When we visited the Loew's Pikin Theater in 2010, the movie palace, closed for 40 years, was falling apart and pretty creepy-looking. But no more! POKO Partners sent along a press release announcing the completion of their $43 million adaptive reuse of the structure, transforming the historic ruins into a mixed-used building featuring a charter school and retail space. Brownsville Ascend Charter School occupies 130,000-square-feet on seven of the building's eight floors, with a discount store anchoring the street-level retail space along Pitkin Avenue.
The renovation, lead by architecture firm Kitchen & Associates, restored the historic building's exterior neo-classical and Art Deco features while retrofitting the interior to accommodate the school. Along with classrooms for K-12 students, the school has a gymnasium, auditorium, science labs, and art rooms. The above photo shows the newly minted lobby, and the official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held next Thursday, September 13.
· Ascend Charter School [Kitchen & Associates]
· Inside the Ruins of a Creepy Old Brooklyn Palace [Curbed]