Long Blighted, Newly Revamped Batcave Gets Ready for Debut as Gowanus Arts Center

The scaffolding is down, the new windows are in, the extension is complete and the bricks are bright. It’s almost time for Powerhouse Arts to take over its new location at Gowanus’ famed Batcave.

The years-in-the-making transformation of the 118-year-old coal-burning MTA powerhouse has been closely followed by the local community after Powerhouse Arts bought the historic building in 2012.

At the time, Powerhouse Arts founder Joshua Rechnitz shared his plans to convert the former Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company Central Power Station Engine House building at 153 2nd Street into an arts hub, an echo of its former use by artists and squatters in the early 2000s.

Rechnitz’s plans took years to get off the ground and, in 2019, the building was designated as a landmark amidst the controversial Gowanus rezoning. But fast forward to 2022 and the Powerhouse Arts team is getting ready to move in.

According to Powerhouse Arts’ website, its Red Hook fabrication and production shops have paused operations until July in preparation to move into the new facility.

When Powerhouse Arts reopens in its new home, capacity will include fabrication and production in wood, ceramic and printing-making, according to the organization’s website. And if everything goes to plan, those facilities will be surrounded by scenes from days gone by, with Powerhouse Arts choosing to leave the graffitied walls intact.

Designed by PBDW and Herzog & de Meuron, the project was estimated in 2017 to cost roughly $74 million, according to The Real Deal at the time. It included the renovation of the three-story building and construction of a six-story addition, doubling the structure’s square footage from about 74,000 to 143,000 feet.

While the arts nonprofit intends to start operating in the new facilities soon, the building may not open to the public until later in the year, a spokesperson for the organization told Brownstoner. In addition to fabrication for artists and arts institutions, the organization will offer classes, jobs and other programs intended to encourage public participation in the arts.

The shape of the building has changed dramatically, lending it a different character. (Because plans were filed and approved before the structure was landmarked, the Landmarks Preservation Commission had no input on the redesign.)

Neat and symmetrical, seemingly standing apart in a crowded city, the original silhouetted against the sky was a striking sight.

While that’s no longer the case, the extension, to its credit, has otherwise left the Batcave intact and recognizable while echoing its details, much as a vernacular historic addition might.

[Photos by Susan De Vries]

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• Ambitious, Long-in-the-Works Plan to Turn Gowanus Batcave Into Artists Haven Is Back On
• As Gowanus Rezoning Looms, City Designates Five Industrial Buildings as Historic Landmarks
• Residents Happy About Potential Landmarks in Gowanus, But Think More Can Be Done

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