DUMBO — St. Ann's Warehouse, an innovative theater group, has won a long-term lease for a 153-year-old building in Brooklyn Bridge Park, officials announced this week.
St. Ann's will transform the park's Tobacco Warehouse into a performance space, community room for local artists and waterfront lobby with the help of Marvel Architects PLLC, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and St. Ann's Warehouse Founder Susan Feldman said.
“After activating found spaces for cultural use in Downtown Brooklyn since in 1980, we are excited to do so once more — this time making a permanent home for the arts and community events on the Brooklyn Waterfront in one of the city’s most awe-inspiring locales," Feldman said.
"We look forward to transforming the Tobacco Warehouse into a welcoming place where artists, audience members, city residents and visitors can gather all year long.”
Renovation plans for the Tobacco Warehouse, built in 1860, include the preservation of its original brick walls and iconic arches. The design also includes the retention of an open-air space where birch trees will be planted, serving as an entrance to the theater or a place for park-goers to relax and take in the waterfront views.
There will also be room for artists’ dressing rooms, restrooms, storage and St. Ann's administrative offices.
St. Ann's was originally located at the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights and is currently housed at 29 Jay St. in DUMBO.
Construction is expected to begin in October and St. Ann’s Warehouse hopes to open its doors in the Tobacco Warehouse in the fall of 2015.