(Photo courtesy Eric Giacchino)
Bike Clark County needs a new home. The non-profit bike advocacy organization has been operating from what it’s president Eric Giacchino calls a “weird but fun” space in downtown Vancouver — a drained swimming pool — for the past two years. Now Eric tells us his landlord (a charitable foundation) is considering other plans for the space so he’s looking to find a new location to keep his successful programs afloat and possibly even open up a retail storefront.
In an email sent to supporters and members last week, Giacchino said he’s “saddened” to have to leave his current location, but he understands the circumstances and is grateful for the space while it lasted. And he’s already moved onto the next step: looking for a new space and organizing a move of tools, equipment, workbenches and over 200 bikes which will have to find a home by mid June.
Here’s more from Giacchino’s announcement:
We are beginning the search to find a home suitable to set up shop. We’re in need of approximately 3000 square feet of secure space with lights and preferably access to a bathroom, where we can store and tune up our training fleets and also refurbish the bicycles that the community donates to our bike giveaway program.
Bike Clark County has been laying the groundwork for the idea of opening a brick and mortar community bike shop on or near the 4th plain corridor – maybe this is the catalyst we need. Huge thanks to the Hough Foundation for their generous donation of the space…it was fun while it lasted.
Giacchino is looking for help and partnership. He’s committed to opening a community bike shop that serves Clark County’s low-income households; but he needs a long-term space where he can set up a retail operation with regular business hours and paid staff (similar to the Community Cycling Center on Alberta).
If you can help, contact him at info@bikeclarkcounty.org.
— For more on Bike Clark County see our profile from last November.
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I think I took swim lessons as a young rock and roller in that pool. Weird.
you might be thinking of Memory pool ? (is was behind the old ft.vancouver library) hough pool was opened in 1997. i went to hough elementary in the ’70’s.
Maybe. This would have been early 80s. It was sorta near Clark College. So is that memory pool? That name rings no bells at all.
marshal center.
You’re thinking of Marshall Center which is on the same street but across the street from Clark College versus off of Franklin Street on McLoughlin.
Thanks guys. Marshall Center. My mom would take me when she would go swim laps or whatever it was she went for. Fun.
The former swimmer in me is sad to see that pool not in swimming use.
Yes true…though this pool had very advanced mechanicals that adjusted the floor height for swimmers with different swimming abilities (I have been told)…and as such took a lot more maintenance. The district foundation “gifted” it without really understanding the client…that parks and rec budget (and demand) could not support two public pools in close proximity …thus its current use.
Can’t wait till they find a space so I can make part of it shreddable…
an indoor pump track would be awesome!!!!
I think pump track at Block 10 would be awesome. The temporary park really doesn’t get any use anyway.
Biking with the sharks.