Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

PowerHouse Arena in DUMBO to Close at End of June

 PowerHouse Arena's 37 Main St. space.
PowerHouse Arena's 37 Main St. space.
View Full Caption
Facebook/powerHouse Arena

DUMBO — After a decade on Main Street, DUMBO’s sprawling powerHouse Arena will be closing its doors at the end of June and moving to smaller digs just down the street.

The store's last day at 37 Main St. will be June 30, store owner Daniel Power confirmed.

The large bookstore and event space made the announcement in an email sent Friday to customers, noting its lease had expired and that it would will be selling off its inventory.

"Our lease is up, and everything must go,” the email reads, referring to the space as a "laboratory for creative thought."

But the bookstore will reopen later this summer at 32 Adams St. in a space about half the size of the Main Street venue, which includes powerHouse’s signature 10,000-square-foot "arena" and office space, according to Power.

The bookshop will operate under a new name, while powerHouse's publishing house will relocate to 55 Washington St., Power said.

The new location will include a 600-square-foot mezzanine, which will be unveiled for the store's grand opening in September, Power said.

For Power, the hardest part about moving to the new space has been sorting through the store's wares and deciding what to let go.

"It's easier to go into a larger space, but it's nearly impossible to go into a smaller space," Power said. "You need to make a lot of hard choices about what to keep."

He said he's looking forward to moving closer to the Archway, where the store may host some of its larger events in the future.

“I hope there will be a lot of tourism and a lot of locals hanging around and enjoying the neighborhood,” Power said. “I think it’s exciting to be in that area.”

The store is also looking to partner with other local business, like Brooklyn Roasting Company, to host events for crowds of more than 100 people, the maximum amount the new space can hold.

PowerHouse, whose lease expired in March, is moving after struggling to make its monthly rent of $20,000, which is less than half of market rate for the space, said a spokesman for landlord Two Trees.

The management company offered powerHouse the smaller Adams Street space for $9,000 a month, which is just over half of the market rate, he noted.

“Two Trees has a long and special relationship with powerHouse, working with them for a decade to support the business and help it survive through a changing marketplace and rising rents," Dan Conlon, the company's managing director of leasing, said in a statement. "As with many of our below-market small businesses and cultural tenants, we were able to find another terrific space to keep powerHouse in DUMBO and are thrilled to keep them as part of the mix.” 

Two Trees has allowed the store to stay in its current space under the same terms of the lease. 

Until the store closes, it will be selling its inventory at discounted prices, including books, stationery, posters, toys, apparel, totes, tables, chairs, desks, cabinets, industrial cabinets, artwork, electrical items, office supplies, bookshelves, cables, theatrical lights and exhibition walls.

“If you see something you like, make an offer!” reads the goodbye email to customers.

PowerHouse will also be hosting complimentary afternoon happy hours and special one-day sales on various items.

News of powerHouse's closing date was first reported by Brokelyn.