Downtown Brooklyn is home to world-class institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and Mark Morris Dance Group, which attract nearly 500,000 visitors and arts patrons every year. The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership oversees the development of the BAM Cultural District, a vibrant, multicultural arts district in the neighborhood surrounding BAM. This effort involves the conversion of underutilized, city-owned properties into affordable performance and rehearsal space for a diverse array of non-profit visual, performing, and media arts groups.
BAM Cultural District Master Plan.
Already a destination for avant-garde arts and culture, the BAM Cultural District will also be a dynamic commercial and residential center, featuring innovative architecture linked by a series of distinctive public open spaces. Amenities including restaurants, cafes, retail and parking will make the neighborhood a true 24/7 urban and cultural center. To download a copy of our BAM Cultural District Master Plan, click here.
Master Plan:
The goal of the BAM Cultural District plan is to create much-needed affordable performance and rehearsal space, mixed-income housing, and new public open space. The District development will be accomplished in a series of phases that are currently in various stages of progress and completion.
The first phase of the District development involved the renovation of the 80 Arts - James E. Davis Arts Building, which is the Cultural District's first completed project. The 30,000 square foot building is home to twelve diverse nonprofit arts groups benefiting from below-market rents and shared amenities. We are currently working on the second phase of the Master Plan, which involves a number of development projects that will provide the following:
Affordable Space for the Arts: The Cultural District will include affordable facilities for arts organizations that will ensure the longevity of these organizations in their new homes. Planned uses include a theatre and rehearsal space for Theatre for a New Audience and a dance performance and rehearsal center at the base of a residential tower. Renovation plans are underway for the Strand Theater building, a city-owned facility that is currently home to BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn and UrbanGlass.
A Mix of Housing: To address the surrounding community's need for affordable housing, the Cultural District will create approximately 300 mixed-income residential units, most of which will be housed in a new mixed-use building that will also feature a performing arts theater. Called the Brooklyn Arts Tower, the building will provide 187 residential units, with more than half targeted for lower, moderate, and middle-income families.
Streetscape and Public Space: Ken Smith Landscape Architects will design a cohesive streetscape for the district, including sidewalk and lighting improvements along Lafayette Avenue and Ashland Place. Landscaped public open spaces will serve as important gathering places for community residents, local artists, and visitors. These elements play a key role in linking together the different destinations throughout the Cultural District.
Public Events: A vital part of the Cultural District will be public programming, such as concerts, arts performances, and educational activities. The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership already sponsors summer concerts at Fort Greene Park as part of the popular Fort Greenmarket and Artisan's Market. With new performance venues and parks planned for the area, the community will have the opportunity to interact through arts and music through exciting public events and programming.
Innovative Architecture: Renowned architects and firms including studioMDA, Behnisch Architects, Frank Gehry, Hugh Hardy, Leeser Architects, Snohetta and Ken Smith Landscape Architects will bring an unprecedented level of innovation in architecture and design to the Cultural District and New York City. New facilities for the arts as well as housing and open space will benefit from some of the most progressive international talent working in urban design and building. The architecture in the District will be an attraction itself and will enhance the singular uniqueness of this new destination for arts and culture.
Amenities: Retail amenities will be created that will complement and augment the existing neighborhood retail mix to meet the needs of local residents, arts organizations and visitors. Underground parking will also be developed beneath several new structures including the main public space, the Grand Plaza.
The BAM Cultural District will build upon and serve an already rich and growing arts community in the surrounding Fort Greene neighborhood that today is home to dozens of arts and cultural organizations including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Mark Morris Dance Group, 651 Arts, the Brooklyn Music School and UrbanGlass. For more information about all the current development projects taking place within the district, click here.