Artspace Looking for Tenants

After nine months of construction and years of planning, Patchogue's Artspace project is in its final stages and developers are looking for tenants for the 45 units of artist-centered affordable housing.

Applications for potential renters for the apartments on Rider Avenue and Terry Street are due Friday and Jean Kramer-Johnson, asset manager for Artspace, said move-in should take place in January to February of 2011.

Potential tenants will be ranked by a lottery system next month, with preference going to artists living in Suffolk County, then artists living outside Suffolk and then the general population. The lottery will be held at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on November 16 at 6 p.m.

Kramer-Johnson said applicants that miss Friday's deadline would be put on a first-come-first-serve waiting list.

The application documents say that once ranked, potential tenants will begin a screening process which will include a background check and income verification forms. Potential tenants will have to meet certain income limits as the housing is designated to be available for affordable rates, based on area median family incomes in Suffolk County as updated and published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For instance, a potential tenant for a one-person apartment can not exceed a gross annual household income of $43,560 to be eligible. JMD/Einsidler Management Corporation will verify income limits during the screening process and ask for copies of documents such as bank statements and pay stubs from the previous three consecutive pay periods.

The five-story Artspace building features studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom lofts and is intended for all types of artists, from painters and sculptors to actors and dancers

"We try not to be limited in that description," Kramer-Johnson said. "Tenants need not be employed as an artist, but they do need to demonstrate a commitment to creative pursuit."

An Artist Selection Committee will also review potential applicants who declare themselves as artists. Tenants will appear before a panel of Artspace officers and local artists to answer ten questions and demonstrate their artform said Will Law, Chief Operating Officer for Artspace.

"Book is wide open, if you sing, you can sing. Show us a body of work," Law said at a recent information session for Artspace housing. "We are just trying to find out if you have a creative spirit."

Patchogue resident Phyllis Waldo, an actress and director, said she's interested in the new development and the rent, which is based on income with prices ranging from $817 per month for the cheapest studio to $1,480 per month for the most expensive three-bedroom, is something she can afford.

"It would be a thriving environment for me," Waldo said. "I work nine to five and need that creative environment."

In addition to residences, the new building will feature 2,500 square feet of arts-oriented commercial space.

National nonprofit Artspace has been building affordable-housing developments for artists across the country since the 1980s. Builders broke ground in January on the $18 million Patchogue complex, the third in New York in addition to buildings in Buffalo and New York City.

Construction on the local building is expected to finish by the end of this year, according to Artspace's Web site. Kramer-Johnson said artists might begin moving in late this year or early 2011, though the building most likely won't be filled until February of next year.

The full Artspace housing application can be found on the Artspace website and in the pdf section.

Michael Sorrentino contributed to this story.