Construction is set to begin for Creator Square, a maker residency program and makerspace in the heart of downtown Johnstown. The program is designed to connect world-class makers with small-batch manufacturing tools and local entrepreneurial support.

Architect Paul Rosenblatt, Creator Square’s founding director, said interior demolition and construction likely will take four to six months. A national call for makers and small-batch manufacturers will go out before the end of the year, and Johnstown could have its first group of Creative Masters in place in spring 2020.

The program was envisioned by and supported through of a number of organizations: Carnegie Mellon University; Community Foundation for the Alleghenies; JARI; Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission; Discover Downtown Johnstown Partnership; Entrepreneurial Alchemy; and the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority. Funding sources for the approximately $750,000 project include the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, and private donations.

About Creator Square
Creator Square developed from a Carnegie Mellon University research project initiated by Paul Rosenblatt, AIA, and his SEED-certified Springboard Design team and supported by Community Foundation for the Alleghenies. Built on a framework created by Carnegie Mellon’s Remaking Cities Institute, the program is an anchor project of Vision2025.

The facility at 134 Gazebo Park in Johnstown will include a shared collaborative makerspace and gallery in the building’s main floor storefront, which faces Johnstown’s Central Park Square.

Inside the renovated historic building, Creative Masters will utilize shared equipment, exhibit their work, and perform demonstrations and classes for the general public and local participants in the program. Creative Masters will have access to specialized equipment that includes table and rotary saws, CNC Routers, 3D printers, welding equipment, drills, and more. More info is available at www.creatorsquarejohnstown.com.

Creator Square partners also have established a relationship with the Greater Johnstown Technology Center (GJCTC) to make a variety of building and fabrication equipment valued at over approximately $350,000, available to Creative Masters, either on site in the Parkview Building or at the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center.