Poughkeepsie's crumbling Trolley Barn Gallery to close; art students displaced but programs continue
Staff said major problems have been discovered in the structure and foundation of the back part of the building, which stalled the project.
The grand expansion of a youth-led Poughkeepsie art gallery — that was supposed to help revitalize downtown and should be well underway by now — has been called off.
Instead, the gallery's landlord is selling the 150-year-old building that houses the gallery.
The Trolley Barn on Main Street appears to be in bad shape.
Arts nonprofit The Art Effect has rented the building the last four years from the housing agency, Hudson River Housing.
The front space of the building has already been in use as an art gallery and instructional area for up-and-coming artists. It includes "Senior Project," a collection of pieces by five local high school students who are about to begin college on arts scholarships.
That front space is fine, The Art Effect staff said. The unrenovated back space that was supposed to become an expansion of the gallery is the problem.
Staff said major problems have been discovered in the structure and foundation of the back part of the building, which stalled the project.
The Art Effect's executive director Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt recently learned Hudson River Housing is planning to sell off the building to either be renovated by someone else or torn down.
Either way, the Senior Project is the last exhibit at the Trolley Barn, but not the last one by The Art Effect's curatorial and event-planning students.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to move forward with that project," Fenichel-Hewitt said, "but we are pivoting."
The programs at the Trolley Barn will be moved to other spaces the Art Effect still has nearby for other programs.
Students will also begin working on and showing their exhibits out in the community at parks and even sidewalks.
"We're continuing to work with the same number of youth," Fenichel-Hewitt said. "We're just doing that with the community as our canvas until we find our new future home."
The last day of the Senior Project exhibit at the Trolley Barn is Jan. 10. In a statement, Hudson River Housing blamed the decision to sell on "high maintenance costs" and the inability to secure the remaining redevelopment funding" for the $15-million project.
Fenichel-Hewitt said the Art Effect had been on pace to raise all necessary funds, with help from multiple state grants.
Those grants might be transferred to a future renovation project, she said.
