. We will have larger dressing rooms and restrooms, a larger lobby, a larger office, and a dedicated storage space, as well as two large asana rooms separated by a soundproof moveable wall which, when opened, will create one very large studio of approximately 1800 square feet. (Our current large studio is 1110 square feet.) Additionally, we will have access to virtually unlimited parking in the three-story parking structure.
While as of this date the final lease has not yet been signed, we feel sufficiently confident to share this exciting news with you. Also, our current landlord has indicated a willingness to extend our deadline while we prepare our new facility. Therefore, although we announced our official closing as March 22, we will in all likelihood extend our stay on 3rd Street until we can move the two miles south.
Once commenced, the preparation of our new Institute facility will take approximately 8-10 weeks. During this time, we will keep you as up to date as we possibly can, and our regular schedule of public classes at our 3rd Street facility will continue.
We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who sent us leads and suggestions via the Relocation email hotline. It is abundantly evident that our Iyengar community cares very deeply about our Institute, our teachers, and our ability to function at our best.
Sincerely yours,
The IYILA Relocation Committee
and here's a follow-up, dated february 25th:
Relocation update:
Though not yet complete, we are in the final negotiations for the lease at La Cienega Plaza.
The general terms of the lease have been worked out. Our monthly rent will be virtually the same as we are paying in our present location, for an extra thousand square feet.
This site is truly the needle in the haystack that we have been seeking for over a year. We are still in negotiations for the scope of the build-out, as well as architectural details.
Our kind 3rd Street landlord has extended our stay until May 15. We will continue our regular schedule of classes until at least that date.
The Capital Campaign is still open for donations. We will certainly need every penny that we have raised to create our new dream Institute, and we are already facing the reality of some cutbacks in our initial architectural plans.
We have received some donations from the community who were reluctant to give without knowing that we had a place to go to. Now that we have our place, perhaps there are others who also waited to give until we had a target for their giving. Click here to donate via PayPal.
posted by joni at 11:06 PM
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