the BAX building

 

THE BAX BUILDING – the making of Your Arts Center

In January 2007, we signed a lease to take an additional floor in our existing building and named the space THE BAX BUILDING. At the heart of BAX is the commitment to remain an invaluable resource and to strive to make our programs accessible to all. This expansion represented an extraordinary opportunity and secured a viable and vibrant future for the organization.

We established a capital campaign that includes the building of two new rehearsal/class studios, an education office, faculty lounge, conference/screening room, public waiting room, artists dressing room, improvements to our stairwell and exterior, and establishes a cash reserve for the organization.

Following is a re-counting of how we created THE BAX BUILDING:

  • January 2007 - Learned that the second floor of 421 Fifth Avenue would be available and signed a long term lease for the space.
  • February 2007 - Met the folks from The School of Cooperative Education and agreed to work with their high school students as our construction crew and received a leading gift from the Independence Community Foundation.
  • March 2007 - Had a work party attended by families, artists, board and community members and completed the demolition our second floor.
  • April 2007 - Mounted THE BAX BULDING campaign and continued the work.
  • May 2007 - Howlin’ Vic Artist Benefit raised $5,000 and both second- floor studios were opened for rehearsals.
  • June 2007 - Raised $15,000 from individual contributors, worked at a furious pace to get space ready for the summer programs.
  • July 2007 - Opened space for summer programs, doubled the number of students attending; introduced independent artist performance packages which were fully booked – a huge success for all; received support from the Brooklyn Borough President/Department of Cultural Affairs for the initial outfitting of a new space.
  • August 2007 - Worked at another furious pace to get space ready for fall programming.
  • September 2007 - Opened fall semester, increased number of classes by 15 and rehearsal space by more than a third; celebrated the THE BAX BUILDING with 150 of our friends and supporters; received funding for the project from New York Community Trust; raised $30,000 in additional individual support.
  • October 2007 - Welcomed back our student construction team from Co-op Tech to begin renovation of third floor, hallways and lobby.
  • November 2007 - Received support from Seedco ArtsBusiness Initiative, completed demolition and framing on third floor.
  • December 2007 - Happily included Assemblywoman Joan Millman as a BAX BUILDER with capital support funding.
  • July 2008 - Received two year funding from the Booth Ferris to complete work on the BAX BUILDING.
  • January 2009 to present - FULLY DEVELOP ALL OF THE PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY THIS ADDITIONAL SPACE AND RESOURCES.