The Gowanus Arts Building, which has served as community hub for 30 years, is getting a much-deserved makeover. The facility on Douglass Street between Third and Fourth avenues will undergo a renovation that will move its third floor theater to the ground floor and plant a garden on its roof.
According to DNAinfo, the renovation is being helmed by the Civic Architecture Workshop. Relocating the theater from the third to first floor will allow the Gowanus Arts Building's resident theater company, Spoke The Hub, to become eligible for grant money that they formerly lost out on. The third-story theater, accessible only by an aging stairwell, was not ADA compliant.
The rooftop farm will be designed by Brooklyn Grange and will be built in part with money granted from the city's Department of Environmental Protection. The farm will feature vegetables and also serve as an educational asset for the arts building.
During the renovation, windows will be enlarged on the ground floor, allowing passersby a chance to look in on the theater, and on an art gallery that will also move onto the ground floor.