Lucy Gellman Photo
Titus Kaphar, one of the founders.
An abandoned Dixwell factory — last known for turning out counterfeit Dr. Dre “Beats” and “Lg Tone+” headsets — could get new life and compete with New York City studios to house the next generation of emerging artists, under a plan detailed to the zoning board Tuesday night.
That’s the goal for the two artists and one financier behind the PostMasters Project, which is hoping to revamp an industrial complex at 169 Henry St. into 38,000 square feet of apartments, artists’ studios, gallery spaces, offices, an assembly hall and a cafe.
Titus Kaphar and Jonathan Brand, two Yale School of Art grads, envisioned the space as a hub for artists at every stage of their careers to share lessons about their creative process and making a living. Inside the space designed by Deborah Berke Partners, the firm of the Yale School of Architecture’s dean, artists can rub shoulders in an even more compact version of the galleries that predominate in Westville. Established professionals will discuss their work with young museum curators training at the Yale University Art Gallery, while emerging visual artists mentor students from Hillhouse High School a block away.
Christopher Peak Photo
Renderings of a new arts center at 169 Henry St.
“There’s all these interesting people that live here [in New Haven], but they’re working out of their homes. You have New York Times writers, business professionals and artists: all kinds who move in small circles. Part of this [project] is trying to broaden the circle, to give them a space to collaborate,” said Jason Price, a private-equity analyst who joined artists Kaphar and Brand to found the project. “The hope would be that it is a beacon that brings those sorts of people out of their homes into the community.”
The PostMasters team presented initial plans to the Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday night, as it sought a number of waivers: special exceptions to open a nonconforming use in the residential zone and to permit a far lower number of parking spaces, as well as variances to extend the front steps, widen a loading dock and construct a third story for apartments. Planning staff recommended approval of the project, but the matter will first go to City Plan Commission for a site plan review before a final vote.
After graduation, Kaphar and Brand “realized how difficult it was to make a career in New York City. It’s just very, very expensive to become an artist there and also to raise a family there. They both ended up moving back to the New Haven area and, in doing so, realized they could develop their studios here, develop their practice and also become professional artists,“ Price explained to the board.
“What took their vision a step forward,” Price continued, “was asking, ‘Well, how come New Haven can’t retain all of these well-known artists that trained at the university and move to Boston and other places in the world?’ They found a dilapidated building in the Dixwell neighborhood to develop into an artists incubator that could retain the talent and help redevelop the neighborhood.”
Brand said he believes now’s r the right time for this project to open, given the skyrocketing rents in New York City that are sending artists up into Hudson Valley towns like Beacon and Newburgh.
PostMasters plans to offer six-month fellowships to curators, year-long fellowships to younger artists and residencies to established artists, said Carrie Mackin, co-founder and executive director. The exact numbers are still being worked out, but the building’s current design has 17 slots that can be divvied up among the three programs. (“It won’t be hard to fill them,” added Helen Rosenberg, one of the city’s economic development officers.) PostMasters expects each fellow will be paired with two high school students to mentor, Mackin added.
The $5.8 million project is funded largely by private donors. It is also supported by grants from the Ford Foundation and RISC Foundation, Price said.
Jason Price makes his pitch to the zoning board.
While an arts center is technically not in keeping with the area’s RM‑2 zoning, planning staff noted that a previous factory there wasn’t either. Tom Talbot, the deputy director of zoning, recommended the switch to limit “uncertainty” in the area about whether heavy industry might return.
“It may be possible to legally conduct industrial type operations that could be detrimental to the neighborhood in terms of noise, hours of operation, and commercial vehicle traffic. The most immediate benefit to the neighborhood of this proposal is the assurance that once this proposed operation commences on the site no further industrial use of the property would be possible, short of a Use Variance,” Talbot explained. “It is clear to staff that this proposed use is more compatible with a residential neighborhood area than any industrial use would be.”
The renovation has already resulted in a cleanup of the Macalaster Bicknell factory, which once produced chemicals and lab equipment. (More recently, the building hosted an illegal operation that was repackaging Chinese electronics for resale on Amazon and eBay, until it was raided by law enforcement in 2015.) PostMasters received a $200,000 investment from the city and state brownfield loans to remediate the site, allowing it to replace a roof and knock down walls that had asbestos.
According to the zoning ordinance, the project should have 48 parking spaces, but the team has asked for a waiver to only have 13 spots. Stephen Studer, a Milford lawyer who’s representing the project, said that Beulah Heights First Pentecostal Church had agreed to open up 60 spaces on its lot. There’s also 29 on-street spaces nearby and three bus lines, Studer added.
The zoning board’s chair, Benjamin Trachten, asked if there would be any “live entertainment” at the development.
Price said that the only thing close would be discussions of art in an assembly hall.
“I don’t know if you could call that live entertainment,” Price said.
Artist Jonathan Brand and lawyer Stephen Studer discuss the building’s layout.
“No, I would not call that live entertainment,” Trachten deadpanned.
Talbot noted the project’s “pedestrian accessibility” in his advisory report. “When taking into consideration the unreasonable level of parking required by the Zoning Ordinance, all appear to indicate the appropriateness of the requested reduction.”
If PostMasters gets the necessary approvals from the City Plan Commission and a favorable vote when its application return to the zoning board, the project could be completed as soon as Sept. 2018.