Vacant Downtown Building in Jersey City to Become a Creative Center for Artists

Mayor Steve Fulop of Jersey City is looking to give back to the artists in his community. Jersey plans to turn a historic building in the Powerhouse Art district into a space for artists and other creatives to utilize, NJ.com reports.

The old building located at 335 Washington St., will be completely renovated and refurbished along with a new name: the Washington Street Creative Center. This center will be available for any local artist or organization that needs a studio, office, or rehearsal venue for a very reasonable price, NJ.com reports. This center would join many other artistic venues in the area such as Nimbus Dance Works, which just opened, an Art House Productions theater, and a variety of other creative businesses, Jersey Digs reported.

“I really do think ultimately supporting arts and culture is what makes a city an interesting and an attractive place to live, we want to make sure those non-profits and the creative class that is doing great work in the city are supported,” Mayor Steve Fulop reported to NJ.com.  Ultimately, redoing the building will cost the city nothing as it is part of a community giveback program by developer Mack Cali.

The goal is to have the building completely finished next year, with construction beginning as early as this fall, reported NJ.com.

This is super exciting because as a creative myself, I have always said that we need more places within the community to be able to do the things we love.