Athens Armory opens as new home to Athens County Foundation and BlueDot Coworking

Mary Reed • October 2, 2025

September 30 open house draws stakeholders and community members alike

  • Athens Armory building flag visible. Sunny outdoor setting. Armory Park

    Slide title

    Athens Armory exterior, Photo by Mary Reed

    Button
  • Athens Armory building flag visible. Sunny outdoor setting. Armory Park

    Slide title

    Athens Armory exterior, Photo by Mary Reed

    Button
  • People mingling in a large event space with round tables and a wood floor. Athens Armory Community Open House

    Slide title

    Athens Armory interiors, Community Open House, Photo by Mary Reed

    Button
  • Pink sticky note on a wall, with handwritten text and part of the word

    Slide title

    Community's hope for the Armory, Photo by Mary Reed

    Button
  • View of Court Street downtown Athens behind the US flag

    View from the Armory Office

    View from the Athens County Foundation office, Photo by Mary Reed

    Button

After being shuttered for decades, the historic Athens Armory at the north end of Court Street is now open; the newly renovated building is home to the Athens County Foundation and BlueDot Coworking & Event Space. 

 

“We see the Armory as a renewed heartbeat in the center of our county – a place where people can connect, where conversations spark ideas, where partnerships are formed, and where our community’s past and future intersect,” said Kerry Pigman, ACF executive director. ACF provided seed funding for BlueDot Coworking and collaboration to make the Armory renovation happen. “The Athens County Foundation is proud to help steward this moment and this space,” Pigman added. 

  

ACF’s move to the Armory creates a more welcoming and accessible space for the community. The new location offers room for gatherings, deeper connection, and collaboration. It also supports the Foundation’s programs like Project Co-Create, Strengths+Strengths workshops for nonprofits, and Leadership Athens County. Pigman added that she “hopes this new space makes it easier for more people to get involved and shape what’s next for Athens County.”  

 

The September 30 open house event drew hundreds of people interested in viewing the $6.5 million renovation; attendees had the opportunity to explore the space’s amenities – including the central, spacious event space named Logueville Great Hall after the late City of Athens planner, Paul Logue. 

 

Additionally, residents and visitors took in the ACF offices as well as the space’s business office spaces, flexible workstations, meeting areas and a shared-use kitchen – all designed to support remote workers, freelancers and small business owners across Athens County. 

 

BlueDot Coworking is a nonprofit developed to meet the rising demand for professional, flexible workspace in the region. The shared space model supports the growing number of professionals working remotely or launching businesses in Southeast Ohio, while fostering networking and cross-sector collaboration. 

 

Sadie Meade, director of BlueDot Coworking, shared her excitement about the space, particularly the coworking space, which she said will create opportunity for community collaborations. “Folks who will work there from a multitude of organizations and entrepreneurial perspectives will build proximal relationships with one another,” she said, “That work together can become really natural (through) a coffee, walk.” 

 

Meade praised the Athens County Foundation. “From a community standpoint, they bring a whole community of folks with them,” she said. Meade is currently enrolled in Leadership Athens County, a leadership development program sponsored by ACF. “It feels very serendipitous,” Meade said. 

 

Individuals and businesses can access a wide array of BlueDot memberships, from drop-ins to private offices. Members have 24/7 access to the space. Learn more about membership options at bluedotcoworking.org/coworking. 

 

Next door to the armory is Armory Park, which is free to rent. For more information, reach out to info@bluedotcoworking.org. 

Pull up a Chair: September Newsletter

By Emily Prince • September 17, 2026
After the Storm: What Community Resilience Looks Like

Stacy Strauss is ACF's new Director of Finance and Administration

By Emily Prince • September 1, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new Director of Finance and Administration, Stacy Strauss. Stacy looks forward to using her skills to strengthen our community! She brings energy, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to her work, along with a genuine ability to bring people together around shared goals. Her experience spans financial management, fundraising and grant writing, program development, business strategy, and developing materials that tell a clear, compelling story.  Just as importantly, she enjoys helping others grow. She has experience leading and training teams, building collaborative cultures, developing recruitment strategies, and finding practical, creative solutions to complicated challenges. Whether working with colleagues, community partners, or other stakeholders, she builds relationships rooted in trust, communication, and a shared commitment to advancing good ideas.

Fall Grant Applications Open

By Shayne Lopez • August 28, 2026
Athens County's greatest asset is its people. Every day, neighbors, organizations, and local leaders bring skill, creativity, and deep knowledge of this place to the work of building a stronger community. Our grantmaking invests in those strengths, because the best solutions are already growing here, led by the people who call Athens County home. Our grantmaking builds on the strengths already here by investing in the initiatives, people and organizations, relationships, skills, and ideas working to address longstanding challenges and pursue extraordinary opportunities. The deadline for applications for the Senior Fund has been extended to October 18, 2026! The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund The Athens Jaycees Senior Fund supports organizations and programs working to improve the lives of older adults (60+) in Athens County. This year, approximately $65,000 is available through ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle. We want to encourage organizations to think broadly about what supporting people as they age could look like. The Jaycees fund has deep local roots. In 2014, Housing for Athens Senior Residents donated $1 million to the Athens County Foundation to establish the fund following the sale of Heritage Commons Senior Housing. Heritage Commons itself began as an Athens Jaycees project in 1981, created to expand housing opportunities for local seniors. To date, the Jaycees Senior Fund has awarded more than $415,000 to support programs and services benefiting older adults across Athens County. What could an Athens Jaycees Senior Fund project look like? We’re inviting applicants to consider how their work could help make Athens County a community where people can remain active, connected, independent, and supported as they age. Projects might address housing, transportation, community and health services, social connection, healthy living, accessibility, caregiver support, or other needs and opportunities identified by older adults. The Jaycees Senior Fund intentionally remains flexible so that organizations can bring forward ideas grounded in what they are seeing and hearing in their communities. If your organization has an idea that could improve the experience of aging in Athens County, we encourage you to consider ACF’s Fall Grant Cycle to access the Jaycees Senior Fund. The deadline for grant requests supporting senior-related programs has been extended to October 18, 2026. For more information, please visit athensfoundation.org/grants. -------- If you’d like guidance in developing or strengthening an age-friendly program idea, we encourage you to reach out directly to Amy Lipka with Age-Friendly Athens County at alipka@athenspublichealth.org. The Athens City-County Health Department will also sponsor Healthy Aging Community Grants in early 2027.