There are six new turnkey Brooklyn brownstones \u2014 but they\u2019re not for sale. That\u2019s because they\u2019re located in the bowels of Barclays Center.<\/p>\n
The custom paint just dried on the arena\u2019s gut renovation of its six artist dressing rooms, Laurie Jacoby, the chief entertainment officer at BSE Global, exclusively told The Post. All 2,200 square feet were redesigned to evoke the look of brownstones, from thick crown molding to pocket doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project is just a slice of the Barclays\u2019 $100 million, multi-year facelift.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t really want to hold back,\u201d said Jacoby.<\/p>\n
The dramatic entryway transports guests out of the cinderblock basement. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
Freshly limewashed walls evoke different shades of Brooklyn. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
The new dressing rooms offer road-weary artists a slice of home in the basement of Barclays. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n
Months of work by designers and artisans transformed the six interconnected dressing rooms into a cozy warren worthy of a Park Slope brownstone. The once-gray walls and drab black chairs were replaced by golden sconces and velvet love seats; vintage-inspired lighting and custom millwork now line freshly limewashed walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The redesign gives a sense of place for artists who might otherwise only glimpse the borough from a tour bus window, Jacoby said. Each room bears the name of an iconic Brooklyn neighborhood, with corresponding paint colors \u2014 rich army green for Fort Greene and a brick red for Brooklyn Heights.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s even a \u201cvestibule\u201d that fronts the dressing rooms, featuring checkered marble floors, frosted glass and a golden chandelier.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re in an arena when you come in,\u201d Jacoby said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of what we wanted to achieve, you can leave the world outside for a little bit, you come in here and have a little respite.\u201d<\/p>\n
A vestibule features checkered marble floors, frosted glass and a golden chandelier. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
The textural, plaster-like paint job had to be specially applied by craftsmen. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
Nine Inch Nails was among the first batch of artists to enjoy the new digs. Getty Images for VetsAid 2022<\/p>\n
Puerto Rican rapper Eladio Carri\u00f3n performing at Barclays Center on September 5 \u2014 during which time he also enjoyed the new dressing rooms. Getty Images<\/p>\n
A few acts have already had the chance to enjoy the homey interiors, including the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, Puerto Rican rapper Eladio Carri\u00f3n and country singer Eric Church. Reactions have been positive, Jacoby said.<\/p>\n
Applying a brownstone aesthetic to a 13-year-old arena\u2019s basement dressing rooms was no small task. The Brooklyn Home Company, the designers charged with transformation, faced a bare-bones space that hadn\u2019t been renovated since Barclays opened its doors in 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like any good facelift, dressing room\u2019s \u201cbefore\u201d photos are unrecognizable \u2014 the former aesthetic was more far more DMV than VIP.<\/p>\n
Talent dressing rooms are often utilitarian, like this Barclays dressing room used by boxer Marcus Browne in January. The newly redesigned ones looked similar to this. Getty Images<\/p>\n
The redesign sought to emulate the luxury and craftsmanship of Brooklyn\u2019s iconic brownstones. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
The bland rooms featured gray walls, swinging metal doors, fluorescent lights and plain-looking black leather seating. It was high time for an overhaul of the space, which Jacoby compared to an airport lobby.<\/p>\n
\u201cArtists need a home. And this didn\u2019t feel like a home,\u201d Jacoby said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of how it started. And what is Brooklyn known for? Its beautiful brownstones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Round any number of residential streets from Bed-Stuy to Boerum Hill, and you\u2019ll see what she means. Brooklyn\u2019s iconic 19th and early-20th century townhouses, characterized by their reddish-brown sandstone facades, symbolize a uniquely Brooklyn brand of home-y luxury available to the lucky few.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their distinctive high stoops, opulent entrances and interior craftsmanship often earn the best-located brownstones tens of millions of dollars on the open market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some of the new furniture was sourced from nearby Brooklyn shops. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
The Park Slope room was decorated with a deep plum color, meant to emulate the neighborhoods much-loved bistros and wine bars. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
The decor pays homage to the area, too, including furniture sourced along Atlantic Avenue and coffee table books by hometown heroes like Spike Lee.<\/p>\n
The $100 million modernization isn\u2019t just about looking like the borough that Barclays calls home \u2014 the 19,000-seat arena has to compete with larger venues like Madison Square Garden for performing acts and their loyal fans.<\/p>\n
The fresh dressing room is just one part of ensuring Barclays stays top of mind for top talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very competitive marketplace,\u201d Jacoby said. \u201cI want Brooklyn to stand out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Newly installed pocket doors connect all six rooms. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
The Barclays team hopes the redesign will resist wear-and-tear, as well as any hard-partying musicians. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
The dressing rooms, now seamlessly connected by pocket doors, can meet the demands acts big and small, with a 56-person capacity for glam squads, management teams and meet-and-greets.<\/p>\n
Such lush digs beg the question \u2013 how will the custom marble countertops and sculptural side-tables fare against hard-partying musicians? When the tell-all memoir of every other musical legend comes with tales of trashed dressing rooms, such lush furnishings might be a risky investment. Jacoby isn\u2019t too concerned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people respect a beautiful environment and want to keep it that way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The spaces were designed to be stylish, yet durable. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
Custom additions included vintage vanity lighting and marble countertops. Barclays Center\/BSE<\/p>\n
In lieu of clawfoot tubs, the dressing rooms\u2019 accessible showers were upgraded with white marble and new fixtures. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n
The constraints of space and the hectic arena environment meant that the dressing rooms couldn\u2019t get the full luxury market treatment \u2013 accessible showers and mini fridges take the place of clawfoot tubs and Gaggenau appliances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cost of the dressing-room renovation, which Jacoby declined to disclose, is included in the overall $100 million budget that is reshaping the arena. The facelift comes with a targeted end date of 2027 or 2028, she said.<\/p>\n
And, especially considering these new dressing rooms, it\u2019s all worth every cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people were completely blown away,\u201d she said. \u201cI am anxious to have somebody see it who was here before. They won\u2019t think they\u2019re in the same building.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are six new turnkey Brooklyn brownstones \u2014 but they\u2019re not for sale. That\u2019s because they\u2019re located in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":247162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[648,1032,49222,1121,104895,1033,171,4329,12216,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-247161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-barclays-center","11":"tag-brooklyn","12":"tag-brownstones","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-real-estate","16":"tag-renovations","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115249903509477527","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}