Another BAM Building Gets Tabled
The vision of a sweeping BAM Cultural District took another hit yesterday with the news, reported by the Brooklyn Paper, that a large mixed-use project slated for the southwest corner of Fulton Street and Ashland Place was being put on hold. “The mixed-use developments are feeling the most from the current economic situation,” said Kate…
The vision of a sweeping BAM Cultural District took another hit yesterday with the news, reported by the Brooklyn Paper, that a large mixed-use project slated for the southwest corner of Fulton Street and Ashland Place was being put on hold. “The mixed-use developments are feeling the most from the current economic situation,” said Kate Dixon, director of planning and development for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. The tower was supposed to contain 187 residential units (100 of which were to be “affordable”) and be anchored by Danspace. Big bummer but not that surprising, we guess.
BAM! Housing Project Out of Cultural District [Brooklyn Paper] GMAP
BAM Cultural District: Alive If Not Exactly Kicking [Brownstoner]
Well, I must say by the time the BAM PR machine was in full gear canvassing these huge projects, it was clear to me they weren’t going to happen. Too late and too ambitious.
It was too late in the game…it was clear to some of us many years ago when the bubble was starting to inflate that it would pop and the economy, esp. construction, would be impacted. To be honest, I didn’t realize in 2000 HOW big the bubble would get before it popped. I kept telling the husband unit in 2001 and even into 2002 that the bubble was unsustainable and we had better sell finally and get out.
I have to say, I do hope the new BAM buildings get built over time, maybe at a little bit lower scale. Anyway, we’ll see…it will take years of eking by on their existing budget for BAM to start upping their donations/endowment.
My prediction is we’ll have sold and left Fort Greene for pastures greener (and stairless!) by the time BAM finally breaks ground on something. I *would* be interested to see what they finally are able to build. I wonder if I’ll be alive by then.
A LOT has changed in Fort Greene since we came here…don’t get me wrong…I’m certainly NOT anti-change. I just think BAM was a bit overambitious this time ’round. My impression is they put all these projects on the front burner nearly all at the same time, biting off more than they could chew.
I wonder if they had focused on getting just one building built initially if they could have pulled it off these last 5 years.
“It would be disingenuous to say that danspace shouldn’t depend on the residential building, because if not for the residential building, danspace wouldn’t even have a shot in hell of getting a new facility.”
Fair enough when you put it that way. They seem to be strange bedfellows but I can understand that many of the arts organizations don’t have the capital to go it alone.
Wasder – the whole concept of the BAM cultural district is to increase the number of arts related facilities in the area. Generally these institution do not have either the capital of fund-raising ability to pay the costs of building these new facilties. Therefore the decision was made to offer many of these sites for private development, but to require that each one of them included an arts related use. So (in theory) it would be win-win. THe developer would still make a profit by being able to build in an up and coming area, and the arts group would get cheap new custom built space without having to pay for most of the construction cost – just the fit out costs.
It would be disingenuous to say that danspace shouldn’t depend on the residential building, because if not for the residential building, danspace wouldn’t even have a shot in hell of getting a new facility.
“Short term neither, right? It was lovely even before prices skyrocketed out of control. It’s appeal will be sustained.”
On this we are in agreement. BAM the institution is already enough of a force in the area to sustain the notion of an arts district, and with Mark Morris already there and the HARVEY theater restoration etc, there is momentum and actual artistic activity already on the ground. Why a dance theater needs to be part of a huge condo complex is what I don’t understand.
I’m not exactly sure how Danspace got attached to the development, but my understanding is that the city brought them in. they have operated for several decades out of St. Marks’ church in the East Village and have a tenuous lease situation there, so this move made sense in a lot of ways for them. also because the majority of dancers and people who watch dance now live in brooklyn.
“I don’t think this necessarily means that the BAM cultural district is hindered in the long term sense.”
Short term neither, right? It was lovely even before prices skyrocketed out of control. It’s appeal will be sustained.
***Bid half off peak comps***
“And the Forte condos will now drop ___________________%”
0%. Forente’. I’m having the damnest time finding this place at night. Is it on the north side of Fulton or the south side?
***Bid half off peak comps***
One wonders why danspace has to be attached to a highrise condo development though?
Danspace has been around for over 30 years, does very good work and has a staff that’s been working tirelessly on this project for several years, so this is unfortunate news. would have been a real asset to brooklyn.