Attention artists, here is an announcement from Joe Skrapits, Allentown Arts Commission:"A private developer is planning to create affordable artists' studios in a building at 4th and Tilghman in Allentown. George Huang (the developer) called me last night to say he will be presenting his plans for the building at a zoning hearing board meeting this Monday, August 18, at 7pm in City Council chambers at City Hall. George has already developed a successful studio building in Yonkers, NY, and he's going through the permitting process in Allentown now. He needs a variance from zoning because the building lacks the required number of off-street parking spaces.
This project will be a great stimulus to Allentown's arts scene. Located in the same area as the Silkwerks, Green Street Dreams, and Gregory and Kiki's building on Washington St., George's building will bring even more artists to the NoTi ("north of Tilghman"--thanks, Gregory) district. If this keeps snowballing, NoTi could become Allentown's first "creative arts" district (versus the institutional arts district downtown), and our test case for showing the city how the arts can transform a once neglected neighborhood."
This project will be a great stimulus to Allentown's arts scene. Located in the same area as the Silkwerks, Green Street Dreams, and Gregory and Kiki's building on Washington St., George's building will bring even more artists to the NoTi ("north of Tilghman"--thanks, Gregory) district. If this keeps snowballing, NoTi could become Allentown's first "creative arts" district (versus the institutional arts district downtown), and our test case for showing the city how the arts can transform a once neglected neighborhood."
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34 comments:
Mike, I'm disappointed you have projected your frustration with Mayor Pawlowski onto the Chen Arts Group.
what was deleted/removed?
my comment stated that the administration was evasive with information concerning grants given to the farr loft building. i deleted it because it was apparent bill villa wanted to bend my comment to suit his agenda; it said nothing about the chen art group.
Mike, let's be honest, you attempted to hijack this post to serve your agenda ... and your agenda is to become Mayor of Allentown by continuously personally attacking Mayor Pawlowski and positioning yourself as the one guy in Allentown who knows how things should be.
Here's your deleted comment:
"name [George Huang] sounds familiar, i believe he's behind the LLC which received hundreds of thousands of our dollars for the farr lofts. Pawlowski used a straw to deny the subsidy, such as AEDC, then proclaimed yuppies clamoring for apartments in downtown."
This was just another in your endless series of OT personal attack rants against Mayor Pawlowski. It likely would have been deleted by the blog administrator if you hadn't deleted it yourself.
Soooo... to get back on subject, affordable artist studios in Allentown sounds like a GREAT IDEA and thank you Joe Skrapits for passing along this GOOD NEWS!
I think Allentown could really benefit from something similar to Bethlehem's Banana Factory. Maybe as more artists find out that there is something "a-buzz" in Allentown, they will want to have a studio here.
I have just deleted an OT personal attack comment by Mike Molovinsky. Additional OT personal attack comments by Mr. Molovinsky will be deleted without explanation.
The Banana Factory has helped to jump-start Bethlehem's South Side in a major way, it seems to me. It would be great if Allentown had its own version of the Banana Factory in Downtown Allentown!
I would just like to say that between the Allentown Symphony Hall, The Baum School of Art, and the Art Museum - we COULD have something 10X better than the Banana Factory - if the leadership of those organizations would get on board. As much as I am not a big Jeff Parks admirer - we need someone with his size ego to envision the role those institutions could play in the city.
LOLV, nailing it, as usual, great to hear from you! I couldn't agree more ...
I think this is a great concept but i think we should keep in mind this was the concept behind the Hyman buildings in the same area and they pretty much just turned out to be low-income rentals.
This guys track record should play a major role in the city's decision.
The existing "arts district" would be a perfect starting point to develop a center for local artists. I think it's great we have the museum for world class exhibits, Baum for youth and adult art education, the symphony for its performances and talks series...but we are lacking a place for local professionals of all disciplines to come together to create and show their work. I'm glad the Chen Arts Group has been getting together regularly because an arts facility will not have legs to stand without an arts community. (I'm looking forward to the next gathering!)
BV - I'm always lurking about somewhere, but its always a pleasure to visit this site.
Also the ANON 11:40 makes a good point re: Hyman. Although I would definitely disagree with the assertion that his buildings are low-income rentals (I know a handful of people who have lived in/are living in his buildings who are paying a pretty penny for their lofts), he is a totally crap-tastic landlord who really hasn't done anything even close to what he promised when he originally bought/starting working on his buildings. I'm going to continue to be leery of anyone who promises good development and then does the bare minimum (if that) which is required to make the building occupiable.
"ANON 11:40 makes a good point"
Well, half a good point ...
hello all, I'm thrilled to report that I was at the zoning meeting tonight and after a bit of discussion, support from a few local artists, support from our own joe skrapits representing the arts commission and chen arts group, support from the mayor through a letter read by joyce marin and even lil ole me getting up there and opening my bit mouth in support...45 artist lofts with a co-op gallery space and some potential for a little retail and maybe even restaurant space this project has been approved. The developer was very approachable and appreciative of the support - there was neighborhood opposition due to lack of parking but a good case was made for this building and it's use as an arts facility. There was a great presentation of this man's work in other buildings in yonkers, nj and I believe a project in philly....quality all the way. The past owner of the building even showed up to offer his support. I confirmed with Joyce Marin that this was not the same entity of the farr lofts and has not received incentives to make this happen. The statement was made by the architectural firm representing him that he's already spent over 200,000 of his own money improving the building - the comments were made repeatedly that this is a private investor putting in his own money.
what else...oh...here's a link to one of his latest ventures YOHO artists studios - http://www.yohoartistlofts.com/
what else what else...the phrase NO TI was used and joyce mentioned that the local arts community has been commenting on the need of gallery and loft spaces in her personal support of this project.
that was supposed to read big mouth and yonkers, ny...sorry it's late LOL
Pete,
Thanks so much for the report, and for attending the meeting. This sounds like great news, I hope it takes off and attracts artists to A-town. Has anyone heard from artists who will be locating there?
Seems like a lot of studios to fill. Will artists be coming from NY? Sorry I could not attend, we had plans with my son.
Thanks for the report Pete, great news!
Also thanks for correcting/clarifying this item:
"I confirmed with Joyce Marin that this was not the same entity of the farr lofts and has not received incentives to make this happen."
pete, my comments were meant as a long time observer, not an accusation. first off, i was wrong with the name, it was a different person involved with the farr loft. during the fall of 2005, pawlowski stated repeatedly that the farr loft was private money, enthusiastic about his vision for the city. in the summer of 06, on the back end of the project, the partnership received half a million for the project from the state. i do not believe such an application is made without planning and assistance from city hall. there are only about 20 lofts, with small kitchenettes, so 25k per unit virtually paid for the conversion. let me state i support the chen art group and artists, but, in all due respect, i'm not impressed with pawlowski and marin lobbying zoning for or against any project, and neighborhood concerns being discounted. certainly the old allentown preservation members want their concerns considered , but the little separate homeowners on 4th st. don't count? last but not least, as a grantmaster yourself, you know how difficult grants can be for the public to track. pete, as someone involved with municipal planning your entitled an advocate, as an allentown taxpayer, i'm well entitled to be skeptical.
Hi Mike/All,
I hear you and appreciate anyone being skeptical - it's what we as citizens are supposed to do. My history in coming into Allentown in 2003 was one that I had to go for zoning approval just to convert my place upstairs into a loft - Ed and his group came to zoning and spoke in favor of me and my investment in Allentown - It was so great to have this kind of support coming into the city. It's my understanding that Joe Skrapits has been the one that has brought this project to the mayor and joyce's attention - that they did not know about it prior - Joe sees this warehouse type district naturally forming in the NoTi area. I have to stick by commending this type of support and truth be told I would support some sort of public investment in projects that support the arts and development of a district in an area that needs help desperately. I do not believe the concerns of the residents were discounted - they were just not strong arguments against this project. The one person who objected is the president of the nearby social club and had a concern about his parking lot being used by non patrons. Zoning addressed this issue by stating that the loft owner must post signs as well as put verbage in leases prohibitting the use of the lot. A second objector was a 10 year resident who claimed how bad the area was and that they needed help but that this project will do nothing for that. He did state that he can never find parking but is a member in the social club and parks in their lot. There were local artists who spoke of how important it is to have this type of studio space that currently rent in silkwerks (local people in the neighborhood who see this as a positive so both sides of the community was heard last night).
Old Allentown Preservation Association was opposed to converting a property from mixed use commercial to 2 apartments when their focus has been on deconverting multi units into single family homes. The bar has reopened and they have been supporting it so far and have been working with the city to find some sort of incentives for filling the vacant storefronts in Old Allentown.
The discusssion by the Zoning hearing board was well thought out - Zoning weighed all the uses the builing had served and stated that a manufacturing business - although unlikely to come to this building again - would impact the area alot more parking wise - with 100's of employees working. They also went into a discussion of how large the footprint of this property is and how much available parking is around the perimiter of the structure. The property owner showed 2 weeks worth of photographs taken at all times of the day and night to illustrate how much parking exists around the building. I went with Joe last night after our meeting at 10PM and witnessed first hand a) the entire block and side street being free parking wise and b) how dark the street is with no lights on.
I was saddened by the tone the comments on this subject took and was hoping that by asking joyce if there was a farr lofts connection we could clear the air.
We probably will see public funding going into projects like this - hasn't a topic at our chen arts group meetings been how can we get public funding for the arts though? If the city does not come out to support positive projects like this, then what should they support? I'm asking questions because I want to understand everyone's motivations a bit better...thanks...Pete
Excellent questions, Pete, and another great report, thank you ...
Pete, I'd love to talk to you about this for a moment and ask some questions off-the-blog - maybe we can meet up for a cocktail sometime soon? (oh yeah this is Capri by the way in case you never knew my blogger ID). I just have a couple of questions and you might know some of the answers.
Oh also, this is an open comment to everyone: Please PLEASE drop the "NoTi" idea because its super lame and has awful awful awful connotations of gentrification and yuppie-art that has no connection to either the community or to actual art. SoHo stopped being cool in the 1970s and we should try to be more creative and have better foresight in Allentown. This neighborhood deserves better than to be nicknamed after a neighborhood which is currently home to more Sbarro locations than galleries.
pete, i'm concerned about the playing field in allentown. you mention old allentown wants an incentive to fill vacant storefronts. I believe the association owns the vacant storefront at 8th and gordon, should the taxpayers subsidize a tenant for them? is it better if such funds come from harrisburg than from allentown taxpayers directly? i realize i'm getting off topic, but let me conclude by saying i feel sorry for the taxpayer in lenhartsville or bangor. rendell comes to allentown with the cardboard check because there's thousands of votes here, what does the poor bastard in lenhartsville get for their taxes?
lolv,
Please try to make it to a Chen Arts party/event (it's not a meeting)where you can voice your ideas. I try to keep the events artist-focused so artists get to share and discuss what they do.
We'd like to get a group show happening in the fall possibly at an artist's studio in Allentown.
We are getting together on Sat. Sept. 6th at the Musselman arts center on Hamilton, and then Chen for dinner.
Hey Mike - they unfortunately do not own either empty storefront on 8th and gordon and trust me they would love to see something go into the space - the group has identified over 22 empty corner locations alone in their district. Part of the issue is the old zoning rules and parking - they have been active in the zoning task force discussions to try and make it easier for businesses to move in - I believe the incentives might come from a neighborhood partnership program but am not entirely sure - small incentives and I believe marketing...again I'm not entirely sure. I'm going to admit that I'm a bit naive to how the whole political/grants etc thing works but am trying to pick up quickly to get a better understanding of how things work/don't work.
LOLV...I'm all yours for cocktails and will be around this weekend...you can email me at petelewnes@aol.com.
I actually love SOHO still - not for the arts but for everything that is great in NYC - the problem is not really what an area gets names...it's to provide an area where artists actually buy and live. Allentown offers such a great opportunity with affordable housing - my push is if we are lucky enough to attract artists to get them to buy so we do not end up having the arts gentrify the area and then they get priced out.
NoTi (GREG COATES first coined it I believe) has a fun marketing angle...no tie required is already being used by my friend donna who lives on green street.
Dottie, I put it on my calendar for September, I'll try to make it for at least part of the event!
A big thank you Mrs. Dottie, Joe Skrapits, all of the members of the Chen Arts Group and others in the community who care about the emerging arts scene in Allentown. This is an exciting time in Allentown.
Regarding getting grant funding, from my own experience, it certainly helps to have a group of organized citizens who have consensus on a vision for a place or project. This is one of my personal interests in visiting with and listening to the Chen Arts Group. Then when I am in meetings, I can say I heard thus and so. When I hear about funds available, I can say, "I know a group of people who are interested in seeing X happen."
I would like to reaffirm that perhaps one of the most meaningful ways to be heard right now is through making comments on the city's comprehensive plan. A draft of the plan is on the city website at www.allentownpa.gov. It will soon be forwarded to city council, with comments made so far, so the opportunity for making comments is going to closing in a month or so (my estimate, it depends upon council's recommendations for additions).
Based upon comments I first articulated on this blog about the 8th St. Bridge, I sent an email (as a citizen making comments to the draft comprehensive plan) to Mike Hefele, the city's planning director. I asked that we consider lighting the bridge as a historic icon, replace the cobra headed lights that light the cartway and improve the entrance in the neighborhood as a gateway to the downtown with some streetscaping. Don't you know, this week he provided me with a summary of everyone's comments so far, and mine were in there with those from other people. I don't know if lighting the 8th St. Bridge is going to happen. It this point it is just an idea that was shared and refined a little on this blog. There certainly isn't a pile of money or a group organized to see it happen right now. However, if the planning commission and council agree to include it in the plan, it has a better chance of getting funded later.
My point is what you think matters. What you articulate matters. I think that the support Allentown artists showed on Monday night at the zoning hearing board meeting are an example of that.
Thanks Joyce,
Chen-Arts is growing and it's great to see people coming together and speaking out.
Thanks to all who took the time to post thoughtful comments here at my blog.
Let's keep the ball rolling and take CHARGE!
This Blog is off the Char.~
Hey.. so many people.. with very interesting points of view
Pete.. thank you for the Mention of (NoTi)
and i also like your report of the Meeting for Zoneing.. i couldnt make it.. we were in Fire Island.
nuff said.. i feel sincerely the arts in any neighborhood can only become another quality of life
i look forward to the new bloggers at the next art meeting.
Show up.. and support where it counts
Greg,
Let's not call it a "meeting" It's a party, a get together, a happening, an event, but NOT a boring meeting!
Mrs Dottie
i am refering to the Zoneing meeting held recently about the Aritst project on 4th and Tilghman
as for the Chen Arts Group, i agree they are not "Meetings"
i look forward to the next one and more people.
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