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Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural District

City officials are planning to transform the area between Fulton and Lafayette streets near Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn into a cultural haven for artists and performers, as part of the greater Downtown Brooklyn improvements being made. The $650 million BAM Cultural District will be built around the existing Brooklyn Academy of Music and will include a library, dance studio, public park between Fort Greene and Willoughby Square, museum and gallery, underground parking and a residential high-rise. The project will also include the 299-seat, Frank Gehry-designed Theater for a New Audience, which is supposed to start construction in 2008 and will be located on Lafayette Street across from the existing BAM opera house. The dance studio is slated to be inside the 20-story residential tower, half of whose apartments are supposed to be affordable. The new Visual and Performing Arts Library will be part of the Brooklyn public library system and will be located on Flatbush Avenue. These new additions and improvements are designed to help improve the street level amenities in the area, which is notorious for poor pedestrian accessibility. The city will submit a request for bids on the projects in February 2007.

The first completed segment of the BAM Cultural District is the 30,000 sq ft. office space named 80 Arts located on Hanson Place and South Portland Avenue. 80 Arts houses local non-profit art organizations with affordable office space and shared amenities such as gardens and rehearsal space. A specific focus was placed on selecting organizations run locally by women and minorities.

In November 2007, developer Carlton Brown of Full Spectrum was chosen to build the multi-income residential building and cultural center, Danspace. He has gained support from many locals as well as city councilwoman Leticia James because of his long-standing ties with Brooklyn and his African-American background. Many believe that bringing diversity to the development process will help to build a more well-rounded community for everyone. The unusual design will allow for increased air-flow and light in the units, half of which are to be low-income or affordable. Construction of Danspace is not set to begin until 2009, however with the developer chosen forward progress is expected as part of the second phase of development in the area.

Also part of the second phase of development are the Theater for a New Audience, renovations of the Strand Theater, the BAM Annex (an addition of performing and community space on the already existing BAM facility) and an ongoing streetscape and community design initiative. A big component of the design aspect is the Visual Arts Plaza, located on Ashland Place linking these cultural facilities together and creating a public outdoor space for the community. The first of these projects are expected to begin construction in early 2008.