Downtown Phoenix is Fighting to Win HeatSync Labs

Opportunity Alert!

You may or may not have heard of Gangplank.  It’s “a group of connected individuals and small businesses [in downtown Chandler] creating an economy of innovation and creativity in the Valley [that] envisions a new economic engine comprised of collaboration and community.”   The small businesses that operate out of Gangplank are called “anchors”.  I won’t claim to be an expert on the group but, from what I do know, they are a hotbed for innovation, community development, and civic engagement.  Exactly what downtown Phoenix needs more of.

And I think we have a community that can be a wonderful home for such a thing.  So here’s the opportunity: One of Gangplank’s anchors, HeatSync Labs, is looking for a new home due to growth.  Myself and a few others have recently been trying to bring them here to downtown Phoenix.

HeatSync Labs is a non-profit hackerspace – a coworking facility that makes workspace, tools, equipment, and other resources available while creating a community of collaboration and learning-by-doing.  They work with software, electronics, and industrial equipment.  They also organize educational technology events and assist schools in science & engineering education.  This past Friday they just got a big plug from an adorable Ignite 9 speaker.

HeatSync Labs is the kind of place that births entrepreneurs and innovators.  These guys create buzz, energy, and would add a brand new dimension to downtown Phoenix.  These kinds of people do things and affect change in ways that don’t always fit Corporate America’s myopic ROI requirements.    These are the people we need downtown.

• Nearspace balloon
• Wearable computing
• Solar Concentrator
• 3D printing & scanning
• Open source night vision
• Tesla Coil
• Massive Trebuchet
• “Junkyard” Battle Bots
• and more!

The more I learn about these guys, the more I like them.

They want to be along the light rail, and they want to be somewhere that can charge their creative batteries; a place with life and activities.  Mesa and Tempe are pursuing them – and we have to as well.  If downtown Phoenix is going to matter in 10 years, we have to fight for innovators and community contributors like HeatSync Labs.

There are dozens of reasons why they would improve our downtown, but let me list out just a few:

• We have lots of lawyers, students, bureaucrats, designers, and retail/restaurants, but no techies.
• They generally use their space from 6pm-Midnight, which is when we need more people downtown.
• They would contribute to downtown activities, community development, and hold events that would bring more people downtown.
• It would be known that one of the best hands-on science education partners is based in Downtown Phoenix.  The collaborative opportunities with the Arizona Science Centeralone are intriguing.
• As they grow, it would become known that Downtown Phoenix has Arizona’s premiere hackerspace (as opposed to Tempe or Mesa).

So them being here would help us, the residents, small business owners, and general believers of downtown.  They would bring the exact type of energy, intellectualism, ambition, and vision that our downtown needs, and assimilating them into our community will benefit us all.

We’ve found them a great space in downtown’s warehouse district which currently houses other small businesses, serves their very specific equipment needs, and provides them with a wealth of value-added industrial resources and event space opportunities.  It’s the best possible location for both their current and future needs — the kind of space that will fuel their imaginations and help them grow as innovators.  And we want that growth in Downtown Phoenix.

But there’s a but.  There’s always a but.

The downtown space, including the build-out, is slightly above their budget.  The Tempe and Mesa governments are in conversations with the non-profit HeatSync Labs, working to find them grants and funds to relocate to their cities.  We must do the same.  We need to write City Hall and encourage them to fight for Phoenix.

But in the absence of small business support from City Hall, we need to pull together as a community and make this happen.  Their move to downtown Phoenix would be a very visible move that would benefit us all in the long-run.  My goal is for Downtowners to raise $2,000 to make it possible for them to move here and give them an incentive to choose us over Tempe or Mesa.  If you will contribute something, even just $10, then please use the button below to email me your name and pledged amount [tax-deductible].  I will present the total pledges to their relocation committee in two weeks.

To get things started, I hereby pledge $100. Please post any questions/comments below.

(Note that all HeatSync pictures came from their Flickr account.)