It seems like most schools simply don't have the space needed for a permanent build space like this, and with the economy the way it is they can't afford to expand at all. In fact, many school districts around the nation are looking to eliminate costs by merging schools if possible, making space even more critical. Sometimes the best option is to go off school property and rent somewhere else. Our build space is a rented workspace in downtown St. Paul. The school just signed up for a 3 year lease on the place and the owner renovated it to fit our needs perfectly. The past 2 years, we've been renting whatever space was open in the building Dec-Apr... and since the owner loved the concept of the team (and the tax benefits, i'm sure), we got it for amazingly cheap. Anyways, on to our permanent space...
In total, it's about 1700 square feet. There's a big pillars every 13 feet, breaking it up into 10 13x13 foot segments, giving us a natural division between tasks (electrical, programming, cutting/grinding, storage, etc). In addition, there's walls up around 3 of the squares, forming an office area where programming and the business teams can work in relative quiet (and where we have a small kitchenette).
The space is perfect for us, with plenty of room to grow into as we slowly check items off our equipment wish list.
You can get a feel for the space from the pictures here:
http://therobettes.com/2010/Media_Ga...alb_09-10.html All but the team dinner were taken inside the build space.