IndieSpace Real Estate Council
IndieSpace is searching for experienced professionals in the field of real estate and development to strategically guide our real estate programs serving the indie theater community in New York City.
IndieSpace’s mission is to celebrate and center independent theater-making in NYC by providing radically transparent, responsive and equity-focused: funding, real estate programs, professional development, and advocacy to individual artists, theater companies, and indie venues.
A thriving indie theater sector creates the cultural vibrancy that attracts people to our city, enriches our communities, and creates real estate opportunities. However, NYC has become an increasingly challenging place for indie theater artists to live and work. In the past decade, indie theaters in NYC have been closing at an alarming pace due to reduced funding, soaring rents, and COVID-19.
We believe that we can reverse this trend.
Why a Real Estate Council
A collaborative effort requires leadership. The IndieSpace Real Estate Council will step into that role. As a body of real estate experts who understand the centrality of indie theater in our city, the Council will develop solutions and engage stakeholders to shape a new future for indie theater in New York. As a member of the Council, you will have the opportunity to:
Make a difference in the lives of New Yorkers.
Apply your professional expertise to a citywide challenge.
Work closely with other real estate leaders across the city.
Combine your professional and philanthropic interests on behalf of artists.
Real Estate Council Invitation
By joining the Council, we are asking for your support by:
Advising IndieSpace on real estate decisions, helping the organization to make smart investments on behalf of the indie theater community.
Attending one to two annual meetings in-person or virtually, to stay up-to-date on IndieSpace’s strategic goals and annual prospects.
Referring colleagues to IndieSpace that will provide pro bono advising and support for indie theaters under our Consulting and Advising Program (CAP).
Investing in our mission with a personally meaningful philanthropic gift annually.
Helping secure funding for capital projects by connecting IndieSpace to funders, city resources, lenders, and others.
IndieSpace Commitment
Real Estate Council members will receive:
Recognition on the IndieSpace website and in printed materials, unless you prefer to remain anonymous.
Recognition in our next facility.
Special updates on real estate projects and other IndieSpace programs.
First access to any IndieSpace events.
Detail on IndieSpace’s Real Estate Programs and Projects
In IndieSpace’s history, we’ve helped find and lease 18 new spaces, managed the purchase of a new home for an indie theater company, and supported 60+ nonprofits through their space challenges. We've helped renegotiate 7 leases, 4 of which we put in place with a revenue sharing model with ownership. We've opened the West Village Rehearsal Co-Op (below), and we are walking the wild project through the potential purchase of their theater. This will be one of the very first indie spaces owned by an organization founded and operated by a Queer, Latine, Woman in New York City.
Our core program is the CONSULTING AND ADVISING PROGRAM (CAP). CAP provides FREE real estate consultancy and advocacy by our Executive Director, Board members, and real estate volunteers (from firms like Savills, THINK Architecture, Vicus Partners, WRNS, Severn Clay Studio, Counter NY, Wilson Ihrig, Big Show; and legal firms like Paul Weis Rifkind and Simpson Thatcher) to independent performing arts organizations in NYC that are facing a real estate transition, challenge, or opportunity.
We are also facilitating and managing spaces across the city:
WEST VILLAGE REHEARSAL CO-OP: Opened in January 2023, with a 99 year lease at $1/year, WVRC provides free to $10/hr subsidized rehearsal/meeting space, in partnership with HERE, The New Ohio, and Rattlestick. Supporting 1500 artists/year, this NEW space is free to select members including The Grove (Black playwrights collective) and Safe Harbors (Indigenous/Native People's theater company).
INDIESPACE HELL’S KITCHEN: As part of an innovative affordable housing project that integrates arts and culture to serve diverse communities in Hell’s Kitchen and citywide, a 7-story mixed-use building is slated to begin construction at 705 10th Avenue. The development will include 6,128 rentable square feet for community facility space; 4,800 SF of which we will lease to provide subsidized and affordable performance, rehearsal, and workspace for the indie theater community. We anticipate this space will launch in 2026/2027.
Current Needs for Facilities
The Real Estate Council will help IndieSpace address our various facilities needs, either through fundraising, advising, or connecting us to pro bono services to alleviate the costs entirely. With multiple space solutions in motion, we are thrilled to have secured much of the capital funding needed through city sources for the bulk of our projects. But in order to steward these successfully, we are seeking to raise significant funds to cover soft costs over the next four years:
2023:
$25,000: Capital Fundraising Consultant for Hell’s Kitchen.
$75,000: Architect Fees for preliminary designs for Hell’s Kitchen.
$15,000: Lobbyist to help secure government funding for Hell’s Kitchen.
$40,000: Operating expenses for West Village.
2024:
$40,000: Capital Fundraising Consultant for Hell’s Kitchen.
$80,000 - $100,000: Project Manager/Owner's Rep for ongoing projects.
$80,000 - $100,000: Facilities Manager.
$385,000: Soft costs in preparation for Hell’s Kitchen, including architectural, sound, lighting consulting, etc.
2025:
$260,000: Soft Costs for Hell’s Kitchen.
$40,000: Operating expenses for West Village.
2026:
$280,000: Soft Costs for Hell’s Kitchen.
$40,000: Operating expenses for West Village.
Please note: soft costs include project management, architectural, sound, lighting, theater consulting, etc.