November 21, 2007
Stamford Advocate
South End artists negotiate new home
By Monica Potts

Artist Tina Rohrer paints at her studio at the Loft Artists Association's new location on Canal Street in Stamford.

Move allows larger gallery than Yale & Towne site

STAMFORD -- The Loft Artists Association has moved from its longtime home at the former Yale & Towne lock factory into a nearby building, the group's president said.

The move was part of an agreement between the association and Antares Real Estate, which bought the Yale & Towne complex in 2005 and owns the association's new home at 845 Canal St.

Mayor Dannel Malloy worked with the two groups to reach the agreement.

"There were going to be so many changes happening in the South End that anybody who had property was not going to rent to us because they were waiting to see what happened," said Shelly Denning, president of the 30-year-old artists association. "We went to the mayor and went to Antares, and the mayor encouraged Antares to continue keeping art in the South End."

About 20 artists from Yale & Towne made the move, and five new tenants plan to have workspace in the building.

The group now has a 1,000-square-foot gallery, which is bigger than the old gallery, Denning said. A grand opening is tentatively scheduled for January.

Some artists from the association moved their studios to Bridgeport or Norwalk, where rents are cheaper, after Antares bought the complex and made it clear it would evict the artists, Denning said.

Antares plans to turn the complex into housing as part of its Harbor Point redevelopment project.

"The Loft Artists Association is an important part of our community," said Jim Cabrera, co-founder and managing partner of Antares Investment Partners. "Antares was happy to step in to help, as we recognize the importance of art and artists in the neighborhoods we are trying to build."

Denning said the association has a five-year lease with Antares at the new building, and rents are about $15 a square foot. Development of the South End could be bad news for artists as rent prices continue to rise, but good for the city, she said.

"You need to go in a positive direction, and you have to do it in such a manner that works with the neighborhood as well, and it sounds like Antares is trying to do that," she said.

Part of the Yale & Towne complex was demolished after it was destroyed in a fire last year. Businesses housed there, including many antiques dealers, filed a class-action lawsuit against Antares saying the company failed to meet fire codes and did not repair a sprinkler system that executives knew to be defective, causing the fire to spread. The lawsuit is pending.

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