Arts Center sale falls through
Plan to sell downtown space is no more, organization working on new plan
TROY >> A deal to sell five downtown buildings owned and occupied by The Arts Center of the Capital Region is no longer moving forward.
In December, Sequence Development announced plans to purchase the partly restored warehouse buildings, located on River Street near Monument Square, from the nonprofit organization and restore two vacant upper floors to create 26 new apartments and a rooftop deck. The deal, which would have kept the Arts Center as a tenant, was expected to close at the end of next year.
However, after an extended discovery phase, Sequence Development ultimately decided not to pursue the redevelopment.
“It’s a great location, great building. Just changing dynamics,” said Sequence Development’s founder and CEO Jeff Buell. “There’s always risk involved in real estate, and this was one that we weren’t comfortable moving forward on. This one, for us at this time, wasn’t the right
opportunity.”
The Arts Center is now working on it’s new plan for the future. “When I was hired, this deal was all but signed,” said Elizabeth Reiss, the Arts Center’s CEO, who started October 2015, in a news release. “My predecessor and the board had put a lot of thought into this, and I stood by their decision.”
That decision to sell the Art Center’s property, Reiss said, came from concerns about the organization’s financial security, as well as a desire to see the block of downtown buildings fully used. Several developers sent a wide range of proposals in response to an request from the Arts Center. The organization had options to sell the buildings outright and move, sell the buildings but keep a financial interest, or sell the buildings but remain as a tenant. The board chose the sell-and-stay model.
The change in plans, Reiss said, has provided an opportunity to rethink the future of the Arts Center in Troy and the best use of its unused space. The board recently added new members and is helping her shape an organizational plan.
In the meantime, the vacant upper floors of all five buildings owned by the Arts Center will be illuminated during the months of October and November as part of the multi-city Breathing Lights art installation that will light up the windows of hundreds of vacant buildings and properties in Albany, Schenectady and Troy in a manner that mimics the gentle rhythm of human breathing. At the close of the installation, the windows will fall dark, one by one, creating a sense of loss and hopefully inspiring a stir to action to reactivate those spaces.
The Arts Center is now working on a long-range plan and will be reaching out to various city stakeholders to solicit their points of view. Albanybased EYP Architecture & Engineering is donating a facility study, and The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group Inc., a Troy-based management consulting firm, is donating strategic planning assistance and has previously assisted many local organizations.
“The building sale was supposed to free the Arts Center from the burdens of building maintenance so that we could focus on our mission,” Reiss said in the release. “Now, I think our mission should expand to stabilize and animate downtown.”
Reiss noted that the Arts Center’s move from its original home on Second Street in the Washington Park neighborhood to its current location was a major catalyst in the downtown’s renaissance. The five-year, $5.3 million investment culminated with the Art Center’s grand opening at 265 River St. in 2000.
“We feel like we are Troy’s living room,” Reiss added. “The businesses need our assets here.”
The Arts Center handles heavy use from the general public during Troy Night Out, the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market and during other special events. And not all of that traffic is there for the exhibits; the release noted that the facility provides some of the only public restrooms downtown and happily orders extra supplies and cleaners to continue that access.
Several other arts and civic organizations — such as the Troy Civic Theatre, the Center for Disability Services and the ARC — use the Arts Center for meeting space, technical assistance and programming, all at a reduced rate. The Museum Association of New York also has offices in the Arts Center.
Over the years, the Arts Center has had several directors, each with a slightly different plan and vision, but none have managed to reach fully the organizational goal of self-sustainability, Reiss said.
“Everyone wants this place to survive. Everyone
has a piece of it. Everyone has an opinion of it,” she said in the release. “But while we’re surviving, we’re not thriving.”
The solution, Reiss believes, is to expand beyond the Arts Center’s core instructional model and expand its programs to include new technology, public art and entrepreneurialism.
“Local artists are local entrepreneurs too, and I am committed to making sure they are included in our new economy,” Reiss continued. “We’re thinking about how we do business.”
The Arts Center recently hired new staff to oversee exhibits, education and marketing. The team will seek out new instructors and artists to develop new programs and capitalize on new trends, all in an effort to refresh the Arts Center and stay relevant, Reiss said.
As part of that initiative, the Arts Center will connect to new industries — including the region’s burgeoning video game and virtual reality industry. The Arts Center will be expanding and improving its digital arts lab to get beyond its basic Intro to Game Design course and into more advanced instruction. The next phase will connect artists and writers with game designers to focus on storytelling and game design, Reiss said.
Going forward, the Arts Center is accepting ideas and proposals for its unused space. Reiss said in the release.
“If ever there was a time that you had an idea for the Arts Center, now is the time to come to us,” she said.
For more information or to get involved with The Arts Center of The Capital Region, call 273-0552 or visit www.artscenteronline.org.