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August 3, 2007

Syracuse, NY

An interview with the Syracuse artist/musician developer

An interview with Rick Destito, the young, progressive developer of the artist/musician building profiled yesterday...

Why are you dedicating this building to artists and musician tenants?
"In my travels around the country, over and over again the most vibrant, exciting, and interesting places I have been were consumed with arts and music. It's that feeling of creativity and ideas, that energy that comes from it all. It's something we didn't have much of back home in Syracuse in a concentrated area.
That energy and creativity will start in this building and work out into the larger community. It's more than just this property, it's also about building up the surrounding community and creating that all important atmosphere for people who want to live, work and play in the same area."

Can you do that and still make money?
"To do so, you need a healthy mix of things. Aside from just renting studios and live/work space, I'm looking at a few different business opportunities that would fit in well with the overall vision of the property. I do think certain things that generate income for the building will supplement other things that need to be more affordable, even long-term renting vs. short-term can have a huge difference in price on the something.
I could probably do all of one thing that would look great on paper or sell condos to be in and out quick which sounds great in the "short term". However, what you won't have is that crucial mix of people that makes the property sustainable for years to come. A building with character and great atmosphere may generate money at a slower pace in the short term, but I believe it will yield much more in the long term. Same concept for building a sustainable community."

What kind of interest are you getting from the artist/musician community?
"Overwhelming support. Currently in Syracuse there seems to be plenty of artists and musicians, but almost no art or music studio spaces available. From what I've heard in talking with other people involved with the arts in the community, it takes about a year and a half to two years to be able to get into a gallery to show your work. There are also no medium-size music venues, you just have the bars or you have the really large venues. Also, in Syracuse studies show a need for approximately 300 live/work units of which there are almost zero currently.
I'm not just renovating a building - I know that for my place to do well, the places around me have to do well. For this reason I'm very involved in things going on in the community, such as Syracuse Public Arts and Tomorrows Neighborhoods Today to make the entire area better and get people to really start utilizing everything and every property around us in the area. Some of the things we've done this year so far are the passing of Syracuse's first Public Art Ordinance and the city's first sculpture park, Lipe Art Park which is just down the street from the building."

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August 2, 2007

Syracuse,

An artist/musician 'community in a building', Syracuse, NY

There are numerous cities and neighborhoods with a reputation for attracting creatives, but what about buildings in particular? There are places like the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA that provide studio and retail space for artists, but what about to live and play as well? That's where Rick Destito and his Vibrant Syracuse Spaces in Syracuse comes in.

Rick's a next generation developer who owns a five-story historic warehouse building in an up and coming creative district. However, he's not interested in leasing or selling out the floors to whatever tenants will pay him (which is pretty much 90% of the way developers operate), he's looking at this building as being the portal for what defines the future of Syracuse, "This isn’t just about a couple of apartments or houses anymore. This is about creating a kick ass city to live in!" he says.

So unless you're an artist or musician, this building is not for you. The top three floors will be attainably priced live-work studio/lofts, the second floor will be studios similar to that of the Torpedo Factory, and the ground floor is looking to provide exhibit, performance and third space experiences. The basement will host practice spaces for aspiring bands, and the rooftop garden will catalyze creative exchanges.

Rick's also committed to the beta community program to crowdsource the building's development - more on that to come. Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Rick.

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August 1, 2007

Counter, NYC

An alternative story to opening an alternative restaurant

You dream of opening your own restaurant or bar that you feel the world needs and is ready for, but no one's providing. Yet you don't have the money or the experience. Here's a story that may inspire you, or someone you know, because these are the kinds of people and places that make a neighborhood extraordinary...

It's the story of Counter, a vegetarian, organic wine bar in New York City.

Starting with $300 and an agreement to use a restaurant's kitchen in exchange for making their desserts, Deborah Gavito started her Body and Soul all-natural baked goods business in 1993. Her creations were a hit at farmers markets. Funded by that success, four years and a new-found partner (business and romantic) later, she began working toward her dream of buying a building an opening an organic vegetarian restaurant - neither of them with any experience in either.

They initially bought a building in 1997 for $780,000, then realized in mid-construction that their architect made a mistake in thinking the building was zoned for commercial use. After being compensated for the gaffe, the building became the couple's home (though it ended the romantic relationship) and it wasn't until six years later that they signed a 20-year lease at $7000/mo. for a building a half-block away to open Counter (the name was suggested by a customer).

What makes Counter, well, counterculture? (the origin of its name)
- It's vegetarian and organic.
- It has a rooftop garden where many of the restaurant's ingredients are grown.
- The wine bar features all natural martinis and 80 organic wines grown with a biodynamic process, presented via attractively priced, fun samplers.
- Customers receive a complementary frozen sangria pop rather than bread - a counter-appetizer you could say.
- They educate extensively on their vegetarian, organic vision via their blog and embedded video podcasts.

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July 31, 2007

Fresh N Friends, Berlin, Germany

Oh thank heaven, it's not 7-11

Have you walked through 7-11 looking for something to eat and just can't seem to relate? Or rather, when was the last time you walked in. Like many cultural creatives, you're looking for an alternative, something better, something like...

...maybe a Fresh 'N' Friends? So the name may be a little corny, but then again, it'd be a foreign language to its patrons (which is otherwise cool) because it's located in Berlin, Germany. So what makes it different, creative, progressive... desirable?

- Just like the chain, it's a convenience store open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, it's the only one. It's not a chain.
- It's primarily health-conscious. That alone makes it entirely unique.
- Its menu of food items (salads, sandwiches, soups, smoothies) are freshly prepared each day in-house.
- 80% of their food is from ecologically-certified 'bio enterprises', from locally-produced farms to organic to free-trade.
- How often do you find outdoor dining in front of a convenience store, much less want to?

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July 30, 2007

Cafe in Paris

Paris being remixed for the next generation

In continuing last week's entries on redefining streets the way we're redefining buildings (green), food (organic), and the music industry (crowdsourcing), here's a sample of that shift on a city scale... a slow city, green city, city 2.0, organic city, remixed city, authentic city if you will.

Paris' mayor vowed in 2001 to reduce car traffic/congestion by 40% by 2020. It's the kind of thing auto-oriented generations see as a travesty of driving freedom (which ironically it's anything but in the city). However, to emerging generations it's viewed more as a 40% increase in pedestrian-oriented quality of life. Mayor Bloomberg tried his best in this regard with congestion pricing in Manhattan, but it may take another generation to implement.

So what's happening in the cultural capital to reach this goal? Quite a bit, and what's going on there probably inspires new generations of creatives rather than elicits sneers. Here's a sample:

- The largest bike sharing system in the world, with 20,000 bikes by the end of 2007.
- Every bus stop has a status screen telling you how long your wait is - so you can slip in to that cafe to grab that last minute espresso.
- Large investments in what is already one of the best subway and tram systems in the world, where just $70/month will take you just about anywhere.
- For the greenies out there, diesel fuel is purposely set a lot lower than regular gas because it releases 30% less greenhouse gases. Not surprisingly, diesel cars are popular. Do government incentives like this work in the U.S.? Do you think it's a coincidence that the Prius is the top selling car in California and that they get HOV status? :)
- Paris probably has more promenades, paseos and passages (ie pedestrian streets) filled with dining tables instead of cars, and fronted by local, indie cafes than most any other city.

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