St. Ann’s Warehouse, the
Brooklyn theater that has provided a home for highly regarded productions
including “Black
Watch” and “Misterman,”
will itself continue to have a home in Dumbo, not far from its current location
in that neighborhood. The theater said on Monday that it had signed a three-year
lease for a new space at 29 Jay Street, where it plans to open next fall after
leaving its longtime base of operations at 38 Water Street following the
conclusion of its current season in May.
St. Ann’s was required to leave 38 Water Street, where it has been since 2001, because the space is scheduled for commercial development. A plan to move the theater into the Tobacco Warehouse, a Civil War-era structure opposite the Water Street building, and provide it with a $15 million renovation had to be abandoned earlier this year when a judge struck down a decision by the National Park Service to remove the Tobacco Warehouse from classification as federally designated parkland.
Susan Feldman, the artistic director of St. Ann’s, said that the 19,000-square-foot space at 29 Jay Street is one that the theater had contemplated at previous junctures in its search but was not previously available. When the Tobacco Warehouse ruling was made in July, Ms. Feldman, who was then in France, said she sent out “an e-blast” to about 50,000 associates and followers of the theater, and got reconnected to Peter Forman, who manages the Jay Street property.
“It took a few months and it worked out,” Ms. Feldman said. “Good for him and good for us.”
Ms. Feldman said that St. Ann’s was still seeking a more permanent home. “When it comes to real estate, to find the property, to have it be available, to actually make a deal — it takes a long time,” she said.
Then again, Ms. Feldman added that when St. Ann’s Warehouse started at the St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights in 1980, “I had no idea how long that was going to last.”
“I didn’t even know that’s what was going to happen,” she said. “Then when we came to Dumbo, we were only going to be at 38 Water Street for nine months, and we’ve been there 11 years. I’m hopeful.”
St. Ann’s was required to leave 38 Water Street, where it has been since 2001, because the space is scheduled for commercial development. A plan to move the theater into the Tobacco Warehouse, a Civil War-era structure opposite the Water Street building, and provide it with a $15 million renovation had to be abandoned earlier this year when a judge struck down a decision by the National Park Service to remove the Tobacco Warehouse from classification as federally designated parkland.
Susan Feldman, the artistic director of St. Ann’s, said that the 19,000-square-foot space at 29 Jay Street is one that the theater had contemplated at previous junctures in its search but was not previously available. When the Tobacco Warehouse ruling was made in July, Ms. Feldman, who was then in France, said she sent out “an e-blast” to about 50,000 associates and followers of the theater, and got reconnected to Peter Forman, who manages the Jay Street property.
“It took a few months and it worked out,” Ms. Feldman said. “Good for him and good for us.”
Ms. Feldman said that St. Ann’s was still seeking a more permanent home. “When it comes to real estate, to find the property, to have it be available, to actually make a deal — it takes a long time,” she said.
Then again, Ms. Feldman added that when St. Ann’s Warehouse started at the St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights in 1980, “I had no idea how long that was going to last.”
“I didn’t even know that’s what was going to happen,” she said. “Then when we came to Dumbo, we were only going to be at 38 Water Street for nine months, and we’ve been there 11 years. I’m hopeful.”
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