MOTT HAVEN — A Bronx resident wants to transform his home into a tourist destination in the hopes of introducing new people to the neighborhood's historic districts.
Samuel Brooks, president of the Mott Haven Historic Districts Association, plans to partner with local interior decorators and artists to transform his three-story home at 442 E. 140th St. into a show house that he plans to open to the public for a $20 admission fee, he said.
The idea is to create enough of a design spectacle to draw visitors to the neighborhood's three historic districts — including the Mott Haven East Historic District, where his home is located, he said.
"We are hoping to increase the traffic of tourists coming into The Bronx and spend[ing] their time, their money, and also help local merchants," Brooks, 54, explained.
He said he will invite local artists to create location-specific works to display in his home, without impeding on creativity by forcing them to stick to a theme.
"In this particular case, it’s what you envision for the space that you're given, so I don’t want to have any influence," he said. "I just want to see their own expressiveness in the house."
The designers and artists working on his home would be volunteers, and Brooks acknowledged that this meant he would personally benefit from the project by having free work performed on his house.
But he was adamant that the effort would be done in the service of bringing more attention to Mott Haven's historic districts, and that 100 percent of the proceeds from people visiting the house would go toward improving the area.
Brooks expects his home to be ready for the public by the summer, when he will open it for eight weeks. Proceeds from the admission fees will go to help support the MHHDA improve the neighborhood's historic districts through measures like installing tree guards and putting up explanatory signs and plaques, he said.
The historic districts that Brooks hopes to benefit from his project include the Mott Haven East Historic District, which runs between Brook and Willis Avenues on East 139th and 140th streets; the Mott Haven Historic District, which runs between East 138th and 141st streets on Alexander Avenue; and the Bertine Block Historic District, which runs between Brown Place and Willis Avenue on East 136th Street.
The economic development group SoBRO has already agreed to partner with Brooks on the project, calling it a great way to show off what Mott Haven has to offer.
"I think that it’s really important to support any effort that is going to highlight the vibrancy of the community as well as the history of the community," SoBRO spokeswoman Donna Davis said.
She and Brooks would both like to see the event turn into a tradition, where a different Bronx home becomes a decorator show house every year.
It would be easier to get other homeowners interested in participating by having his own home as an example of what could be, Brooks said.
"You take something, you do the overhaul of it and present it to the public, and then the subsequent year, you don’t have to re-explain anything," he said.
Jason Tackmann, president of the interior design company SoBro Studio Surfaces, said he is planning to participate and would not mind doing so as a volunteer, because it would provide publicity for his small company and an opportunity to train young workers.
He has "loads of ideas" for what to do with the house — including coating its walls and counters with a waterproof plaster called Tadelakt — but said he wants to see what ideas other designers have for the house.
"It could be a hodgepodge. It could be confusing," he said. "It’s interesting and to be seen how it's going to pan out. I certainly have ideas, but I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes."
