Artist’s rendering of The AnX at 13 Grattan Street. (Photo: Gene Kaufman Architect PC)
Looks like architect Gene “the Baron of bland” Kaufman is keeping busy and embracing his artistic side with yet another new project; in addition to ongoing construction of the “timeless and industrial” artists workshops at 100 Bogart Street in East Williamsburg, his firm announced today that construction on a second similar project will begin on April 1, 2015. “The AnX,” will provide 23,000 square feet of artist lofts, and has a target completion date of September 1, 2016.
So named because it is adjacent to “The BogArt,” a third artists’ space that opened in 2005, The AnX (at 13 Grattan Street in East Williamsburg/Bushwick) will provide anywhere between three and 30 studios. The layout “has been designed to be flexible” to meet market need, said Alix Friedman of LAK Public Relations, Inc., a spokesperson for the architect.
Units will have 12-foot ceilings, terraces on the upper floors, and large windows for natural light; according to a press release from Gene Kaufman Architect, PC, they will “combine the spirit of 19th-century European ateliers with the sophistication of 21st-century technology, materials and amenities.” This will include toilets and slop sinks on each floor (so 21st Century!), and a roof deck with views of Manhattan to inspire the tenants.
In addition to the 23,000 square feet of artist lofts on the second through fourth floors, the ground floor and basement will have 8,000 square feet of retail space. In June, Ted Hovivian told the Wall Street Journal that rents for The Anx (including utilities) would be between $35 and $45 per square foot.
The AnX and The BogArt are owned by Ted and Marianne Hovivian. The couple has previously worked with Kaufman on two projects: the Metropolitan and the Rialto, both posh Williamsburg condos, and came to real estate after long and successful careers.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Hovivians owned and operated a furniture manufacturing company from 1979 to 2005, which was briefly located at 56 Bogart Street. In 2005 they saw the opportunity to turn the building into affordable artist studios and were met with an overwhelming response. Studio and gallery space comes at such a premium in ever-hipper East Williamsburg and Bushwick that The BogArt still receives daily rental inquiries from artists.
Kaufman sees the value in this project, too. “The AnX is the kind of ground-up artist-work-space development that places like East Williamsburg/Bushwick sorely need,” he said in a press release from his firm. “Projects like this recognize artists’ economic value to the community and enable them to remain in neighborhoods they have made into the most hip destinations in the world.”
Correction: The original version of this post was revised because, due to an editing error, it misidentified Alix Friedman as a spokesperson for the developer. She is a spokesperson for the architect.