BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Affordable rehearsal space is hard to come by anywhere in Downtown Manhattan. But Community Board 2 is offering some — and it’s free.
The community board is seeking potential tenants to be the master leaseholder of a new, roughly 1,700-square-foot basement space at 60-74 Gansevoort St., between Greenwich and Washington Sts., in the Meatpacking District.
The space will be free in perpetuity — leased for $1 per year — and will be used for development work and rehearsals for nonprofit performing arts organizations that are ideally located in and around the boundaries of C.B. 2. The board district is located between 14th St., Canal St., Fourth Ave./Bowery and the Hudson River.
“There is a big need for rehearsal space by small arts groups in New York City, but much of the space that is available is exorbitant for these groups,” said David Gruber, chairperson of the C.B. 2 Gansevoort Arts Advisory Panel. “We hope at the end of this process to have a smoothly administrated rehearsal space that will be used by as many of our local theater groups as possible. To that end, we are seeking an experienced and financed master tenant that will work with the various small theater and performance groups in need of affordable rehearsal space, as well as with building management and the community board.”
Applications must be submitted by June 15. C.B. 2 will inform applicants deemed qualified by the end of June. A final decision will be announced by the end of July, after which the successful applicant will then enter into a lease negotiation with the building owners, Aurora Capital Associates.
“We are all very excited about this program and look forward to reviewing all the submissions,” Gruber said.
The board negotiated the deal for the so-called “community benefit space” as part of the contentious “Gansevoort Row” project that built up the southern side of this landmarked block of the Gansevoort Historic District. Prevailing over a community lawsuit, the developer added three stories atop a row of old two-story Meat Market buildings, plus constructed an all-new six-story building where a one-story structure had sat at the corner of Washington and Gansevoort Sts.
For more details about the C.B. 2 community benefit space and to access the information request application, click here.
Completed applications should be sent by e-mail to bgormley@cb.nyc.gov or by regular mail to Bob Gormley, c/o CB2, 3 Washington Square Village #1A, New York, NY 10012.
A Zoom information session to discuss the application process and answer any questions will be held Wed., June 2, at 5 p.m. For the registration link, click here.
For more information, contact Bob Gormley, the C.B. 2 district manager, at bgormley@cb.nyc.gov.
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