GOOD NEWS!!
We'll be staying at the Grainery Station through December, and all our exhibits and events will be held as scheduled. The Board and NAA staff are considering the relocation proposal from our current landlord and researching other options. Read the backstory.

NAA faces relocation … again

For those of us who have been around a while, it’s a case of déjà vu all over again. We left the old Art House on Delaware Avenue because a developer wanted to tear down the building. Now the same developer will be demolishing our current site at the Grainery Station and constructing a new building on the property. Newark City Council unanimously approved the project, known as The Millyard, at its April 23 meeting.
The immediate impact on the NAA is not yet clear. There are still lease issues to be resolved (see below), and many relocation-related issues to address (see “The challenges”). It looks as though we will be able to continue our regular programs at least through the “Sequence and Series” show, which opens May 5 and runs through June 2. Thereafter, we'll be taking it show by show and event by event. In between newsletters, we'll post updated information on the Web site and send out broadcast e-mails to members.

What happened
Lang Development Group, which purchased property, has determined that the cost of renovating the building would be prohibitive. This site also houses Star of India Restaurant, The Barber Shop, How Do You Brew? and the New Attitude Salon. The new three-story, brick and stone, 3,700-square-foot structure would feature retail space on the main level and nine two-story apartments above.

This plan is connected with other renovation projects, including The Trap restaurant property, designed to extend the downtown Main Street area "around the bend" and increase pedestrian traffic in that area.

NAA representatives expressed their concerns at the March Newark Planning Commission meeting. A commission member also brought up the issue of safety with the apartments' residents living just 55 feet from the CSX railroad tracks.

The vote was 4-2 to recommend approval of the project, including rezoning, to City Council. Initially, demolition was set for May 1, with completion of the new building by the end of September.

Lease issues
We still have two years on our original five-year lease, and technically do not have to leave until it is up. It is the developer’s responsibility to find a suitable space for us.

We had planned  to be at the Grainery Station until at least 2013, exercising the five additional one-year options. Length of lease was a factor in getting support from three of our major funders, and the long-term occupancy was also the reason we put so much money into renovating the space.

A letter from the NAA's Board of Directors and staff was sent declining the initial proposal to move the NAA to Pomeroy Station near the Newark Shopping Center, then back into the new building. The temporary site does not meet our needs, and the rental fee at the new site would not be affordable.

Finding a different, permanent location would be preferable, rather than facing the disruption of two moves within a five-month period. The NAA's leaders have been researching other sites.

The challenges

The move from the Art House to the Grainery Station proved to be a benefit to the NAA. We ended up with a larger, more visible space, and although the costs were sometimes daunting, we managed to make ends meet. We hope to get that lucky again! However, relocation has its challenges.

  • The NAA runs on a tight budget. We cannot afford to increase the cost of rent and utilities.
  • We will lose visibility. We've built up recognition of this location, and the change will have an effect. This is particularly difficult if we end up moving twice.
  • Relocation and the uncertainty about schedule put our series of shows, classes, and events in jeopardy. We cannot make plans without knowing where we'll be located and by when.
  • We lose income from the Gallery Shop and classes during the transition(s).
  • Moving stretches our resources; tearing down and setting up in a new location requires time and personnel.
  • We lose all the "interior art" that has been added to the building -- the signs in the classroom, the bathroom murals, and the painted ceiling tiles.