Empire State Development (ESD) has announced the start of construction for the Brownsville Arts Center & Apartments (BACA), a $254 million development located at 366 Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood. The project will provide 283 affordable apartments for households earning between 30% and 70% of Area Median Income, along with a new cultural arts center. Construction is expected to finish by December 2027.
ESD is contributing $5.5 million to the initiative, which will create a 28,000-square-foot cultural arts center designed to serve as a permanent home for local and regional artists, organizations, and community groups. The new facility aims to increase access to the arts and attract visitors to Brownsville. It will include performance and rehearsal spaces, studios, and flexible gathering areas.
“Empire State Development is proud to invest $5.5 million in the Brownsville Arts Center and Apartments. The project ensures that local artists and cultural organizations have a permanent home while also delivering hundreds of affordable apartments to the community. By pairing cultural space with affordable housing, we are reinforcing Brownsville as a community where people can live, create, and thrive,” said Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight.
The project was recommended by the New York City Regional Economic Development Council (REDC). Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor of City University of New York, and William D. Rahm, CEO of Everview Partners—co-chairs of REDC—said: “By bringing together new affordable homes with dedicated cultural space, the Brownsville Arts Center and Apartments reflects the kind of inclusive growth New York City needs. The REDC is proud to support this project, which will provide opportunity, inspiration, and connection to residents across the community, ensuring that the neighborhood’s creative economy and economic vibrancy continues for generations.”
Yarojin Robinson from Gilbane Development highlighted BACA’s broader purpose: “The Brownsville Arts Center & Apartments will be so much more than a home—it will be a thriving hub for people to gather for performances, for students to learn about the arts, and for local cultural organizations to grow. We are grateful to our partners, Blue Sea Development and Artspace, and for the critical financial support from the City and State. Together, we’re working to make Brownsville more affordable, sustainable and connected.”
Jacob Bluestone of Blue Sea Development Company emphasized community ties: “At the heart of the Brownsville Arts Center & Apartments is a belief in connection: connection to home, to culture,and connection to one another. It means a great deal to all of us at Blue Sea Developmentand Gilbane Developmentto be partofaprojectthattreats cultural infrastructureandaffordablehousingnotasseparateneeds,butassharedpillarsofcommunitylife.”
Wil Law from Artspace added: “The Brownsville Arts Center & Apartments shows what’s possible when affordable housingandtheartsarewoventogethertoserveacommunity.Withstronglocalpartnershipsandasharedcommitmenttocreativity,BACAwillbeaplacewhereartistsandneighborscancreateconnect,andgrow—ensuringBrownsville’sculturallifecontinuestoflourishforgenerationstocome.”
Designed as an all-electric building targeting Passive House standards as well as LEED Platinum certification—with goals toward Net Zero energy use—the project seeks long-term sustainability benefits such as reduced operating costs that can free resources for expanded programming.
BACA’s programming will be supported by several local partners including Artspace itself along with BRIC,BrooklynArtsCouncil,BrooklynMusicSchool,Purelements,andtheYouthDesignCenter.Together these groups plantoofferartseducationperformances,andotherculturalprogrammingthatstrengthencommunitytiesinBrownsville.
