Someone in my town (~100,000 people, somewhere on the East Coast) created a "nerd space" where you could rent video game consoles, PC/Macs with pro software, some rudimentary woodworking equipment, a board game/CCG store, and generally hang out. I thought it would become my third place, and for a while it was. I met some awesome people, briefly collaborated on a game that went nowhere, taught some classes, attended trivia nights, etc. It expanded into more buildings and felt like it could become a bedrock of the town. Then it slowly started to contract. I think the only thing left is the donut shop with a small board game collection. The original buildings were demolished in favor of apartments. My guess is they couldn't pay the skyrocketing rent, and couldn't find a good spot in town where people could just sit and theoretically do whatever they wanted. Maybe a library less dependent on profit would make for a better venue?
