About our new building
Steam Exchange purchased our new building in 2014. The building had been a barber & beauty shop that had not been in use for 12 years. Once renovated, this building will transform the heart of Smoketown into a vibrant hub for passion-driven learning, STEAM and the arts. The new building will give us 4 additional classroom spaces including a homework help lounge, a culinary arts kitchen, and 2 multimedia/dance class rooms.
Pictured left is a photograph we found during the renovation process of Muhammed Ali getting his hair cut at the barber shop.
- Pictured left is a photograph we found during the renovation process of Muhammed Ali getting his hair cut at the barber shop.
Building Renovation Progress Includes:
- Installation of a new roof
- Installation of new awnings
- Completion of interior demolition
- Drafting of a new interior floor plan
- Completed interior lead abatement
- Replaced gas lines
- Updated electrical panel
- Repaired all exterior brick work
- Began painting building exterior
Phase 1
Demolition of our new building is complete! We were able to employ 5 StEx alumni and had 11 volunteers donate over 60 hours of time. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported this project so far. We are excited to move on to phase 2.
We hope to have the lower half of the building open for classes by Fall ’26. Help us fund Phase 2 renovations!
