Newsletter - Vol. 2 issue 1

A Residential Community Like No Other, Bar None!

What better place to lock yourself up and delve into your work than the original Jackson State Prison? You won’t find another adaptive-reuse transformation quite like the one taking shape at this 19-acre prison site. When the historic prison, built in 1839, is transformed into the Armory Arts Village in Jackson, Michigan, it will be a one-of-a-kind, creativity-focused, mixed-use neighborhood. Designed by Economides Architects, East Lansing, Michigan, Armory Arts will feature affordable space designed to meet both the living and workspace needs of emerging artists, musicians, designers, craftsmen, and other creative people.

Fryling Construction, Grand Rapids, began the initial construction phase in November, 2006, adapting three of the prison’s original buildings into the Armory Artswalk Apartments. Featuring 62 one-and two-bedroom apartment units with open floor plans, they will provide permanently affordable living and working space for income-qualified artist entrepreneurs. The open floor plans will allow residents to create and tailor their spaces to their individual work needs. Shared workspace and equipment for resident artists will include a two-story large-scale industrial art production space, a ceramics/sculpture studio, audio production studio, class/work/rehearsal rooms, flexible gallery and exhibition space, and a multi-use performing arts and special events hall.

Vice President Garry Hart, Senior Project Manager Curt Mulder, Assistant Project Manager Drew Terwee, and Field Superintendent, Scott Fase are leading Fryling Construction’s team on the project. Contractors Mechanical’s Project Manager is John Porter and Field Manager is T. J. Collick.  Contractors Mechanical is constructing hydronics and plumbing systems in the three buildings being adapted in the first phase. “This is really quite an incredible project with some very interesting aspects. We’re running hydronics through a full tunnel system that was once used by prison guards to move about the facilities and serve in guard towers. We’re going through concrete walls and floors with inlaid stone and steel rods and mesh—walls that are from one-half foot up to two-feet thick,” say Jerry Schauer, Vice President at Contractors Mechanical.

Future phases will include several additional components to the village, including  new construction of another 88 townhouse-style mixed-income apartment units.  New construction of a 28,000 square-foot Creative Industries Innovation Center will pair resident artists with industry, adding design and proto-typing labs, manufacturing and assembly space, a video production studio, and other facilities to offer programs to meet the creative needs of manufacturers, engineers, and proto-type designers.

Plans also call for Shop Rat to make Art Armory Village home for their national headquarters. Shop Rat, a non-profit organization educating young people in skilled trades professions is dedicated to creative thinking and innovative advancement in engineering, manufacturing, construction, and the arts. Defining “Shop Rats” as skilled craftsmen capable of fine works and worthy of the title “Artisan,” they will have Shop Rat classrooms and machine shops at Art Armory and a television production studio to produce their Shop Rat TV series.   

Armory Art Village has captured the interest of artists throughout the Midwest. The Enterprise Group of Jackson, the local non-profit economic development group spearheading the effort, is anticipating a waiting list. With so much interest, getting into the new facility may prove to be more difficult than the previous occupants had getting out.