Keys

We got keys today! It was really neat being able to go to the new building and not need permission from anyone and not need someone to let us in. Next week should be fun- press release will be going out, new website dedicated entirely to the move will be going up, lots of decisions will be made regarding the build out- who's doing it and what they are doing, etc. The website will be really cool. It's got a page explaining the move, another page talking about the new building, another page of FAQ for clients and a page that will have photos that anyone can follow the build out chronologically.

Furniture

We spent the morning looking at some great furniture. Now that the lease is signed it's time to really step up plans for what we're actually going to do with the space. If you've set foot in our current building you know that while it has it's cool aspects but in the end, it's a 20 year old building that hasn't had a big update for 10+ years. So one of our goals in moving to the new place is to update things, most notably the furniture. Today was a great first step, we see the potential now we need to figure out if we can make it happen with the budget we have.

Signing Day

So I know this is going to sound strange given I've been posting for weeks about the new place but finally today, we signed the lease. It's been a roller coaster for the last 6 weeks. There have been many times when I thought this day may not come. But after everything, the feeling of excitement and exhaustion at the same time might actually be worth it. For the record, the new home is at 64 E. Concord Street, Orlando, FL 32801.

The next couple months are going to be crazy but in the end I think we're going to be proud of our new home. But most of all I'm glad the contract phase of the program is now OVER!

Contractor Bids & Lease Agreement

All of the bids are in for the build out of the new building. All the contractors were given the same scope to bid on and we knew going into it that we were asking for more than we were budgeted for. We did that on purpose so we could pick and choose which items we wanted to do and which ones to lose. All the bids came in and they were definitely more expensive than we expected. It will take more value engineering than we expected to do to get to a place where we're comfortable with and that is within our budget. We're going to narrow down the scope to what is necessary and narrow the contractors down the our final two and see which one can do the job for the budgeted amount.

And finally, we received the approved lease agreement today. Kind of backwards, spend weeks in the building then get the lease but oh well. We got the agreement so hopefully we'll be signing very soon.

Flooring, Audio & City Permitting

Yesterday we saw our sample flooring for the first time and it was great. Putting the new samples down over the current flooring you can immediately see the difference it's going to make in the whole building. If we can't do anything else in the whole place, we'll be proud of the improvements we made just in flooring alone. Of course it's more than we wanted to spend but when you're putting down quality stuff over 12,000 sq/ft. of building it's going to get pricey.

We also made a major breakthrough with the audio department build out. Until the day before yesterday we were struggling to find an experienced person locally who has designed and/or built an audio studio. The challenge is that the people we have talked to elsewhere won't get on a plane to see the space unless they got paid. Our desire was to have a qualified person walk the proposed space and tell us we could or could not do what we wanted to do for the budget we have. David Bain found an experienced person locally who came to the building yesterday to walk the space, listen to what we wanted and is going to give us a proposal for his services. From that we'll definitely know whether we can do what we want to do with the budget we have.

We also met with the city of Orlando permitting office to walk them through the building to make sure the direction we are going with the build out won't lead to permitting problems. The walk through went remarkably well. It appears we have done our homework relatively well to make sure we're not shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to do things that will open up other issues.

We appear to be close to getting final bids from potential contractors so a lot of decisions are going to be made in the next week or so. With any luck the physical build out process should start in early February.

I was also able to shoot the flooring meeting and general b-roll for our Making Of video. Stay tuned for that.

As far as the actual lease goes, it appears as if we're close to getting final word on whether we're going to be able to sign a lease any time soon with the Tribune Chapter 11 issues. Man will it stink if we are doing all this work getting bids and we end up not at this building.

Wrapping Up Contractor Meetings

Thursday was a very busy day at the new building. We had another 7 meetings with potential contractors for the build out. A couple of the meetings were follow ups but most were people seeing the building for the first time. It amazing how the same building can be seen so differently through different eyes. Between all the groups we have met with we have talked to close to 50 people and we learn so much just by talking to each one of them.

We seem to really be making progress in what/who we want to put in each area. It's taken a little while but it seems to (mentally) be coming together well. Now the real exciting part will be seeing that come together with the physical build out and then the move.

This week will be interesting, we'll learn more about the timing of the finances required to do the build out, we meet with people from the city to do a walk through of the building to get their initial take and talk about permitting, we'll start getting the bulk of the bids from the potential contractors and we will see the flooring samples we ordered last week.

Flooring

Yesterday was a good day. You what it's like when you are working with a vendor and for whatever reason they just "get you". We have that in our flooring company. We met them last week, walked them through the new building, explained who we are and what we are trying to do with the new place and they understand it. We went to their place yesterday and they had already sketched out what type of flooring should go in what areas. They understood the special type of carpeting and color we need for edit suites. They gave great suggestions abut color, design, quality, etc. All the while keeping in mind we're on a tight budget. It was a fun meeting.

Tomorrow we have 9 meetings scheduled. A couple architects, a couple general contractors, the phone company, an HVAC company, a custodial services company. It's going to be a full day, then I get to go to the circus with my wife & daughter. The real good news is that with the cold weather the building shouldn't be 80+ degrees.

Busy Week

This week was a good week. We met with a couple more companies that will potentially help with the build out of the new place as well as met with people from the City of Orlando to talk about permitting and how we can work together to make our move successful. This coming week will be a busy one- we meet with a couple general contractors Monday so they can see our current facility. Then Tuesday we meet with two possible flooring suppliers to start looking at samples so they can finalize their quotes. Then Thursday we meet with four more companies at the new place. After that, we should get all the proposals and be able to make some decisions about who will be making our new place our "home".

I also talked to another possible acoustical architect for the audio build out. As part of the overall build out process we are turning a small soundstage into our final audio mix suite and a Foley/insert stage. The space has great potential so we optimistic that we can create an audio department similar to what we currently have.

Last week was busy and this week looks to be the same and I can tell you one thing, I'm not used to being out of the office so much. That part will take some getting used to over the next couple months. But the best news is that I have a new laptop so hopefully no more blue screens.

Meetings with Contractors

Yesterday was our second full day of interviews/meetings with potential architects, general contractors and flooring people. So far we have met with 1 pure architect (who brings an interior person with him), 2 pure flooring companies and 2 general contractors (who bring an architect and interior person with them). I'm proud of how we're going about this process, getting multiple bids, some with cross over so we can really see what each company would be providing and at what cost so when we make our final decisions it will be based on sound info rather than just "we like them so we're going to use them". And what's really great is that each company is bringing something unique to the table so no matter who we pick we'll be excited about the work. I could have done without the 84 degree building and my computer blue screening on me but other than that it was a great day.

Choosing Our New Home

So we've been looking for our new home for a couple months. We've seen more than 15 potential places in person and another 50 on-line. In the end, we found a place we think will work for us. The only problem is that the building is owned by the Tribune Company and they just filed for Chapter 11 so who knows what's going to happen over the next couple weeks. Over the next couple months though, I'll be posting periodic updates here for those who wish to keep up with the progress of our new home.