Blue Star Arts Complex seeing influx of retail

Raul Olivera and Albert Saucedo do welding work as renovations to the Blue Star Complex continue. Raul Olivera and Albert Saucedo do welding work as renovations to the Blue Star Complex continue. Photo: For The Express-News Photo: For The Express-News Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Blue Star Arts Complex seeing influx of retail 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

James Lifshutz, owner of the Blue Star Arts Complex, is looking to enliven the 26-year-old Southtown institution, making it more commercially appealing by pulling in new restaurants, bars and other retail to complement the arts scene there.

So far, Blue Star has signed up a tapas restaurant, pizzeria and craft beer bar, a coffeehouse and lounge, and a locally sourced food market, said Jeremy Jessop, the leasing broker for the complex at Probandt and Alamo streets.

But the influx of retail is coming at a price: some long-time arts-related tenants decided to move on due to increasing rents and smaller footprints.

Since the renovations were announced in January, about half a dozen art galleries and theaters have moved, closed or put operations on hold.

Currently, there's about 40,000 square feet dedicated to artists, art dealers and arts organizations at the 160,000-square-foot complex.

Although some artists have moved on, Lifshutz said the idea is to make it a place routinely buzzing with activity rather than somewhere people go just for First Friday, the monthly Southtown arts festival.

“It's an arts complex and always will be. We want to build on the population of people that do come daily or weekly,” Lifshutz said. “I think a lot of people got into the rhythm of just visiting just once a month. The desire for the retail is to get people to visit more often.”

The renovations are expected to be complete before year's end to make room for incoming tenants. Most of the newcomers are likely to open early 2013.

When the work's done, Blue Star's arts-related footprint is expected to remain about the same, Jessop said. Also, the complex will be more pedestrian friendly, with upgraded lighting and landscaping.

More Information Slideshow mySA.com: See more photos from the renovations at the Blue Star complex.

Dayna De Hoyos, former director at Stella Haus, decided to close her gallery after management chose to renovate spaces and raise rents earlier this year. She was offered a spot elsewhere in the complex and an updated space, but she said it was too small and expensive.

She referred to the complex as a haven for artists, adding that she has some hard feelings.

“It wasn't a job — it was my life,” said De Hoyos, who operated Stella Haus for nearly a decade. “I can't go back to that building because I might cry. It was my home for so many years.”

Michele Monseau, director of the Three Walls art gallery, says her gallery is closed because of construction, and she's uncertain if she'll reopen there or elsewhere.

Monseau said she's OK with the changes but hopes there will be a balance between the incoming retail and art space.

“We'd love to stay,” said Monseau, who has run her gallery there since 1999.

Lifshutz is updating about 23,000 square feet of leasable space. Jessop says half will be dedicated to art-related businesses, studios and galleries.

One incoming gallery is MockingBird Handprints, a venture of local artists Jane Bishop and Paula Cox. They'll have about 800 square feet for their studio and store, Cox said.

“This place won't lose its art soul because it's the legacy of Blue Star,” she said. “I live down here, and what's happening at Blue Star is very exciting.”

The complex got its start with the opening of the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, now the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, in July 1986. Because the complex was in a rundown industrial district, studio space was affordable, sparking an influx of artists that eventually turned the surrounding neighborhoods into an arts hub, said Bill FitzGibbons, president and executive director of the museum.

Blue Star's culture caught the eye of Austin restaurateur John Long. His plans include a second location for Halcyon, a coffeehouse, bar and lounge that he owns and operates in Austin. Next door will be his Stella Public House, a pizzeria and craft beer bar that will offer 20 craft beers on tap.

The businesses will take up a total of 2,300 square feet and employ about 30 people per location. Halcyon is expected to open in early February, Long said, and Stella Public House could open a month later.

Next door, Javier Flores, a former chef at La Fonda on Main, will open La Barraca Paella Bar in a 2,400-square-foot space along South Alamo Street. To tie in to the arts vibe there, Flores will display resident artists' work and showcase flamenco dancers and Spanish guitarists.

“Maybe the retail and the art can grow together to make something special,” Flores said.

Joey Villarreal, who owns and operates Blue Star Brewing Co. and Joe Blue's at the complex, has plans for a small market which he says will offer locally sourced meats, produce and breads baked on site.

He anticipates the market could open by early summer.

Blue Star “will become a bigger draw,” Villarreal said. “I expect more people to come down to this area to live and frequent. It's a good thing, definitely.”

vlucio@express-news.net