Hungerford artist community gets new owner; tenants cautiously optimistic:
https://www.democratandchronicle.com...l/65372624007/
From the article: “For nearly 20 years, Jennifer Buckley has run her ceramics shop, East Main Clay, in the Hungerford Building on East Main Street. A space that used to serve as an auto repair shop now offers up daintily painted hand-made bowls, cups and plates.
Buckley and co-owner Kate Hochbrueckner have seen businesses come and go in this artist community, but one thing remains constant: a creative energy throughout the ramshackle former soda syrup factory.
She likes the building the way it is, she said ― "until you get a leak in your space."
In April, the responsibility for patching those leaks ― and for maintaining the building's vibrancy ― changed hands.
Longtime owner Maguire Properties sold the building for $7.7 million to Peter Hungerford, a commercial real estate developer and distant relation of J. Hungerford Smith, the 20th-century fruit syrup tycoon who built the complex.
Peter Hungerford has a large real estate portfolio in Rochester and elsewhere. His goal, he said, is to maintain the building's character and role while making needed upgrades. More than 100 creative practitioners depend on it for the low rent and built-in sense of community.
"It has a purpose in the world, so much more meaningful than just another commercial building," Hungerford wrote in a letter to tenants July 15. "It is filled with personalities, and stories, and character. Because of that, I promise to always treat it and the community it encompasses with respect and empathy."
That pledge has provided only partial comfort for longtime tenants, and not just because he is not renewing long-term leases at the moment.
'I acknowledge I made mistakes there'
They remember their new landlord's name from an earlier project. Among his previous holdings are a pair of apartment buildings that fell into disrepair several years ago, drawing the attention of city code enforcement and tenants' rights advocates.
Residents there went on a rent strike in 2018 to protest sickening living conditions: leaking pipes, mold, collapsed ceilings, rodents and missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, among other things. Hungerford also owed tens of thousands of dollars on utility payments.
"We shouldn't have to open up our stoves to heat our homes so our families can stay warm," said a woman who lived in the building with her husband and infant daughter.
The city sued Hungerford over violations at Thurston Road and another property on Chili Avenue. He sold the buildings to Home Leasing in 2019.
"I acknowledge I made some mistakes there," Hungerford said in an interview. He specified two: first, that he was part of an ownership group with other people who "weren't interested in investing more in the property," limiting his ability to solve problems; and second, that he communicated poorly with residents.
With the Hungerford Building, by contrast, Peter Hungerford said he has "complete control," and intends to use it for the good of the tenants and the community.
"I've made different choices to help protect me and the tenants and never put me in a position like I was in at Thurston Road again," he said. "If anything goes wrong at the Hungerford Building, it is my fault."
Philippe Faraut is a sculptor specializing in the portraiture of human faces. He and his wife and business partner Charisse have been commercial tenants of the Hungerford for the past two years.
He expressed the inherent tension of creative spaces like the Hungerford Building: penny-pinching artists move in because of the low cost, but like any other tenants, want to see the building maintained and improved upon.
Faraut called the building "old (and) dirty" and hopes for cosmetic improvements under the new ownership. But at the same time, he said that too steep a rent increase could drive him out. His lease expires this fall and is waiting for news on a possible renewal.
"Depending on any future increases, it might not be cost effective anymore," he said. "We will see."
'Keep my rent the same'
From 1900 until 1963 the building ― actually an agglomeration of linked structures totally 225,000 square feet ― was home to the J. Hungerford Smith Co., but for more than 20 years after that, it was mostly empty and poorly maintained.
Maguire Properties bought it in 1986 and spent several million dollars in renovations, eventually filling it with artists and commercial tenants drawn by the creative community and the appeal of cheap rent; the smallest spaces have rented for less than $200 a month.
"I remember coming here in the '90s (and) people knew it was the place to go to see some creative stuff and experience some weird (things)," said Tony Zanni, whose design and print shop, Type High Letterpress, is on the second floor.
More recently, the building has been a centerpiece of city-wide First Friday and Second Saturday artist showcase events.
Olivia Kim, a sculptor with a studio in the building who has rented for 12 years, praised the previous owner, Dennis Maguire, for maintaining the building as a vibrant artistic space.
The sculptor, whose well known work includes the Frederick Douglass statues around Rochester, hopes the new owner will continue to cultivate the conditions that have allowed the community to thrive.
"Artists historically rent where it is cheap and they energize and rejuvenate the area," she said. "Then rents get raised and they have to move again like nomads."
Zanni said he has been forced out of other spaces before. He's been at the Hungerford Building for seven years and hopes to remain.
"(The new owners) stopped in my shop last Thursday and asked what they could do for me," he said. "I told them, 'Keep my rent the same.' ... This is one of the few inexpensive places for artists to rent and have a home."
Renovations coming with more tenable space
Peter Hungerford is clear: he intends to upgrade the building extensively without changing its essential character or forcing out its existing tenants. He said he has $3.5 million set aside for renovations.
"(Maguire) didn’t necessarily invest a ton of money back in the building," he said. "It is, from our perspective, a little tired and rough around the edges. ... It’s a nice, big building that could use some TLC." (Dennis Maguire declined to comment for this story).
Among the early tasks: upgrading the parking lot, and elevators, replacing part of the roof and improving signage and access around the multiple entrances. The building is fully occupied, but Hungerford intends to create more tenable space, including by clearing and renovating the expansive, mostly unused basement.
While planning those renovations, he has declined to extend expiring leases except on a month-to-month basis, something that has caused trepidation. Some of the artist tenants have been forced out of other spaces and fear the same thing happening again.
"I hope they're thinking long-term," said Andy Battaglia, whose Comics Etc. is one of five store fronts at Hungerford. "No business wants to say month to month," Battaglia said.
Hungerford said the monthly leases are a short-term necessity while he becomes acquainted with the building and sees where work is needed.
"I am acutely aware that many folks have concerns about not being offered a long-term lease renewal at this time," he wrote to tenants. "I assure you all this does not mean the end result will be a 30-day notice to move. ... Quite simply, we are getting to know the building."
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