W
hen David Walentas began buying up old warehouses and factories along Brooklyn's waterfront in the 1980s, he made a point of letting artists stay at low rates, even as he became the largest landlord in what would eventually be named Dumbo. Some artists paid rent with paintings, and Walentas claimed to want to maintain an artistic presence in the neighborhood. However, since 2020, the commercial real estate market has shifted, and the Walentas family is now raising rents on some of those same artists.
Painter Sharon Butler is one such artist who's being forced out after ten years in a Two Trees building. She was part of the initial cohort of 17 artists and nonprofits that won three-year leases for studio space at $1 per square foot per month, a price she described as "unheard of." However, this spring, the cohort received news that they wouldn't be renewed, and anyone who wanted to stay would have to negotiate with a commercial broker or face significantly higher rents. Butler estimates that she's saved around $250,000 over a decade thanks to the program.
Other artists are facing similar challenges. Sculptor Andrew Ross tried to negotiate a lower rent but was unsuccessful, while artist Caledonia Curry is planning to move out after being quoted a triple-high rate. Even those who have managed to stay, like Ross, understand that they were temporary beneficiaries of a precarious ecosystem. Jed Walentas, David's son and the current head of Two Trees, has acknowledged the challenges of commercial real estate, citing the difficulty in finding tenants for their trophy property, the former Domino Sugar factory.
The building still has some tenants, including creative agencies and e-commerce companies, but others are struggling to make ends meet. Two Trees refinanced a loan for the building last fall, which will come due in 2028, and the company is now citing challenges in commercial real estate as justification for raising rents on artists. As one Two Trees spokesperson put it, "no good deed goes unpunished."
