Remember all the excitement surrounding the BAM Cultural District around, oh, 2001? Well, the NY Post is reporting that the previous plan for a theater and arts library has been expanded to include a dance studio, public park, museum and gallery, underground parking garage and residential housing.
The district, which will cost $650 million, will be located between Fulton St. and Lafayette Ave. along Flatbush Ave.
More details from the Post:
- The 229-seat theater will be modeled after London’s Royal National Theater
- A dance studio will be on the ground level of a 20-story residential tower with 150 units, half of which are designated for affordable housing
- A Visual and Performing Arts Library won’t go forward until a new executive director for the Brooklyn Public Library is named
- And, a public plaza with an underground parking garage below will be designed by Ken Smith of 7 World Trade Center fame (he also designed MoMA's fake roof garden)
It’s taken years for the BAM Cultural District to even come close to being realized, with the earliest mention (via our Nexis search) appearing in a NY Times article from September of 2000. Jump to last summer when the Times – via Brownstoner - reported that Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff created the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership to speed up projects like the BAM Cultural District.
And so we have just one question: What’s taking so long?
