Sunday, October 29, 2006
How Long is the Drive from New Haven?
I learned something remarkable today. The permanent Sol LeWitt galleries slated for Mass MoCA are already attracting a fair chunk of change from those who already fund the multi-billion dollar Yale Endowment.
On a related note, MCLA has recently made a huge push to raise perceptions and expectations about their future. The promised science building as well as a few of the mended political fences bode well for the next era of the city's bastion of higher education.
In a perfect-case scenario, both MoCA and MCLA will strengthen and become the driving economic engines and developmental forces within the city. It will be a pleasant change when businesses no longer have to be lured here, but rather come knocking on their own to take advantage of the many very cool things going on.
I'd bet a case of beer (or diet soda) that this "tipping point" occurs within 5 to 10 years. ¶ 8:20 PM
The project is budgeted at $9 million. Yale and Mass MoCA have jointly raised $6.3 million, with the expectation that the remaining money will be in hand in time for the start of construction, scheduled for February. Installation of the drawings is expected in fall 2007, with the opening of the building a year later.A good friend, who knows about such things pointed out to me that the folks who are funding this installation are also becoming enthusiatic about MoCA in, and of, itself. It's not a secret that MoCA is building an endowment to keep itself afloat for the long haul, but what is remarkable is just how well things are going.
On a related note, MCLA has recently made a huge push to raise perceptions and expectations about their future. The promised science building as well as a few of the mended political fences bode well for the next era of the city's bastion of higher education.
In a perfect-case scenario, both MoCA and MCLA will strengthen and become the driving economic engines and developmental forces within the city. It will be a pleasant change when businesses no longer have to be lured here, but rather come knocking on their own to take advantage of the many very cool things going on.
I'd bet a case of beer (or diet soda) that this "tipping point" occurs within 5 to 10 years. ¶ 8:20 PM
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Greg--nail right on head here, but there's another problem.
Tara had some appointments with a few realtors to look at commerical space on Main and Eagle Sts, and she ran into a problem: the deplorable condition of the downtown retail space.
The owners of some of these buildings are more than happy to lease out space that's divey, unfinished, out-of-code, totally inappropriate for retail--and let the tenant renovate on their own dime?
With the movie theatre, MoCA's expansion, and MCLA's promising to expand, downtown is really a prime spot to get in now before it breaks big.
But the reason there are so many empty storefronts is not just city zoning/planning policy: it's the commercial slumlords that are letting their property deteriorate--and their agents are just as complicit.
The mayor took a real hard line last winter with Starwood Ceruzzi. Is there anything he or the council can do to whip the owner (or ownerS...ahem...we're all pretty sure that one guy can't own ALL of downtown....can he?) into making the property more attractive to prospective tenants?
Tara had some appointments with a few realtors to look at commerical space on Main and Eagle Sts, and she ran into a problem: the deplorable condition of the downtown retail space.
The owners of some of these buildings are more than happy to lease out space that's divey, unfinished, out-of-code, totally inappropriate for retail--and let the tenant renovate on their own dime?
With the movie theatre, MoCA's expansion, and MCLA's promising to expand, downtown is really a prime spot to get in now before it breaks big.
But the reason there are so many empty storefronts is not just city zoning/planning policy: it's the commercial slumlords that are letting their property deteriorate--and their agents are just as complicit.
The mayor took a real hard line last winter with Starwood Ceruzzi. Is there anything he or the council can do to whip the owner (or ownerS...ahem...we're all pretty sure that one guy can't own ALL of downtown....can he?) into making the property more attractive to prospective tenants?
Chris & Ross - I agree, and disagree, with you both. The problem of the state of Downtown real estate is not so nearly clean cut.
Ross, small towns, like North Adams, who have been through a major economic contraction really don't have the regulative means nor the commercial impetus to provide uniformly up-to-code commercial space. Time seems to stand still. You can check out offices that look almost exactly like they did in 1948 in many of the downtown buildings - 60 year old wallpaper, blinds, etc... Creepy.
I work in a 120 year old building in Williamstown that has the buliding inspector going nuts. But 15 years ago ,when the present owner bought the building, just before Williamstown got "hot", the problems were simply ignored during the sale. North Adams needs the "demand" on their side before they can decree that commercial spaces be "class-a".
Hopefully Tara and people like her are an indicator that such demand is rising. But then, as the demand goes up, so do the rents. C'est la vie.
Chris- MoCA has drawn its tenants because it has great space and is a responsive landlord. Also, the synergy of being on the "campus" is something that a lot of companies find attractive. While I understand the problem of the property being off the tax rolls, the fact is that MoCA's tenants provide a net positive to the city coffers. (Not to mention that their rent pays for the museum's operation instead of direct tax subsidies) In turn, others will want to near these business in the streets of downtown. It takes time.
To you both, the inspection and code issues in NA are wierd. The mayor insists that all exterior renovations be "pretty". OK. I'll live with that, but then some of the permiting issues seem to be arbitrary or punitive. A friend told me about the Sugar Lama Cafe which had some minor problems that cropped up long after their original plans had been approved. The city shut them down for a week. What's up with that? It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that the city would not work with a small business and let them fix the problems incrementally, while staying open, when the issue is not one of safety or health.
And the expedited permitting sounds great in theory, but wouldn't it require the addition of another inspector to sit in the office and approve permits as they come in, rather than letting them pile up until they can be looked at?
I would want details on how this would work before signing on to it.
The mayor's jones for taking on big developer/landlords is interesting. I give him props for calling Starwood's bluff. But the whole episode with the KMart plaza was bizarre. Ultimately I like the fact that the developer and the mayor compromised, but the drama was ridiculous.
Demand seems to be rising for comercial space. The Mohawk's reopening will be a psychological shot in the arm for Main Street. Things will get better, not worse. (short of a major catastrophe)
Time is the hardest part.
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Ross, small towns, like North Adams, who have been through a major economic contraction really don't have the regulative means nor the commercial impetus to provide uniformly up-to-code commercial space. Time seems to stand still. You can check out offices that look almost exactly like they did in 1948 in many of the downtown buildings - 60 year old wallpaper, blinds, etc... Creepy.
I work in a 120 year old building in Williamstown that has the buliding inspector going nuts. But 15 years ago ,when the present owner bought the building, just before Williamstown got "hot", the problems were simply ignored during the sale. North Adams needs the "demand" on their side before they can decree that commercial spaces be "class-a".
Hopefully Tara and people like her are an indicator that such demand is rising. But then, as the demand goes up, so do the rents. C'est la vie.
Chris- MoCA has drawn its tenants because it has great space and is a responsive landlord. Also, the synergy of being on the "campus" is something that a lot of companies find attractive. While I understand the problem of the property being off the tax rolls, the fact is that MoCA's tenants provide a net positive to the city coffers. (Not to mention that their rent pays for the museum's operation instead of direct tax subsidies) In turn, others will want to near these business in the streets of downtown. It takes time.
To you both, the inspection and code issues in NA are wierd. The mayor insists that all exterior renovations be "pretty". OK. I'll live with that, but then some of the permiting issues seem to be arbitrary or punitive. A friend told me about the Sugar Lama Cafe which had some minor problems that cropped up long after their original plans had been approved. The city shut them down for a week. What's up with that? It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that the city would not work with a small business and let them fix the problems incrementally, while staying open, when the issue is not one of safety or health.
And the expedited permitting sounds great in theory, but wouldn't it require the addition of another inspector to sit in the office and approve permits as they come in, rather than letting them pile up until they can be looked at?
I would want details on how this would work before signing on to it.
The mayor's jones for taking on big developer/landlords is interesting. I give him props for calling Starwood's bluff. But the whole episode with the KMart plaza was bizarre. Ultimately I like the fact that the developer and the mayor compromised, but the drama was ridiculous.
Demand seems to be rising for comercial space. The Mohawk's reopening will be a psychological shot in the arm for Main Street. Things will get better, not worse. (short of a major catastrophe)
Time is the hardest part.
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