Midway Studios

Fort Point Development Collaborative (FPDC) is a joint venture of the Fort Point Cultural Coalition, Inc. and Keen Development Corporation.

Photos of Midway Studios before renovation began.

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Project OverviewMidway Studios is a mixed-use rental community comprised of approximately 193,000 square feet in three contiguous warehouse buildings. It is located at 15 Channel Center Street (formerly 24-38 Midway Street), just behind 211-215 A Street, in the Fort Point Neighborhood of South Boston.

The 89 live/work studios, located on floors two through six of Midway Studios, are designed to accommodate a broad range of working styles. The first floor houses a dramatic two story space and office/retail space for cultural organizations and arts-related businesses.

Completed in spring 2005, Midway Studios is a project of the Fort Point Development Collaborative (FPDC).

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(Left) Typical floor plan of Midway Studio residential units.

(Above/top) Standard kitchen in residential units.

(Above) View of typical studio after renovation.

Floor Plan, level 1.

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Project OwnershipMidway Studios LLC is the owner of Midway Studios. The members of the LLC are Fort Point Development Collaborative and Historic Communities LLC (Fannie Mae).

The Fort Point Development Collaborative (FPDC) is a joint venture of the Fort Point Cultural Coalition, Inc. and Keen Development Corporation. FPDC was established in April 2003 to foster the creation of the arts by developing permanent, affordable artist live/work space and cultural facilities in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood.

Fort Point Cultural Coalition, Inc. (FPCC), a community cultural development corporation, was created to preserve, promote and expand the cultural community of Fort Point, by securing perma-nent, affordable space for neigh-borhood artists and arts organiza-tions. The organization is headed by a volunteer board of real estate professionals, arts advocates and neighborhood artists.

Midway Studios, FPCC’s first project, was a major step towards FPCC’s goal of developing 300 permanent studios for artists and the development of Fort Point as a major cultural district for the City of Boston. In 2008 FPCC advised on the purchase and development of 241 A Street. FPCC is currently working with Commonwealth Ventures on predevelopment planning for 5 Channel Center. This mixed use building will house 41 live/work studios, 35 rental apartments and 5 commercial spaces. It will be another step in our work to ensure that Boston’s largest arts com-munity has a permanent home.

Along with these real estate projects FPCC plays an ongoing advocacy role, promoting public understanding of the importance of the cultural community in Fort Point and the artists living there.

Keen Development Corporation (KDC) is a real estate development company specializing in historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse.

KDC has a long-standing dedication to the creation of attractive and affordable housing. Over the past 20 years, KDC has developed nearly 3,000 units of housing, employing both government funding programs and conventional financing. The company is well known for its public service commitment, frequently joint venturing with community-based organizations and otherwise participating in public/private partnerships.

In 2007 Robert Kuehn, founder of KDC died suddenly. The assets of his estate are professionally man-aged by Daniel Taylor, a long time Boston real estate attorney. In ad-dition, Scott Dumont acts as Asset Manger for real estate. Mr. Dumont has over 25 years experience in various aspects of real estate de-velopment and management.

(Above) Lobby at Midway Studios. (Below) Robert Kuehn speaks at Midway Studios ground break-ing celebration. Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Councilor Jim Kelly on left.

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The first floor houses a dramatic two story space and office/retail space for cultural organizations and arts-related businesses.

Comic book artists at work.

Photo studio set up for Annual Fort Point Open Studios.

Elevin Photo Studio

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BackgroundIn 1999, a group of neighborhood artists and non-profit arts organizations joined together to form the Fort Point Cultural Coalition (FPCC) as an impending crisis threatened to displace New England’s largest arts community. Twenty-five years earli-er, artists had begun to set up studios in Fort Point’s underutilized warehouses, trans-forming the district into a flourishing neighborhood of more than 500 visual artists, arts organizations and arts-related businesses.

FPCC and KDC joined forces in 2003 and the result, after three years of planning and negotiation was Midway Studios. As the largest artist studio building in Boston it quickly became a significant contributor to the neighborhood’s cultural economy and an anchor for the Channel Center development.

Due to the current economic crisis, the redevelopment of the South Boston Waterfront has slowed but there continues to be tremendous interest in Fort Point and many developments have overcome significant obstacles to come on line. Top 5, a new expansion to the convention center has been announced and is moving into the next stage of planning. Berkeley Investments developed FP3., a mixed use complex on Congress Street that includes three Barbara Lynch restaurants. Projects that have moved forward include: Archon Goldman’s 319 A Street, 311 Summer Street (ADD Inc), and across the channel, Boston Properties Atlantic Wharf.

Within Channel Center, development has continued with the lease up of the A Street office buildings, the development of office and restaurants at 241 A Street and the proposed development of 142,000 square feet of mixed use space at 5 Channel Center.

(Above) Fort Point Artists with decorated hard hats serve donuts to the crowd at the Midway Studios Ground Breaking Ceremony.

(Left) Mayor Thomas M. Menino addresses crowd at the Midway Studios Ground Breaking Ceremony.

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Project Statistics Total square footage: 192,338

Residential square footage: 161,003 ( 84% )

Commercial square footage: 31,335 ( 16% )

Total Residential Units: 89 units

Affordability Composition

Market rate: 53 units

50% AMI: 18 units

80% AMI: 12 units

120% AMI: 6 units

Average unit size: 1358 square feet

Average rent per unit/mo:

Market rate: $1987

50% AMI: $949

80% AMI: $1654

120% AMI: $2071

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Property ManagementMidway Studios is managed by HallKeen Management, a full-service real estate property management company based in Norwood, Massachusetts, with regional offices in Springfield, Massachu-setts and Portland, Maine. HallKeen Management manages a diverse portfolio of residential and commercial properties. HallKeen is proud to be an AMO® designated firm through the Institute of Real Estate Manage-ment (IREM).

HallKeen’s current portfolio includes more than 5,000 units of multi family residential housing in sixty-one sep-arate partnerships, 258 units of assisted living residences in four partnerships, and approximately 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, inclusive of light industrial, office and biotech laboratory space. HallKeen has a strong presence throughout New England, North Carolina and Virginia. While retaining prime focus on affordable housing, HallKeen manages a diverse portfolio of residential housing, commercial properties and assisted living communities.

HallKeen is staffed by a group of dedicated, experienced, and highly motivated individuals. There are 36 em-ployees working at the central office in Norwood, and more than 350 employees working at the various sites. Andrew P. Burnes, President, runs the day-to-day affairs of the company.

Property operations are overseen by Scott Dumont from KDC and Anita Lauricella from FPCC.

Some artists gather for a group photo.

Art reception in Midway Studios Lobby Gallery.

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