The Generator art and maker space is again looking for a home after the landlords pulled the plug on the nonprofit's lease. This time just before Burning Man artists ramp up art production before the weeklong arts festival in the desert.

The Generator is a 35,000-square foot warehouse space that has churned out some of the most iconic Burning Man art, including Embrace, Space Whale, Baba Yaga’s House and several temples. The last day of residency for the Generator at 1240 Icehouse Ave. in Sparks will be as early as May 31.

“There’s no denying this is an inopportune time for the lease to get terminated,” said Jerry Snyder, president of the board of directors for the Reno Generator, in a Thursday morning statement. “That said, the building owners have done just about everything in their power to give us every possible courtesy without incurring hurt themselves. We are now throwing our energy into investigating creative solutions for our community needs in order to avoid disruption to some pivotal events coming up.”

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The Generator's lease originally was up in June 2019, but owner Tolles Development Co. extended it through the end of November so artists could complete their Burning Man projects. Generator leaders announced in November, however, that Tolles had agreed to a three-year extension.

The building would remain on the market for more than $3.8 million as part of the lease, and, should the building sell, Tolles would not boot the occupants between the months June and September, peak production time, according to a statement from Generator staff at the time.

Tolles Development Co. chief operating officer Kyle Rea said Thursday morning that the developer did not have comment.

"It is disheartening to know the creation of art is becoming less accessible to residents based on our market’s rapidly rising pricing,” said Jessi “Sprocket” Janusee, director of communications at the Generator in a statement. “This is not just about losing our ability to make art. This displaces an entire community of people who have been working together and supporting one another for more than six years. We’re losing the home base for our art family and that’s what hurts the most.”

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The artists may look to the Fernley area for a temporary space for large art construction, according to Cory Miller, president of the Northern Nevada Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

“You can’t ‘infill’ industrial development, so we must look to areas outside of our urban area for growth opportunities,” said Miller.

The eviction will be painful for the 300 members of the Generator, which has worked on creating a more sustainable membership model in recent years. When it opened at the current location in 2013, it was funded solely by an angel donor, Paul Buchheit, the computer programmer who invented Gmail.

Since, the Generator has grown to be the maker space of choice for local artists such as Snyder, Janusee and Matt Schultz, creator of Embrace, Space Whale and the Pier, and international groups.

“The playa would not be what it is without the Generator, a hub of creativity that has brought so many Burning Man art projects to life,” said Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley, a spokesman for Burning Man Project. “It’s a resource that would be sorely missed if it does not find a new home. Burning Man Project fully supports the team and we hope a positive resolution to this solution can be achieved soon.”

Events such as the popular Reno Punk Rock Flea Market, for which the Generator recently installed a $6,000 sprinkler system, have also become popular, as have the more than a dozen local businesses that work out of the Generator.

Leadership at the Generator is asking the community to volunteer short-term suggestions should they have any. Leads can be emailed to info@renogenerator.com.

“Without an affordable solution, we could risk losing some of the region's most economically viable art creation to gentrification,” said Snyder. “It goes without saying but it’s rather hard to make a virtual maker space work.”

Jenny Kane covers arts and culture in Northern Nevada, as well as the dynamic relationship between the state and the growing Burning Man community. She also covers the state's burgeoning cannabis industry (Check out her podcast, the Potcast, on iTunes.) Support her work in Reno by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.