Old Columbus Wonder Bread factory becoming “Wonderland”

wonderland

According to a press release, “Wonderland is a group of local arts and business leaders coming together to provide a resource for the creative community of Columbus, Ohio. The non-profit organization will manage the former Wonder Bread factory as a combination of artist studios, music studios, shared office space, and retail space. Wonderland will be a prime example of creative leadership and innovation nationwide.”

Informational meeting 1/29 at Junctionview Studios for those interested. Full press release after the jump.

It’s been almost a year since Wonder Bread moved out of their Italian Village bakery on 4th Street near the Short North. Now, a group of innovative entrepreneurs are looking to turn the 65,000 square foot factory into a hub for the creative class in Columbus and beyond.

The project is being called “Wonderland” and it will combine artist studios, shared office space, band rehearsal and recording facilities, venue and performance space, gallery space, and a mix of start-up and established retail all under one roof. The goal is to provide a resource for artists, musicians, and small businesses to achieve individual success, as well as to establish an icon in Columbus that highlights our outstanding local creative industries to the world.

Getting things off the ground are Adam Brouillette (Couchfire Collective), Andrew Dodson (Central City Recording), David Hunegnaw (The Sandbox Columbus), Kevin Lykens (Lykens Companies) and Josh Quinn (Tigertree). The group is forming a non-profit organization to manage the property, to keep rent costs down and to provide a vehicle to seek donations and grants to encourage growth and job creation within the creative community. They will each focus on a specific area – arts, music, business, retail – and provide business counseling and information resources for tenants as well as day-to-day management of the property.

There will be an informational meeting on January 29th at Junctionview Studios (889 Williams Ave, Grandview Heights) from 6:30pm-9pm for anyone who may be interested.

7 responses to “Old Columbus Wonder Bread factory becoming “Wonderland”

  1. love the name

    All music lovers check out Riff Raters in the iphone app store

  2. Victoria Garrett

    This is the best idea of use of empty space I have heard of in a long while! I cannot wait, and wish I could be a part of it!

  3. vat is da address? i vanna chek it out. if someones vould be so kind to leave da address, it vould be much appreciated. auf wiedersehen

  4. id du like dis, chek out Front Street Warehouses in Dayton, Ohio. Dey have been doin dis since da 70s. keep on rockin in the free, if du have money, vorld.

  5. I and a friend are local artists who have had gallery showings in the past. We are interested in cost of space and square footage of individual space.
    Who do we contact for rental iinformation and what are the qualifications?

    Any knowledge on these questions at such an early date?

    Thanks,
    Richard

  6. Finally saw Avatar this past weekend.  I honestly thought it was not going to be all that good — I was dead wrong!  Sam Worthington is going to absolutely own Hollywood soon.  Who agrees that the mind of James Cameron is simply amazing??  Hollywood, you did some nice work here.Regards,Movie Guy, Movie Lover, Movie Buff, 3D Fan, New 3D Fan