25 replies to this topic

[Cotuit]

From the Phoenix Not For Nothing Blog:
http://thephoenix.co...19801c484f.aspx

Quote

AS220, the nonprofit arts bastion, doubled its downtown footprint with its Dreyfus Hotel project. If everything goes according to plan, AS220 will again double its presence when it pursues a project in the Washington Street property (once home to the Providence Phoenix) anchored by the former Cogens Printing operation.

Artistic director Bert Crenca says the new project, which is envisioned for a mix of residential and retail uses, is intended to help counter some of the gentrification and upscale development taking place in downtown Providence. It is hoped that individually owned quirky busineses will take up some of the retail space.

This is the building between Dreyfus Hotel (Local 121) and the proposed Sierra Suites.

[runawayjim]

this is great news.  that building is one of the worst eye sores on washington street.  this will really help washington street become a real destination downtown.

[BBascule]

I can't wait to see a rehab on that mangled facade. Looks like possibly five storefronts?

Photo from Art in Ruins:

[Pseudo_Work]

Funny that this story, and the Murphy's Deli/Cosmopolitan mess debuted in the press on the same day.  

Either way, this is absolutely fantastic, pure and simple.  I can't wait to see what comes of it.

[quente]

Great news!

I had just noticed the asbestos abatement signs this morning and thought they were prepping it for demo. Given AS220's track record, I'm sure this project will bring this dead spot on Washington back to life.

[mod134]

This is great news, especially considering what AS220 has been able to do with the Dreyfus project.  They certailny have a balanced vision when it comes to helping the Washington neighborhood.

[mental757]

boy, I hope they can fix the weird angles, crooked windows, and uneven sidewalks at that building...

JK  hehe

sounds like great news to me!

[Cotuit]

quente, on Nov 29 2007, 10:41 PM, said:

Great news!

I had just noticed the asbestos abatement signs this morning and thought they were prepping it for demo. Given AS220's track record, I'm sure this project will bring this dead spot on Washington back to life.

The asbestos abatement is in the old Cuban, TotT, New Japan building as is prep for demo which should begin soon for Sierra Suites.

[BBascule]

mental757, on Nov 30 2007, 09:22 AM, said:

boy, I hope they can fix the weird angles, crooked windows, and uneven sidewalks at that building...

Actually, this is exactly the way the building looks after a bender  on Empire Street.

[matt]

I, too, am really excited about this.  AS220 is one of the finest organizations in the city, and I'm really happy to see them grow and expand into such prominent locations.

[mandrake258]

the cogens building currently houses some of the most affordable artist studios in the city. Just heard from a friend of mine that he's getting evicted from his work space. He went to speak w/ the AS220 folks and they said "this is up to the current owners. not our problem." but it's pretty clear that cogens owners are emptying out the studio spaces in advance of as220's purchase.

if as220 is cannibalizing some of the remaining good work space in town and causing artists to lose their studios, they should seriously consider changing their mission statement.

hopefully they give the current artists good deals in their new spaces. otherwise, I can't possibly see how this project can claim to "counter gentrification" as it states on Ian's blog.

[provid]

cannibalizing? the building is in the center of downtown.......not to mention it's falling apart

[BBascule]

mandrake258, on Dec 10 2007, 07:27 PM, said:

the cogens building currently houses some of the most affordable artist studios in the city. Just heard from a friend of mine that he's getting evicted from his work space. He went to speak w/ the AS220 folks and they said "this is up to the current owners. not our problem." but it's pretty clear that cogens owners are emptying out the studio spaces in advance of as220's purchase.

I didn't realize the building already had studios in it. It's too bad your friend is getting evicted. It'd be cool if the current tenants can at least get the first crack at the spaces once AS220 buys the building. I can't imagine the spaces will be that much more expensive post-AS220  - they seem to be able to keep prices relatively affordable.

[mandrake258]

provid, on Dec 10 2007, 10:46 PM, said:

cannibalizing? the building is in the center of downtown.......not to mention it's falling apart

Yes, cannibalizing. Right now that building contains a certain number of studios for a given price. In all likelihood this project will reduce the amount of studio space and/or raise the prices. If this were a for-profit real estate developer, then it wouldn't be a big deal -- it would be business as usual. But this is AS220. To refresh your memory, here is their mission statement:

Quote

AS220 Mission Statement

    We, the Citizens of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, associate ourselves for the purpose of providing a local forum and home for the arts, through the maintenance of residential and work studios, galleries, and performance space. Exhibitions and performances in the forum will be unjuried and open to the general public. Our facilities and services are made available to all artists who need a place to exhibit, perform, or create their original art work, especially those who cannot obtain space to exhibit or perform from traditional sources because of financial or other limitations.

AS220 has already said (at the recent rinexus panel and elsewhere) that they will be devoting major chunks of the building to non-artist pursuits, including a "hacker's space" for technology enthusiasts and for-lease retail space. This building is already a resource to artists. I don't see how AS220 can claim their current mission while replacing artist studios with retail businesses and a computer lab.

This isn't to say that AS220's proposed developments are needed, interesting, or cool. I just think that they have nothing to do with the purported mission of AS220. There are plenty of for-profit developers doing neat things in this town. This project seems off-mission and out-of-scope for a place like AS220, particularly because it may in fact *hurt* local artists.

Lots of people donate money to AS220 because of the great work they do on behalf of the arts. I would hate to see the organization betray its principles with this new project.

[runawayjim]

are you saying that "hackers" and computer geeks are not "artists" in a way?  i think many of them would beg to differ.  "the arts" as used in their mission statement can mean a lot of things.  what they're doing is creating community space for people of different trades to use, like the community dark room.

[mandrake258]

runawayjim, on Dec 12 2007, 03:42 PM, said:

are you saying that "hackers" and computer geeks are not "artists" in a way?

I would say that hackers and computer geeks are similar to artists in that what they do is often creative and innovative, but they generally do not face the same kinds of financial pressures as artists, and they are generally less constrained by the nature of the space they work in. You can work on a laptop anywhere, but try using an arc welder in a carpeted office with drop-ceiling. There's already plenty of public money out there to help technologically-inclined creativity -- rinexus, RIEDC, and the Slater Fund are three off the top of my head -- and I'm pretty sure they're all better-endowed than AS220.

Artists in this town are facing harder and harder times as the amount of space available to them continues to dwindle. I'm talking about optimal use of scarce resources. If there were a surfeit of affordable studio spaces, gallery walls and performance venues, then sure -- AS220 could build a hacker space, fund technology start-ups, lease space to a four-star restaurant, who cares? Unfortunately, this isn't currently the case.

btw -- I'm not an artist, I am a professional geek. I don't want AS220 wasting their resources on people like me. I make a lot more money than my artist friends. I want to see AS220 continue to support artists, so they can continue to make art for me to buy.

Edited by mandrake258, 12 December 2007 - 02:58 PM.

[runawayjim]

not to start a debate about this, but artists can find work elsewhere, but they choose to work on their art as their primary form of income.  if a geek/hacker/programmer wants to work entirely on open source projects, it's hard to make money off that.  and i don't think there's as much money for someone in that sense as you would think.

i would also venture to guess that this lab isn't just for geeks, but will have expensive software for those who need it, but can't afford it themselves.

however, as i am not involved in any way with this project, i can't say anything about this situation.  the only thing i know is that AS220 has done a lot of good for the artists of this city and that the projects they have completed have been top notch.

[ducksauz]

mandrake258, on Dec 12 2007, 03:56 PM, said:

Artists in this town are facing harder and harder times as the amount of space available to them continues to dwindle. I'm talking about optimal use of scarce resources. If there were a surfeit of affordable studio spaces, gallery walls and performance venues, then sure -- AS220 could build a hacker space, fund technology start-ups, lease space to a four-star restaurant, who cares? Unfortunately, this isn't currently the case.

btw -- I'm not an artist, I am a professional geek. I don't want AS220 wasting their resources on people like me. I make a lot more money than my artist friends. I want to see AS220 continue to support artists, so they can continue to make art for me to buy.

  After lurking by reading the RSS feed of the PVD board for a number of months now, this topic has brought me out of the woodwork to register and comment.

First off, as a matter of disclosure, I'm one of the primary people that will be working with AS220 to establish the hacker space. I am also a professional geek and the benevolent dictator of RI's Defcon Group, DC401. The purpose of establishing the hacker space is to build community, not just among the already tech savvy among us, but also to bring artists and hackers together to create new and interesing kinds of art. AS220's involvement in the hacker space will primarily be that of landlord. The hacker space itself will be funded by member donations/dues to pay the rent and other overhead.

As for AS220's redevelopment effort of the Mercantile Block (MB) in general, what they are planning to do is completely in line with their mission statement. The MB is currently owned by the Sierra Suites developer who apparently has decided to scale back their plans and not redevelop the MB themselves. Had SS actually followed through with their original plan, the artists in question would be still be getting kicked out for redevelopment, with no hope for return. Given the current real estate slump, SS is looking to dump MB now. If AS220 didn't pick it up, then some ambitious condo developer would and we'd have more luxury condos downtown going for $500K+.

So, what happens when AS220 gets involved? They pick up the building, do massive renovations (which from outward appearances, the MB is in dire need of), bring everything up to current code and find a way to subsidize cheap live/work artist space with leasing to commercial and other ventures. In the Dreyfus, you've got Local 121's rent doing that job. With the MB, the plan is for the 3rd and 4th floors to be artist space. Whether the ground or 2nd floors will be subsidizing those artist rents is still kind of up in the air, but the end result is that the artist spaces come back (in substantially better shape) instead of being replaced by condos that no one can afford.

In the long run, AS220's plan for the MB is good for the city and the artists who live here. What we have now is a mostly derelict building with space being rented to artists because they're the only people who will live there. What we'll end up with is affordable live/work space for artists being maintained and managed in a *sustainable* way by people who *actually* care about the arts.

[runawayjim]

thanks for the info ducksauz!  it sounds like this is going to be another win for the city.

any word on what the 2nd floor might be?  from the sound of it, the first will be non-traditional retail, to be different than what the city already has to offer, but would the second also be retail or is this where the community type spaces (hacker space for instance) would go?

[mod134]

I agree runawayjim. Thanks for the insight ducksauz. I am anticipating another excellent addition for the city, due to groups like AS220.

Edited by mod134, 12 December 2007 - 10:04 PM.