Artists and developers aren’t always on the opposite side of the fence in Brooklyn. Sometimes they work together on fences and other projects.
At 80 Met, a luxury six-story condo in Williamsburg, the structure will be built around the performance space used by a nontraditional dance studio called StrebLab for Action Mechanics.
Developer Steiner Equities bought the entire block for its development, but instead of booting the arts group sitting in the middle of the block, the group, which was in the middle of a 10-year lease, purchased its space at 51 North 1st Street.
Doug Steiner, president of the development firm, said he wanted to help preserve some of the artistic element of Williamsburg and even plans to market the condo project with the help of StrebLab.
“I’m inspired to have this opportunity to collaborate with a developer that is both aesthetically minded and progressive,” said Elizabeth Streb, director of the dance studio.
Halstead is set to market apartments and townhouses for the 174-unit development, which features an indoor pool.
In Dumbo, proving that creatively adorned fences make good neighbors, J Condo has become a patron of the arts by hiring local artist Pasqualina Azzarello to paint flowers on the fence that borders the construction site of the 33-story tower at 100 Jay Street.
Developer David Kramer also created ProJect Dumbo, a contest soliciting art from anyone who lives or works in Dumbo for the lobby, lounge and children’s playroom.
“We had a party and invited all the [residents] to come, meet each other and vote on the art that will eventually go into the building,” said Kramer, who added that there are contracts signed for 70 percent of the development’s 267 units. “When you have a new building, there is not necessarily a blending of new people to the neighborhood with those who have been here. This was a wonderful setting for that.”