This weekend’s LAT Real Estate section pulled focus from the traditional Westside subjects to take a look at The Brewery Art Colony, Downtown’s vast live/work space for artists and other assorted bohos. The collection of 21 warehouses dating from 1903 sits on 18 acres on Main Street near I-5. Purchased and renovated in 1980 by Carlson Industries, the lofts have rented to sculptors, tattoo artists, performance artists, potters, weavers, filmmakers – picture a casting call for a West Coast production of Rent.
The 300 studios range from 1200 to 6000 s.f., with rents from $1 to $1.25 per s.f. (Carlson Industries keeps rents 10% or so lower than comparable properties). The Times manages to keep the condescension to a minimum while describing the stock:
“Think different. Think way outside the box. The units are industrial-looking and barebones, which make them easier to customize to individual tastes. Some have more structure — you know, walls and things — but the design is up to the individual tenant.”
The predictable query about famous residents proves a letdown for LAT, who apparently knows rumored tenant Giovanni Ribisi best as Phoebe’s brother on Friends. What? The Times has never heard of Lost In Translation? Or that movie where Gio plays Juliette Lewis’ retarded boyfriend?
· Brewery living spaces put art in the heart of the city [LAT]