Fire plus art don't mix

[Claymonkey]

Your a military brat too? Haha!

Yep! Air Force. Was born in the Azores, was stationed in Germany when the wall came down and Desert Storm and have seen my fair share of the US.

[ZokesPro]

Air Force also, born in Edmonton, ALMOST stationed in Germany but was highly protested by me and my sister. I've seen my fair share on Canada.

[Jessterw]

Got you both beat, I was an Air Force and Navy brat

Sadly was stationed with my mother and former step-father in Florida twice, so didn't get the chance to live on too many bases.

[Byock]

wow, get out of a touch for a few days....

Glad to hear everything went ok! Let us know if we can help! We could pitch in enough for at least a meal.

[Claymonkey]

Update!

I am still 'homeless' for the time being. I’m currently staying at a friend's house which is going to be empty or mostly empty till the end of March. It's not ideal but I'm comfortable and have some space to myself. This becomes very important after couch/futon surfing for a month.

As for the loft itself, almost NOTHING has been done to the building yet. Why you ask? Well the City of Boston is basically making the owner bring it up to code before anyone can live there again. He has already been served the list of violations so technically he knows what to fix. However, he is not allowed to fix anything until all these repairs are properly marked on a Floor Plan. Now... here comes the problem. When I signed the lease for the place a year ago I asked for a floor plan of my area. This is a Live/Work space and it's a commercial space. I'm completely in the right to get one. The owner tells me, “Well if I HAD one I’d gladly give you one.” He had bought the building a year or so before we moved in. Anyway, unless the City of Boston can mark on the floorplan what needs to be fixed they won’t let it be done. So this week there have been architects drawing up a new “As Is” blueprint of the building.

I told myself from the beginning that if I didn’t get to move back in for six months I’d find a way to wait and move back in. The loft felt more like home than any place I’ve ever lived and I put a lot of myself in it. I’ll keep you guys in the loop.

[ZokesPro]

Hope this gets sorted out soon that way you can go back home cause living at someone else's place, no matter how comfortable you are, it just doesn't feel the same.

[az]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you - that was an awesome place that could really be turned into a dream flat by somebody with the dedication to do it. On the bright side of things, the repairs etc. probably mean it'll be a better place to live after all this is through than it was before.

[Claymonkey]

Hope this gets sorted out soon that way you can go back home cause living at someone else's place, no matter how comfortable you are, it just doesn't feel the same.

This is where USAF Brat training comes in handy. However, I DO agree with you that it gets old.

[Claymonkey]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you - that was an awesome place that could really be turned into a dream flat by somebody with the dedication to do it. On the bright side of things, the repairs etc. probably mean it'll be a better place to live after all this is through than it was before.

Honestly it was looking awesome already. I don't think I ever showed you guys what it looked like while it was 90% done. Honestly, before this happened all that was left on the apartment half was paint and trim, and the paint was only in a few locations... ie one wall.

[az]

(What's a BRAT training? Learning how to live with a brat? )

I only remember pics of how it looked before you did anything (and I was so envious!), and I think you posted of some technical problems - I think this now, as tragic as it is, is a good opportunity for some "deep" renovation (i. e. more than painting), if something needed to be done.

[Claymonkey]

(What's a BRAT training? Learning how to live with a brat? )

I only remember pics of how it looked before you did anything (and I was so envious!), and I think you posted of some technical problems - I think this now, as tragic as it is, is a good opportunity for some "deep" renovation (i. e. more than painting), if something needed to be done.

I'll try and find some current pics (well current before the fire). As for it being an opportunity, that's how I'm trying to look at it. The place will be up to code and the loft will in the end be cleaner better realized once we clean it up and do that last few renovations that will be our responsibility and not the building owners.

[Gurm]

His loft was very very cool.

If only the rest of the building weren't so... uh... scary. Like "dear me, I had best leave this place before I get man-raped" scary.









Of course he'll disagree with me on this, claiming it's some sort of "normal" thing for the big city... but this is Allston, not Harlem.

[Claymonkey]

His loft was very very cool.

If only the rest of the building weren't so... uh... scary. Like "dear me, I had best leave this place before I get man-raped" scary.

Of course he'll disagree with me on this, claiming it's some sort of "normal" thing for the big city... but this is Allston, not Harlem.

Says the man that grew up where people pay extra for the decrepit shingle look

[Gurm]

Says the man that grew up where people pay extra for the decrepit shingle look

It's called "Cape Cod". Nobody gets man-raped there, so long as they stay away from P-town.

[Claymonkey]

Update - The sad thing is there IS no update. It's been about ten months now and the building hasn't been repaired at ALL.

Some background. Boston has a lot of old buildings, most are not up to code. The owner isn't required to bring a building up to code unless he is renovating a certain % of the building. So most only do so much each year so they don't have to do it all. This art building was worse that most since it was originally an industrial building that got converted into artist lofts (for actual artists) over 25 years ago. The current owner owned the building for a year before we came on board. When the fire happens in Boston the city decides the building cannot be occupied again until it is brought up to code. They gave the owner a laundry list of repairs and upgrades that need to be done to bring it up to code. These changes have to be noted on a blueprint... a blueprint the owner didn't have (again third owner). An As Is blueprint was made and a new one with the needed changes added. Of note... EVERY residency in the building in the new floorplan is basically gutted and completely redone.... except mine. Our space was probably the only one remotely up to code.

So why am I not back in yet? It seems the owner has been having problems getting all the permits he needs. Boston keeps throwing monkey wrenches in the plans. I also think he is having problems with insurance he had. He also told me about a month ago he was waiting on approval for a loan for costs. Plus you have to wonder how much of this is him using this as an excuse to just start over.. I don't know and I'm doubtful I can believe everythign I'm told.

Since I thought originally this was going to be a couple month problem at best I ended up spending 5 months on couches and futons. I currently have an at will room with a friend and have come to the conclusion that if by christmas there are still no repairs I'm going to be getting my last/security back from the landlord as well as talking to a lawyer about recouping construction costs. My roommate and I put $4000 in materials into the loft as well as 1000 man hours between the two of us (plus an additional 500-1000 hours if you count all the help we got from friends). This was all done under the pretense that we would have the space for the two years of the commercial lease as well as the option to renew. We got to live there for 9 months.

I'm already talking with other artists about doing this again on a larger scale somewhere else. Possibly with the backing of Boston. I documented the entire construction process and have proof that I was running a drawing group out of the space every week. We had also been hosting salons bi-weekly and were already well known in the community in a short amount of time.

Quite a few of you have asked me how this has all bee going so I figured I'd keep you in the loop. Having done this once I'd still prefer to move back into the old space but I can't NOT have a studio and if I have to do this again I will.