Atlantic Gardens comprises eight buildings with retail tenants on the ground floor and residential tenants above. It’s located near Atlantic Terminal and the Barclays Center at the intersection of several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Despite its excellent location, the block was run-down and anything but welcoming. The developer, Atlantic Assets Group—a partnership that included Art Assets President Barbara Koz Paley—saw an opportunity to create a thriving retail community and regenerate a micro-neighborhood in the process.

Interweaving art and music was a major part of the marketing strategy for this award-winning project. Several artists were commissioned to create interactive multi-media art pop-ups along a block of empty storefronts on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. The installations created community and transformed the area into a fresh Brooklyn destination. Additionally, the buzz around the pop-ups led to all the storefronts being rented, cementing the stretch of Atlantic Avenue as a new retail corridor.

Programming included:

ULI New York – Art Assets organized a temporary art installation in the common garden and hosted a party for the Urban Land Institute of New York. This allowed a variety of real estate professionals, including developers, brokers, and investors, to experience the redevelopment project in a compelling and memorable way.

“Return” – Art Assets collaborated with Creative Time, a national arts organization, to co-host “Return,” a temporary art installation by Michael Rakowitz. The exhibition opened in a storefront recreating his grandfather’s import/export business. The object was to import Iraqi dates and to create a dialogue among a wide variety of communities: the local Muslim shopkeepers, the arts community, business leaders, and tourists.

Atlantic Avenue Art Walk – Art Assets curated dynamic art installations and performance pieces for the Annual Atlantic Avenue Art Walk for four years, including sand artist Wayne Coe.

LightSpace – Using LED Light Art Installation, Art Assets distinguished the space at 527 Atlantic Avenue in a highly cost-effective way.

Feast! – Art Assets invited the artist’s collaborative Feast!, a multi-media performance group, to create an art installation and after-party for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Feast! artists installed photographs, passed out baked goods, anddressed in costume. This live performance conveyed Atlantic Assets Group’s commitment to the community and local institutions.

Aakash Nihilani – Art Assets commissioned Brooklyn artist Aakash Nihalani to create artwork for the exterior façade and interior spaces using neon-colored tape. This innovative installation attracted a high-profile tenant, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

We Are Familia – In ongoing efforts to integrate Atlantic Gardens into the fabric of Downtown Brooklyn, another local artists collective, We Are Familia, was invited to set up a temporary gallery and event space at Atlantic Gardens.  The group transformed a vacant storefront into a vibrant exhibition space with a wide range of programming that further amplified Art Assets’ efforts to attract new visitors to the development.

Flaming Fires – Local arts and music collective Flaming Fires took up residency in one of the empty storefronts during the winter holiday season.  Their nightly events drew new crowds to the block and increased evening business for the food retailers.

Caroll Taveras – To further establish Atlantic Gardens as a hybrid of art and commerce, Art Assets invited photographer Caroll Taveras to erect a pop-up studio. Taveras opened her studio to anyone who wished to have his or her photograph taken. The photographs were compiled into a travelling exhibition that later toured Germany.

Circus Amok – Art Assets arranged for Circus Amok, a New York-based Circus group, to inhabit a vacant storefront during renovation. They performed daily on the sidewalk outside the buildings and held classes in the storefront for children in the community. The performers animated an otherwise unusable space and attracted local visitors to the formerly neglected block.