New Home of St. Ann’s Warehouse Breaks Ground at DUMBO’s Iconic Tobacco Warehouse

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg broke ground on one of the Brooklyn waterfront's largest projects - the redevelopment of DUMBO's iconic Tobacco Warehouse into a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/new-grand-park-green-oasis-set-to-open-this-weekend-in-downtown-los-angeles/">dynamic cultural center</a> and the new home of the<a href="http://www.stannswarehouse.org/">St. Ann’s Warehouse</a> performing arts institution. The building, located on the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/brooklyn-bridge-park/">Brooklyn Bridge Park</a> grounds, will house a multi-use space for artists, schools, and community groups. Once the new center is complete, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/st-anns-warehouse/">St. Ann’s Warehouse</a> will be able to move from its transitional space at 29 Jay Street into its new and permanent home.

Currently the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/origin-led-installation-is-a-giant-technocratic-life-form-under-the-brooklyn-bridge/">Tobacco Warehouse</a> is an 18,000-square-foot open space surrounded by four bare brick walls.

With St. Ann’s Warehouse, <a href="http://marvelarchitects.com/">Marvel Architects PLLC</a> designed a new enclosed building with a flexible performance space. There will also be a 1,000-square-foot multi-use community space to include artists’ support spaces, offices, and a waterside lobby with multiple archways leading to the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The adjacent triangle structure connected to the brick walls will be left as an open space. Landscape architects <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/michael-van-valkenburgh-associates/">Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates</a> imagine it will be used as a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/photo-realistic-wall-murals/">walled birch tree grove</a>.

The site will be just the first of many projects to reuse seven abandoned buildings and vacant lots along the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/DUMBO/">DUMBO</a> waterfront.

<a href="http://meqs.com/">Midtown Equities</a>, the developer of the project in partnership with <a href="http://www.rockwoodcap.com/">Rockwood Capital</a> and <a href="http://www.hkorganization.com/about.html">HK Organization</a>, will redevelop the long-abandoned Empire Stores. Along with new businesses, Alloy Development and Monadnock Construction will design and build a new <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/residential-building/">residential building</a> on the John Street section of the park. The new building will include 47 apartments as well as a cultural and retail space on the ground floor - including one for the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/listing/brooklyn-childrens-museum/">Brooklyn Children’s Museum</a>.

To tie all of these spaces together, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/mayor-bloomberg-opens-brooklyn-bridge-parks-pier-5/">new parkland</a> is being developed. Plans include a 13,000-square-foot gathering lawn located on the John Street site. The park will also feature tidal salt marsh, tree-lined pathways connected by raised pedestrian bridges.