[DAO:huk33re] Nexus Market District Build-Out, Phase 1

[dao]

by 0x2f1a5c8523839c2d0692f7c89116fb067b77a532 (NexusMarket)

Should the following Tier 4: up to $60,000 USD, 6 months vesting (1 month cliff) grant in the Content Creator category be approved?

Abstract

Nexus Market is a 279-parcel district at -1,51. We plan to offer reasonable land lease options for big and small companies and creators and shared event space for any tenant to use.

We commissioned an award-winning architect to create a wonderful design concept for the district. We have a strategic relationship with Parcel, a renowned metaverse real estate marketplace, to help present the district to major brands. LEDY Inc. an experienced metaverse real estate developer will design and build shared spaces within the district.

With a DAO grant, we can pay skilled modelers and developers to build a minimum viable version of the district, and create the brand awareness needed to attract new companies and creators to Decentraland.

Grant size

60,000 USD

Beneficiary address

0x2F1a5C8523839c2d0692f7C89116fb067B77A532

Email address

contact@nexusmarket.io

Description

Nexus Market District was formed in 2018 as the Central Marketplace. The district has 279 parcels thanks to MANA donations from 61 contributors. Since then, lack of capital has been a big hurdle for Nexus to deliver on its vision. Efforts to get 3d modelers and programmers to work for free failed. Skilled professionals want to be paid.

Recently, the team commissioned conceptual designs and an urban plan for the district, and the results have been amazing. With grant funds, we can pay talented architects, modelers, and developers to complete and deploy this design.

We can create a new kind of commerce and entertainment district with cost-effective leasing options for any company or creator who doesn’t want to buy land. By lowering the friction to set up a presence in Decentraland we plan to attract new companies and creators, and their followers, who might not come here otherwise.

The Nexus project is also partnering with Parcel, the premier metaverse land marketplace, creator directory, and education platform, to present leasing opportunities to potential clients, including well-known companies and brands.

Cohesive Design and Planning

The district design unites shops, galleries, anchor presences, a shared event space, and an open market plaza in a cohesive architectural whole. The initial design concept shows that Nexus can become a spectacular addition to Decentraland, attracting new brands, businesses, and players.

The large front area is a shared event space where events can be run by any Nexus tenant. It can be configured as a stage for concerts, or as a large screen viewing area for films and video streams.

The expansive corner quadrants are open to larger companies who want to house their HQ or other custom-built structures in Nexus. These are some of the anchors that should attract new attendees to the district, and benefit from the traffic brought in by other nearby tenants.

The dramatic “Crystal City” structure will become the main Nexus landmark. It’s also practical. The larger structures can house multiple shops, galleries, and other leasable spaces.

We want to bring together world-class design and architecture, fun interactivity, real-world retail brands, and the Decentraland creator community. The resulting district and the attention it will garner could help cement Decentraland’s position as the leading metaverse platform, and demonstrate new use cases and experiences for the future.

Previous Work

The team members are well positioned to deliver. They have already deployed a number of impressive builds in Decentraland.

With the WonderZone team, Rob Dixon designed and created the WonderZone Amusement Park and the ever-popular WonderMine game.

In addition, LEDY has already built:

• The New Scirocco Resort from their Extraverse collection. Sold for 42 Eth.
• The second resort NFT, Grand Aurelia.
• The 607 Beverly Hills Metahouse, a replica of a for-sale $9.4M mansion.
• The Ferrari 90210 home, a replica of a real-world $17M home.

Specification

This grant will be used to fund four aspects of development:

1. Refine architectural design, urban planning, and layout. Starting from the initial concept, we’ll add details regarding urban planning and a unified district map for the district. This will also include design style guidelines for modelers who will create individual structures on the map.

2. Build and deploy core structures and shared spaces. This will include the central Crystal City, the plaza and event space, and the paths and common areas between the leasable lands. LEDY works with a network of talented modelers and can source the best ones to deliver the buildings, landscaping, and other elements we need.

3. Build interactive experiences. We will pay developers to create unique interactive experiences in the district, so every visit is entertaining. One core experience is the convertible event space that can shift from an open music stage to a covered film theater. Other work involves support for easily setting up and configuring shops, gallery spaces, or marketplace booths for creators.

4. Brand awareness and public relations. Building upon branding work being done with Parcel, we will involve a top PR agency to create awareness of Nexus and Decentraland in major media publications. This can attract more companies who are interested in leasing areas within Nexus, and by extension bring new players with them. LEDY’s recent work deploying real estate models in Decentraland to support luxury home sales, amplified by public relations campaigns, got them coverage on TV news and multiple real-world publications.

This grant alone is not enough to build out the entire district plus all the interactive experiences and commerce infrastructure we envision. We’re starting with a relatively small grant so we can show positive results in the first 6 months. Then if there’s a need for a future grant we’ll have a solid track record of achievement first. Of course, we hope that after 6 months we’ll lease many spaces in Nexus, making future grants unnecessary.

Benefits to the Decentraland Community

This project could provide many benefits for the community:

• The leasing model allows those who can’t afford land to set up their own shop, gallery, or other space. It can help alleviate concerns about land scarcity pricing people out. Leasable areas within Nexus can be as small as 1x2 parcels, with low leasing rates.

• Our tenants share the common event space. It’s more cost-effective for a company to build a Decentraland presence without having to buy extra parcels to build their own arena or theater. This might attract companies that wouldn’t come to Decentraland otherwise.

• New companies mean new work for creators who can help them build out their presence. We are working with Parcel’s Creatorverse program to find creators in the community who want to build out shops, galleries, and other spaces for tenants, and get paid for it.

• The more tenants in the district, the more everyone benefits. We plan on a mix of large anchor presences, plus medium-sized and smaller spaces. Like a thriving mall, people might come to see one space, then be intrigued and investigate the whole district, discovering new creators and experiences as they go.

• We want to make it fun to visit Nexus every day. We’ll use learnings from other projects to build surprises, flexible features, frequent events, and even game-like features to keep things interesting.

Personnel

Decent Amusements LLC manages Nexus and the nearby WonderZone Park, one of the highest traffic areas in Decentraland.

LEDY is a metaverse real estate developer with extensive experience building luxury metaverse content.

Parcel is a virtual real estate marketplace, creator directory and education platform uniquely positioned to offer everything people need to make the most of the metaverse.

Rob Dixon (Radix):
Active in the Decentraland community since 2017. Manages Nexus Market and WonderZone. Has built over a dozen games and attractions in Decentraland, including the popular WonderMine game.

For LEDY:

Mark D’Andrea:
15 years of founder experience across multiple startups. 10 years of experience in top management consulting firms. His experience as a GP in a real estate investment fund plus 9 years in crypto and web3 give a unique perspective on developing real estate in the metaverse.

Mark Emtiaz:
Invested in tech startups since 2013 and crypto since 2014, as an angel investor and a VC firm partner. Fully understands the opportunities that the metaverse offers. Founded and operated multiple companies, many in real estate. Held various corporate management positions, including at Pfizer.

Andrew Lee:
Software engineer. Experience builder in a wide range of industries from scientific/research computing, 3D visualization, high-frequency trading, and web3. Has deployed many builds to Decentraland.

Roadmap and milestones

Budget and Milestones

We expect to use the grant funds according to the following 6-month budget:

Month 1:

• Refine the overall district concept model. Partition large spaces into their own models, and create practical and detailed GLB models for testing in Decentraland: $8,000

Month 2:

• Focus on building out the shared district areas: The Crystal City, the Event Plaza, and the surrounding lands with open leasable areas: $8,000

Month 3:

• Continue building out the shared district areas: $8,000
• Develop core event space features: audio and video streaming, convertibility: $4,000

Month 4:

• Continue building any of the shared district areas that remain: $5,000
• More event space features: convertibility, event management tools: $4,000

Month 5:

• Tenant support features: set-up tools for shops, galleries, and other tenant spaces: $8,000
• Work with PR firm to plan PR launch strategy and marketing materials: $2,000

Month 6:

• Finalize event management and tenant support features: $8,000
• Launch PR campaign: $2,000

Any remaining funds will be applied to the above tasks, as needed if they exceed the budget.

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

[michi]

I’m also saying yes, this proposal has a clear roadmap, concept development, good breakdown of budget, accountable team overview and realistic goals.

My only feedback is since your already an established business bridging into Decentraland it would be good to see a % ROI back to the dao since there will be revenue streams developed by this community investment.

Really like this and excited to see this project launched in game!

[DrGreenthumb]

So selling some lots to afford your build isnt a thought. Having 279 you have alot of funds into land to free up.

[michi]

Either way it would be good for the community DAO to receive 20% of this businesses ROI as a collective investment.

Reviewing their previous work their income is in the millions so idk why they’re requesting 60k but even 20% of these returns will benefit the community:

• The New Scirocco Resort from their Extraversecollection. Sold for 42 Eth.
• The second resort NFT, Grand Aurelia.
• The 607 Beverly Hills Metahouse, a replica of a for-sale $9.4M mansion.
• The Ferrari 90210 home, a replica of a real-world $17M home

So either these figures are a stretch or this is an opportunity for the Decentraland DAO to own a percentage of a brand it’s kickstarting.
If this is an unreasonable request then their intentions to return value to the community funding it isn’t on the honest side.

So I’m a yes with the condition DAO owns 20% of this business (Nexus Market) and profits on the platform.

[AwedJob]

Positives:

• There is an experienced team creating the builds
• Timeline has specific costs tied to realistic deliverables
• Added value of new development containing experiences for new visitors and daily active users

Questions:

• What range are the “low leasing rates” within regarding the 1x2 parcels?
• Do you have a PR firm in mind and if so, do they have experience with metaverse audiences in general and Decentraland in particular?
• Do you agree to @michi 's 20% return proposition

Vote: pending yes, conditional on answers to above questions.

[DefiniteCash]

I want to vote yes as I want people to have a lower barrier to enter decentraland.

But, I do feel like DCL should have its own marketplace to lease land like there is one to buy land. Why are we giving grant money to all these projects who are building marketplaces to lease land and make a profit when we can have our own?

That being said I am also pending, conditional to @michi’s 20% return proposition at least as I do love seeing development of the Decentraland districts but this needs to be fair for the DAO as well.

[RDixon]

We really appreciate the comments, everyone, and are happy to answer as many as we can.

We considered selling some district land as a way to raise funds. But as you can see, it will take a large area to deliver the Crystal City concept, which we think will be spectacular. We’d rather work to get support for this plan first. If it doesn’t work out, we can fall back on selling lands and then reducing the scope of the plan.

[RDixon]

Hi michi,

We think if we can deliver on this plan and bring new companies, creators, and players to Decentraland, that will be a big win for the community and the DAO. But we’re open to finding more direct ways to return value to the DAO as well.

I don’t think the DAO owning a percentage of the actual business entity is doable from a legal point of view. In addition, the Nexus Market District already has a ratified plan to share a large percentage of profits with the MANA contributors who helped create the district, so we don’t have that much to go around. But we’re open to finding a way to return some part of the profits back to the DAO, perhaps with a cap of some kind so it’s not completely open-ended.

And to be clear about LEDY’s previous projects: While the projects are impressive, and they were paid to create them, they didn’t bring in millions in revenue. The real estate prices were for the home sellers themselves. LEDY was paid to create the virtual replicas of the homes in Decentraland, so prospective buyers could visit them in the metaverse.

[RDixon]

@AwedJob

• What range are the “low leasing rates” within regarding the 1x2 parcels?
• Do you have a PR firm in mind and if so, do they have experience with metaverse audiences in general and Decentraland in particular?

Hi AwedJob,

We’re working with Parcel.so to manage leasing arrangements. They have algorithms to determine optimum lease prices depending on land size and placement. In general it’s similar to real-world commercial real estate, where the monthly rate is a very small percentage of the market purchase price for the land.

For the smaller spaces like 1x2 parcels, I trust we’ll be able to offer very reasonable rates. Something like $100/month might be doable, but that’s just a ballpark estimate.

I prefer to keep the leasing arrangements as simple and manageable as possible, especially to support Decentraland creators who want their own shop or gallery. We’re exploring ways to make spaces accessible to creators at low cost, like organizing an area or tower with lots of creator spaces together and supporting short-term pop-up shops and marketplace booths for things like Wearables Festivals where people can show their wares.

Regarding PR firms, we have worked with some good firms in the past, including one that was very successful at bringing LEDY media coverage for their metaverse real estate builds. We’ll be talking with these firms in the next week or two and can announce who they are when we’ve sorted out the arrangements.

@DefiniteCash

I want to vote yes as I want people to have a lower barrier to enter decentraland.

But, I do feel like DCL should have its own marketplace to lease land like there is one to buy land. Why are we giving grant money to all these projects who are building marketplaces to lease land and make a profit when we can have our own?

Hi DefiniteCash,

We’re not proposing to build a leasing marketplace. We will only be leasing our own land to tenants who like the idea of low-cost lease terms and shared use of the event space and other common areas.

Thanks!

[michi]

Thanks for your reply!
I’ll contact DCL legal and get some feedback around that, I think Decentraland as a business can hold a 20% share of Nexus Market. When receiving funds raised by the community, you will need to submit regular project updates and information to the governance committee, including ROI and share holder information wouldn’t be that far a stretch.

This is a large investment to a body with resources, a team, MANA backing and established partners. It might be a farfetched but usually projects asking for a base investment are using the teams personal money. They are creators so they are working for free, devs working on SDK and land owners so I agree with your point high quality creative has a cost.

Parcel NFT have a handshake with Foundation but I wouldn’t say they’re a credible partner based of their previous campaigns and attitude to creators in the space.

I’m excited to have Nexus Market in the platform and currently this is an amazing opportunity for Decentraland but I also don’t think every client of ParcelNFT moving forward shouldn’t be asking for community funding to enter the space.

Feel free to reach out with any questions

[RDixon]

Hi Michi,

Thanks for your answer. To be clear, this proposal is for Nexus Market District which is one of the original districts set up by Decentraland in 2018. And I’ve been contributing to the DCL community since 2017, so I wouldn’t say we’re just entering the space.

When districts were established they were provided with land but no funding or resources to help build anything. We have tried for years to get creators to work with us for free, but that’s not an easy road. With WonderZone Amusement Park we were able to create content and win some resources through Game Jams, but that doesn’t apply as easily to a mixed-use event and commercial district like Nexus.

With LEDY joining, we have an accomplished creative team who can produce some amazing results at a reasonable cost. We’re also glad to have Parcel as advisors, since we’ve found them to be very credible and good at what they do.

Anyway, I don’t want us to be characterized as some big corporation when in fact we’re a small team just wanting to build and deliver. It’s another reason why we’re not interested in selling a 20% stake in the business for a DAO grant. It doesn’t make sense from a business point of view, and the legal costs alone would take a big chunk of the funds. As far as I know, no other recipients have been required to give up equity as a condition for receiving a grant.

The main value to the community will be to bring new companies and people into Decentraland, to provide spaces for Decentraland creators, and to build another thriving hub of activity that encourages people to come back day after day. Thanks.

[michi]

Thanks for your quick reply!
I’m sorry to characterise you as big corporate, your work with Wonderzone has been a key part of the Decentraland community and I appreciate your feedback.

I know not long ago Wondermine has had a grant to expand and I’ve also seen a lot of improvements with the Wonderzone NFTs recently being released!

[DAO: QmabBJU] Expanding and improving WonderZone (resubmission)

by 0xfe91c0c482e09600f2d1dbca10fd705bc6de60bc (Yemel#60bc) Should the following Tier 6: up to $240,000 USD, 6 months vesting (1 month cliff) grant in the Gaming category be approved? Abstract (This proposal has been resubmitted using the new VP thresholds and voting period. Originally posted by Joe) WonderMine is a social play-to-earn game where you mine meteors, collect resources and craft upgrades and rewards in the form of wearables and other NFTs. WonderMine is often the most popular l…

If you were to share a % ROI back to the dao from the 279 parcel district build which was received for free, how much would you recommend. Again, I’m a yes vote but I think a project of this scale requesting community funds (even though giving back to the community) should have a few strings attached.
What is going to bring more value to the community: a large scale development structure covering a large district or that district having some areas sold and open to creators in the space to utilise the land?

Definitely some discussion points and interested to hear what the community thinks.
Appreciate you taking the time to reply!

[michi]

One major barrier to entry at the moment for creators is access to land, having a look at -1,51 the land is predominately empty and I’m assuming it’s been like that for close to 5 years. If you sold less than half that land then you would have the funding you need for this project and still over 100 parcels. Refusing the idea of giving a % BACK to the DAO I think shows your intentions aren’t for the community.

Currently at a glance you have a revenue stream from Wondermine, land resources you received for free, 240k community grant for your team to expand your existing game assets, Sponsorship through DCL Rentals on -1,51. If anything this looks greedy and isn’t really backing up your statements about credibility in the space.

I’m sure it is hard to get creators to work for free when you have resources to pay, also why I’m not surprised your advisors are Parcel NFT lol

[DrGreenthumb]

Well said michi.
Which brings me back to them selling lots to fund themselfs. Seems like they got about all that land for free thru donations on mana. Got greedy buying land and didnt save any to develop almost 300 lots.

[mdandrea]

Thanks for the feedback, it’s always great to hear from the community. I want to jump in to lay out why we think there’s so much potential value for Decentraland stakeholders from this proposal.

We at LEDY are excited to bring our expertise and background together with Rob, who’s made such contributions to Decentraland over the years. We feel this is a unique opportunity to do something new: create a district with a cohesive, singular, conceptual design, and a team that’s working to coordinate the development. This will help new brands, new creators, and events feel confident in coming into the space.

These brands, creators, and events, as well as the resulting publicity, will create value for all Decentraland stakeholders: landholders, MANA holders, developers, and visitors. And this value won’t be a one-time benefit, as once we begin to set up brands and experiences, we’ll set in motion the flywheel of return traffic that will continue to bring value to Decentraland. In turn, this will help Decentraland remain a leader in developing interactivity, content, and experiences in the Metaverse.

Together with Rob, we feel confident that our joint team has credibility in what we’ve been able to create, and that we can execute the plan we laid out in the proposal. We look forward to engaging with the community throughout the process and creating long-term value for Decentraland stakeholders.

[RDixon]

Hi michi,

As you said yourself at the start of these comments, this project has a “clear roadmap, concept development, good breakdown of budget, accountable team overview, and realistic goals.” I’d rather talk about those things and the best ways we can implement them for the benefit of the community. But here we are.

As I mentioned previously this is a Nexus Market project and is not related to WonderZone. The two are separate entities. Even if WonderZone’s revenue stream could fund something like this – which of course it can’t – it’s a separate entity, and that team is not involved.

@michi

One major barrier to entry at the moment for creators is access to land… If you sold less than half that land then you would have the funding you need for this project and still over 100 parcels. Refusing the idea of giving a % BACK to the DAO I think shows your intentions aren’t for the community.

There is plenty of land available for sale in the DCL marketplace, so selling parcels from a district does nothing to help creators. One problem that we are trying to solve is indeed access to land at a reasonable cost. Many creators can’t afford to buy expensive land parcels, so we are offering reasonable rental rates plus amenities like a shared event space.

And if you read my replies I never refused to give a % back to the DAO. I just objected your plan for us to sell 20% of our equity to the DAO which is unworkable for all the reasons I gave above.

@michi

Sponsorship through DCL Rentals on -1,51. If anything this looks greedy and isn’t really backing up your statements about credibility in the space.

I’m sure it is hard to get creators to work for free when you have resources to pay

I’m being civil in my replies, but you’re making some very wrong inferences here. We hosted the game “Pirate Fever by DCL Renting” for free for @pablo @Eibriel and @Chestnutbruze because they are friends of ours and they needed a place to deploy it (and it won the 2020 Game Jam too). It’s far-fetched to call us greedy for hosting a game for free for fellow creators.

I’m also not sure where the imaginary resources are that you accuse us from withholding from creators. Nexus Market has not had funding or revenues before, so I never asked anyone to work for free. Creators should be paid well for good work.

@DrGreenthumb

Got greedy buying land and didnt save any to develop almost 300 lots.

DrGreenthumb, I’m not sure where you got this idea from, but we haven’t bought any land and we never had any prior funding to save in the first place.

I’m happy to answer future comments about the merits of the proposal, but I do wish everyone would stick to that and not try so hard to put people down. Thanks.

[DrGreenthumb]

Nexus Market District was formed in 2018 as the Central Marketplace. The district has 279 parcels thanks to MANA donations from 61 contributors.

[RDixon]

Correct! And the MANA was collected and burned by Decentraland, while the district was formed with the land. The district never received any MANA.

[michi]

Thanks for taking the time to reply and I’m open to see what the greater community thinks. Appreciate the insight!

[bay]

I’m not clear right now what this grant is for. As I understand it (almost certainly incorrectly), you were already given 279 parcels of land for free and now you want free money to build buildings? So that you can then rent this land to brands and creators?

It seems like a key justification for spend on buildings right now in DCL is to ‘attract’ creators/brands. But do what data is there to suggest that a new build does attract this audience to invest in DCL?

I would argue that few creators/brands want space in an existing build right now. They want to create their own bespoke environments.