Corner House — a place to hang out — opens to the public at Substance Church in Ashland

ASHLAND - There is a new space in the neighborhood, and it's available, free, and just right for hanging out.

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At the newly opened Corner House, the public is invited to BYO coffee, lunch, laptop and whatever else is needed to achieve a change of scenery and carve out some personal space right in the heart of downtown Ashland at 101 South St.

A newly renovated section of Substance Church, The Corner House held an open house on Friday evening, June 10, to showcase the facility to the public.

Scott Long, elder/pastor of worship arts and operations, was on hand early Monday morning, June 13, to open the doors for the actual first day of operation.

Long described The Corner House as "just a meeting space," open to anyone who wants to drop by.

They can share a table with others, hold a meeting, or work individually in a quiet corner with headphones and free wi-fi.

The facility is made cozy by its multiple arrangements of tables, seating areas and remaining vintage trappings of the building's history.

Substance Church's location is the former Gilbert Furniture warehouse

The church's location is the former Gilbert Furniture warehouse; and among the leftover remnants of the department store's storied history is the old freight elevator, still functioning and kept up to code, Long said.

Also visible in the ceiling is an opening where a crane accessed materials while the store was in operation.

Featured in the renovated space is a reading nook with bookshelves, Long's favorite place to sit, and a counter and kitchenette.

The idea for The Corner House, like many innovations, was born out of the pandemic.

Long said the church had "just been thinking about a lot of people working from home" and decided it would be a good idea to open up the large space, which Substance Church has in abundance, for people to get away.

Each of the three floors -- including the main floor, which houses the worship center, areas used for children's church and other needs of the congregation -- has 10,000 square feet.

It was the idea of the lead pastor, Ronnie Martin, to find a purpose for all of that room outside of church, Long said.

"The Corner House came from a burden I had to to provide a public gathering space for our community to meet with friends, work, write, read and enjoy time in downtown Ashland," Martin said. "As a church that gathers in one of Ashland's historic buildings, we want to do our part in beautifying and utilizing our space for the good of our town for years to come."

Substance Church's space has grown since renting a small square of the building in which it is located

The space has been evolving over time, said Long, from the end of 2014, when just a small square of the building was rented, to ownership of the entire structure in January of 2020.

"Then we started making all of the changes and opening things up," Long said.

"It's kind of an elongated project for us," Long said.

Among the renovations are additional restrooms and functional kitchen space.

The church has always encouraged interaction with a cafe for "community feasts," he said. Before the kitchen updates were made, members had to take food trays home to wash them and take care of other culinary tasks off-site as well.

The team prepares food, ranging from doughnuts to cheese, crackers and salad each Sunday. On Mother's Day, the dining highlight was chocolate-covered strawberries.

Congregants spend up to one and a half hours after the service ends to enjoy food and fellowship, Long said.

Now the public will be able to do the same on weekdays by bringing their own refreshments and setting up shop at a table or on a couch.

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Rachel Dillon, who heads the children's ministry and is the church's operations assistant, has been on the job six months. She hopes to see some new faces accompanying the new space.

Dillon is eager for people just walking by to feel welcome and to stop in.

Sydney Moore, a teacher at Clear Fork and a church volunteer, thinks the Corner House will be especially beneficial "when college kids come back. It will be perfect for them to come and study."

Motto for Substance Church's renovation efforts is 'redeem and restore'

"Redeem and restore" has been a motto for the church's renovation efforts, Long said. "An old warehouse is a blank slate."

Using donations from individuals and Harbor Network, with which Substance Church is affiliated; and benefiting from contracting work done by church members have helped fuel projects. They began with putting up drywall and other renovation tasks to "redeem" the old building. Now, "almost 10 years later," restoration efforts are under way with the goal of repurposing it for spreading the Gospel, Long said.

Long, who has been a mechanic, helped out, as did Dustin Kaufman, who built the kitchen's bar top and library nook bookcases.

"All of the design, layout and aesthetics were done by an artist in our church, Liz Klingler," Long said.

"We love the space," he said.

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The church serves the community for a variety of outreach endeavors, such as Costume Capers, a fall festival packed with hot dogs, candy and games.

"We are just trying to be a space that is inviting, hospitable and welcome," Long said.

Start-up hours for The Corner House are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.

"If it gets traction, awesome," says Long. "We hope it' a place people feel comfortable."

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Substance Church opens new space for hanging out called Corner House