Brooklyn’s ongoing hipster transformation is continuing with plans to convert a 113-year-old Gowanus coal burning power plant into manufacturing space for artists.
Powerhouse Arts, the group behind the effort, filed plans for the project with the city on Wednesday, which call for expanding the three-story warehouse at 153 2nd Street by three stories and doubling its square feet from roughly 74,000 to 143,000. The building will include print, ceramic and metal shops, a catering and banquet hall, and facilities for digital fabrication and woodworking.
The estimated total cost of the project is $74 million, and PowerHouse expects it to open in 2020.
The city is planning a potential rezoning of Gowanus, which the Department of City Planning hopes to release a framework for by early next year. The Hakim Organization recently partnered with Property Markets Group to buy the neighborhood’s development site at 455-459 Smith Street for roughly $50 million.