BN 10/13/05 Artspace

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10645357.post-1129269930428446032005-10-13T23:03:00.000-07:002006-08-04T22:54:48.693-07:00BN 10/13/05 ArtspaceInvigorating <st1:street><st1:address>Main St.</st1:address></st1:street> pulse, old factory will be new haven for artists to live, work By MARK SOMMER News Staff Reporter <st1:date year="2005" day="13" month="10">10/13/2005</st1:date> <img src="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CDavid%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif" shapes="_x0000_i1026" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> A project offering low-income, loft-style living and work spaces for artists - the most ambitious to be undertaken in <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city> - was formally unveiled Wednesday. <o:p></o:p> The 60-unit project will be in and behind the historic 1914 building that housed Buffalo Electric Vehicle Co., an automobile factory, at <st1:street><st1:address>1219 Main St</st1:address></st1:street>. It is the 19th project by Artspace Projects, the nation's leading nonprofit developer of space for artists and arts organizations. <o:p></o:p> Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who helped secure critical funding, was on hand at <st1:place><st1:placename>Kleinhans</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Music Hall</st1:placetype></st1:place> to celebrate the project's launch. <o:p></o:p> It was the second stop on her visit to <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city> on Wednesday, sandwiched between an endorsement of State Sen. Byron W. Brown, Democratic candidate for <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city> mayor, and support for a state promotional campaign for apples. <o:p></o:p> "This arts project will bring new life and activity into <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city>, and further enhance the city's reputation as a creative arts destination," <st1:city><st1:place>Clinton</st1:place></st1:city> said. <o:p></o:p> "The arts are an engine for economic development. They clearly are the means by which we revitalize neighborhoods, buildings and communities." <o:p></o:p> Mayor Anthony M. Masiello hailed Buffalo Artspace as one in a number of projects that are populating downtown through conversions of historic buildings into lofts, apartments and condominiums. <o:p></o:p> The mayor said he hoped that Artspace Buffalo would also be a catalyst for more development of industrial structures for artists' living and work spaces. <o:p></o:p> The design by lead project architect Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects calls for 36 units in the renovated brick factory, also known as the <st1:place><st1:placename>Breitweiser</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Building</st1:placetype></st1:place>. It was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. <o:p></o:p> Sizes for the living/work spaces in the five-story building will range from studio to three-bedroom and feature 10-foot-tall windows and exposed concrete floors. The top four floors will be "hard loft" housing - flexible, multipurpose spaces without much trim or adornment, along with exposed masonry walls, ceiling structures and mechanical systems. <o:p></o:p> Twenty-four units are planned for a new building behind it that architect Matt Meier said will be "a hybrid industrial warehouse environment" that maintains the feel of a residential neighborhood. <o:p></o:p> Monthly rents will range from $450 to $895, including utilities. There also will be ground-floor commercial space for arts-compatible businesses. <o:p></o:p> The event brought an outpouring of local arts administrators seeking a glimpse of the Artspace design. <o:p></o:p> "The timing is really perfect, because we have so many new developments going on downtown," said Lawrence Brose, executive director of CEPA Gallery in the Market Arcade. <o:p></o:p> "People aren't waiting any longer for something to happen. They are just doing it, and that's really great." <o:p></o:p> Louis Grachos, director of <st1:place><st1:placename>Albright-Knox</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Art</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Gallery</st1:placename></st1:place>, said, "It's an exceptional project, and it's rewarding for me as a museum director to see initiatives like Artspace really taking over in <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city>." <o:p></o:p> Clinton's and Masiello's help in bringing the project to <st1:city><st1:place>Buffalo</st1:place></st1:city> drew praise from Wendy Holmes, vice president of resource development for 26-year-old, Minneapolis-based Artspace. "We wish we could have this much support in our own back yard," she said. <o:p></o:p> The $16 million project - which includes $1.1 million from the private sector - is expected to open in December 2006. Interior work is scheduled to begin this December. For information, visit <a href="http://www.artspacebuffalo.org/" target="NEW">www.artspacebuffalo.org</a>. <o:p></o:p> <st1:city><st1:place>Clinton</st1:place></st1:city> also appeared Wednesday at a fund-raising event for Brown in his campaign office and joined Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, and officials from a trade association and JetBlue Airways in supporting a promotional campaign for <st1:place><st1:placename>New York</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>State</st1:placetype></st1:place> apples. <o:p></o:p> e-mail: <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/email/email_form.asp?author_dept_id=282">msommer@buffnews.com</a> <div style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________________________________________ <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/08/about-artspace.html">Artspace Archive</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/08/annals-of-neglect.html">Annals of Neglect</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/2005/02/bavpa-gets-new-home.html">BAVPA</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/02/all-about-trathenperrysburgfranzcyk.html">Where is Perrysburg?</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/02/vacant-houses-broken-promises.html">Broken Promises...</a> <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/02/writing-city.html">Writing the City</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffaloarchives.blogspot.com/2005/08/monthly-row-house-up-dates-follow.html">Woodlawn Row Houses</a> • <a href="http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/2006/02/summer-bicycle-tour2006.html">Tour dé Neglect - 2006</a></div><o:p> </o:p>fix buffalonoreply@blogger.com