stjamesmural07.jpg
109 St. JamesThe renovation of 109 Gates Avenue at St. James Place in Clinton Hill has been on the slow-track since we moved into the neighborhood a couple of years ago. A group of investors bought the building in February 2005 for $1,100,000 and, after several months of planning and (presumably) navigating the Landmarks process started a gut renovation. With the renovation only partially finished, the owners flipped the building in December 2006 for $2,000,000 (which seems pricey to us). While they continue the renovation, the new owners decided to allow the plywood fence on the corner property to be turned into a mural. Which is why this past weekend a bunch of neighbors (including many kids) turned out with paintbrushes in hand. The group art project is documented in great detail in the Flickr photoset below. Perhaps even more exciting is that the new owners plan on turning the ground-floor commercial space (which was a bodega until a fire destroyed much of the building a few years ago) into a high-end restuarant.
2007 Block Party Mural Photoset [Flickr] GMAP P*Shark


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Wowsers, I live on that block, and have walked by that plywood EVERY day for going on three years … please keep us in the loop B-Stoner on the plans for the ground floor – I had been thinking coffee and bagels would be good for that location, on the way to the subway. The building reno has been done well, though indeed glacially slow – Marvin windows throughout (front, back, side, bay, etc.), for example. All VERY exciting!!