Facilities
Nine rooms, six buildings, one van.
We are not a program that borrows a gym twice a week. We hold leases, own tools, and keep the lights on, because kids can tell the difference between a place that is theirs and a place they are visiting.
- Sites
- 6
- Square feet
- 31,400
- Rooms
- 9 named spaces
- Van
- 1, named Deb
A lot of after-school programs are guests in somebody else's building: a church basement, a school cafeteria, a rec center room with a schedule taped to the door. There is nothing wrong with that, and it is how we started. But at some point a kid needs to be able to leave a half-finished project on a bench and know it will still be there tomorrow. That requires a lease.
The rooms
Hawthorne & Cully
The Labs
Two wet labs, 24 sinks, a fume hood, and a microscope bench with 18 scopes.
Read moreMontavilla
The Workshop
Saws, drills, a CNC router, a dust collection system, and a wall of donated hand tools.
Read moreHawthorne & St. Johns
The Salon
Six chairs, six mirrors, two licensed instructors, and a sanitation checklist kids sign.
Read moreHawthorne
The Void
An 11-by-14-foot quiet room with a bench, a window, and no clock. Nothing happens here.
Read moreHawthorne
The Library
9,000 books, 400 zines, a couch with a known sag, and a kid-run catalog.
Read moreHawthorne
The Courtyard
Raised beds, a rain gauge, an apple tree, an indigo vat, and a public bench.
Read moreHawthorne
The Kitchen
A commercial kitchen that makes 230 snacks a day and teaches kids to cost a menu.
Read moreHawthorne
The Auditorium
220 seats, a real curtain, and a sound board that kids run themselves.
Read moreEverywhere
Deb the Van
A retired plumbing van with a mobile workshop, a pop-up salon chair, and 96 visits.
Read moreThe six buildings
| Site | Building | Opened | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne (HQ) | Former appliance showroom, 9,200 sq ft | 2012 | Step-free, lift, accessible restrooms |
| Foster-Powell | Church education wing, 4,100 sq ft | 2015 | 4-inch threshold at side door, staff stationed |
| Montavilla | Former print shop, 5,600 sq ft | 2017 | Step-free; workshop is basement-level with a ground-floor alternative |
| Cully | Former laundromat, 4,800 sq ft | 2019 | Step-free, new HVAC 2025 |
| Lents | Former auto parts store, 4,300 sq ft | 2022 | Step-free, wide entry, bike rack |
| St. Johns | Former laundromat, 3,400 sq ft | 2024 | Step-free, all programming on one floor |
Community use
Our buildings are empty most mornings, and that felt wasteful. Three community groups use the Hawthorne auditorium monthly, the Cully site hosts a neighborhood association meeting, and the courtyard is a public garden with a bench and no lock. We rent the auditorium and kitchen at cost to nonprofits, and we have never turned down a mutual-aid group.
Maintenance, honestly
Buildings break. In 2025 we replaced the Cully HVAC ($214,000, double the first quote), a van transmission ($9,400), and 61 pieces of glassware. We publish the big-ticket repairs in the annual report because facility costs are the least sexy line in any nonprofit budget and the one most likely to eat a program.
Come see the rooms
Tours run Tuesdays at 4:00 and Saturdays at 11:00. No appointment needed, but call if you want a specific program lead.