Set inside Enrique Norten’s towering residential project in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the upcoming L10 Arts and Cultural Center will bring together multiple mainstay institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), the Brooklyn Public Library, and 651 ARTS.
The 32-story triangular 300 Ashland Place already boasts several pieces of booming retail on the property, including a Whole Foods Market 365 and an Apple Store. But the addition of a 50,000-square-foot space owned and operated by the city will ensure the building, designed by TEN Arquitectos and Andrea Steele Architecture in 2017, features more than stop-and-shop amenities. The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) aim to make it a community gathering place and give 651 ARTS—which teaches African Diaspora-inspired contemporary dance, theater, and music—its first dedicated permanent home.
“For both visitors and residents alike, Fort Greene is a destination for arts and entertainment, and I’m thrilled to celebrate the addition of this new community space and all it has to offer,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett in a press release. “The opening of the L10 Arts and Cultural Center officially marks the completion of the entire BAM South Tower project, which has brought invaluable affordable housing, jobs, and community and public space to the neighborhood.”
BAM South Tower, as 300 Ashland Place is referred to here, stands on a pivotal corner near downtown Brooklyn and in between the residential neighborhoods of Fort Green and Park Slope. Located near BAM’s other buildings within the Brooklyn Cultural District—a city-led invested area—it’s a central spot with its own public plaza to connect people crossing into either community. The uniquely-shaped site was previously a parking lot but was later transformed via a collaboration between the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Two Trees Management.
Andrea Steele Architecture, which recently acquired the New York office of its longtime partner TEN Arquitectos, has designed individual spaces for each institution within the L10 Arts and Cultural Center. For BAM, a new education center will be built, as well as a reading room where the public can access its 150-year-old collection. 651 Arts will get its own affordable dance studios and performance space, while a new branch of the Brooklyn Public Library will open for locals. In time for its 20th anniversary, MoCADA will receive a new gallery and performance space.
According to Andrea Steele, the project embodies Brooklyn’s burgeoning civic landscape: “The design elevates the public walk to connect the community to new resources,” she said. “While the exterior landscaped terrace has already become a vibrant destination and venue for dance performances, concerts, markets, and festivals; the new cultural spaces will bring critical activation and extend the public realm within, resulting in a 360-degree panorama of city life.”
The L10 Arts and Cultural Center broke ground today, and with the project’s expected completion in winter 2021, the BAM South Tower project will be fully realized.
