Courting makers for Industry City; will artists leave?

Andrew Kimball is working hard to bring makers to Industry City, recently securing a lease from MakerBot. The former Brooklyn Navy Yard chief is now working on behalf of developer Jamestown Properties, which owns a stake in the former Bush Terminal, and cites artists as critical to establishing creative neighborhoods.

Kimball is credited with masterminding a similar transformation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. But some are saying what has happened before is happening there now: rent prices are going up and the artistic element is getting priced out.

Artists were some of the first pioneers to the old Bush Terminal, but as maker businesses come in, painters and sculptors are getting priced out, according to a piece in the New York Times.

Jamestown said it was committed to a diverse roster of tenants. “We don’t want to be monolithic — we want to see a niche manufacturer next to an artist next to a tech company,” Mr. Kimball said. And some artists, even those who complain of the rising costs, praise their studios and the improvements that have been made.

[New York Times]