The owners of 56 Bogart gallery and artist studio building aka The BogArt, Ted and Marianne Hovivian are developing another mixed-use artists’ work space at 13 Grattan St. The development of 13 Grattan St. lot, which is currently empty, was announced in June 2014. Since the lot is literally annexed to 56 Bogart, the owners decided to name the project, The AnX.
The Hovivians have hired a renowned architect Gene Kaufman to design the structure. (Kaufman is currently working also on another project in our area, 100 Bogart St.)
The AnX structure will comprise of 23,000 sf structure, and will offer a combination of work-space lofts and 8,000 sf of ground-floor retail, restaurant and basement space, emailed us Gene Kaufman rep. “With its soaring 12-foot ceilings, upper-floor terraces, and large windows that bring in lots of natural light, 13 Grattan will combine the spirit of 19th-century European ateliers with the sophistication of 21st-century technology, materials and amenities.”
The Hovivians have bought 56 Bogart building in 1983 and intended to use it for office furniture manufacturing. The neighborhood was, however “too difficult and rough,” as they said in an interview with Sean Alday, and so they opted not to move their manufacturing operation there. The buidling was converted into artist lofts in 2005 after The Hovivians saw a major exodus of artists from Williamsburg. (“There [in Williamsburg] was a zoning change that permitted residential construction. That prompted a lot of change in the use of property there, which forced a lot of the artists out,” they said.)
Galleries began to move to 56 Bogart in 2011, and the building became a major gallery hub in Bushwick. The AnX seems to plan to continue this trend, even though the slick Kaufmann’s design predicts a very different feel and vibe than we’re used to seeing in Morgantown. But before you exhale in that long gentrification complain sigh, we should actually applaud to the Hovivians for counting with the artists in their plans also in the future and not constructing a straight up Bushwick mall or a hotel instead.