In the high-stakes real-estate environment of New York City every square foot counts — especially for space- and cash-starved arts organizations. So when Mikhail Baryshnikov, artistic director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), teamed with a consortium of off-Broadway theater producers to build a new 46,000-square-foot building at 450 West Thirty-seventh Street in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, expectations were high. Indeed, the six-story, concrete-and-glass structure was designed by the late architect John Averitt (who died a year before its completion) to be a versatile, column-free performing-arts hub. When it opened in 2005, a trio of stacked, “for-rent” theaters operated by the producers occupied the three lower levels. Baryshnikov built out the upper floors for the offices and studios of the nonprofit BAC. But, while the theaters were outfitted with stages and seating, they were left spare for visiting companies to equip as needed, and ultimately lacked the necessary acoustics and theatrical gear to make them marketable. Long story short, the theaters were sold after three years. BAC purchased one, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, another nonprofit, bought the other two — each owner with its own plans to tap the city’s top theatrical consultants and architects for extensive renovations.
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