Orr Street Studios expanding into adjacent warehouses

Mark Timberlake’s voice changes inflection when he describes his vision for the Orr Street Studios, a warehouse converted into art studios and gallery space.

Timberlake acknowledges that he is developing an emotional attachment to the property at the northeast corner of The District, on Orr Street near Walnut. What started as an investment for his retirement has evolved into a multi-phased project. Expansion of the studios, which opened in January, is scheduled to begin this summer.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” Timberlake said.

Orr Street Studios currently covers 8,000 square feet, with 16 studios and 28 artists. Director Chris Teeter, who is also an artist, said 15 studios currently are in use, and one is reserved for meetings, as well as Tuesday-night movies and literary readings. A seasonal weekly open-studios Saturday gives the public the opportunity to meet the artists and view their work.

Public exposure is one of the three goals of the Orr Street Studios project, Teeter said. The other two are to provide work space for artists and to simply enable artists to interact with one another.

Teeter added that, for an artist, having a studio in the complex also “lends a little bit of professionalism to your operation as a sole proprietor.”

Timberlake envisions the property around the completed building developing into an artists’ colony in a year or two, when he expects it to be fully occupied with a mix of residential and art-studio tenants.

Timberlake is working on architectural plans with Peckham & Wright Architects Inc. but hasn’t yet decided on a contractor.

The next phase has three parts:

• An unfinished area in the building’s main entrance is currently available for a retail tenant. Timberlake hopes to find a restaurant for the site, which provides 1,800 square feet–plus a 950-square-foot patio and 900 square feet in the basement.

• A former commercial laundry facility at Ash and Orr, north of the property, will be converted into additional art studios.

• A vacant building on Orr, across the alley, with another 2,000 square feet, will be turned into apartments.

Timberlake, an engineer and part-time developer, bought the property in 2005 and contacted Teeter in January 2006 with the concept. Teeter said the additional space is tentatively reserved for 16 studios, but that number could change depending on what the artists require.

“We can build to suit,” Teeter said. As is the case with several of the current studios, some artists might choose to share space in the new building.

Teeter, himself a sculptor and the creator of the massive sculptural doors on the current studios, said the additional studios will be used mainly for three-dimensional artists such as ceramicists, sculptors and glass blowers, “to sequester their noise and mess a little.” The expanded area will also include a glassed-in area, where visitors can watch artists at work.

The décor of the entire project will retain its industrial feel.

“We wanted to keep the warehouse atmosphere,” Teeter said. “We want the artists to feel it’s somewhere they can come and make a mess but nice enough that it looks good.”

Artists can work around the clock in the secure and well-lighted area, accessible by scanning an electronic card.