Art studio spaces becoming available in downtown Hagerstown

By DAN DEARTH - dan.dearth@herald-mail.com

HAGERSTOWN — Within the next month, local developer Mike Deming said he will begin renting about 40 studio spaces to artists in downtown Hagerstown.

Deming, president of Demcore Development, said the spaces will be in the upper floors of the Schindel-Rohrer building at 28 S. Potomac St. Each studio will range in size from 100 to 200 square feet and cost $200 per month to rent, he said.

The studios will have basic amenities, such as heat and light, and running water in a common area.

“The concept is basically complete,” Deming said. “We’ve already received a ton of inquiries. In about a month, we’ll be ready to go.”

Deming said the studios would help complement Hagerstown’s Arts and Entertainment District, and the low rent should help draw tenants.

“I hope we can create that community, that environment, where artists can feed off of each other,” Deming said.

Kevin Moriarty, executive director of the Washington County Arts Council, said the old warehouse space will provide artists with an environment to create paintings, pottery and jewelry, among other things.

“Currently, there’s no such concentration of creativity in the community,” Moriarty said. “But with the continuing renaissance of downtown Hagerstown ... It seems like a natural step.”

People who are interested in renting studio space may call Demcore Development at 301-745-3633.

well good--i hope mike deming sticks with the real estate field and gets out of the restaurant/nightclub/groupie music scene business--he seems to have more experience in real estate and very little experience in the restaurant business. we have allseen the disasterous 43 south/flo, duffys/ava failures--so bravo mike deming--btw maybe you should go ahead and close down duffys--or turn it over to someone who has a little more knowledge in that area

go ahead, laugh your head off, no suprise your moving your little bones and cones store from downtown, there just isn't a niche for that kind of place.

i love bones and cones--i will visit them where ever they move to--downtown or accross town--ill be there

I hope this endeavor goes well.

Bones and Cones is moving?!

Bah.

yeah, and its about time. We will getr along with them just fine, I mean really, come on, was Bones and cones had any real impact downtown that drawed a real crowd? don't think so. anyway more eating places will be coming this summer, just wait and see. They will not be owned by demcore either. So don't go off rambling about him. Demcore is focusing on the condo/apartment aspect more than ever now. This summer "The Residences" condos next to MD theater on the right will be available. + school for the arts will be done by the end of this year. Downtown is a long term project that can't be done in a year, or 5 years, it takes time, lets not jump and say Deming is a failure. He is actaully a smart guy. Accroding to him, Duffy's is managing well, in the recent paper interview.

TAKE that CHIP!

<3

The only one rambling about Deming....is you.

back to the original topic, i don't care who it is putting in the artists' studios, i still think it's a great concept, and is the perfect sort of infrastructure for an Arts and Entertainment district. i just hope Mike's done his research and has a pool of interested artists who are willing to rent work spaces from him. If he gets a handful of artists to set up shop right away,then they will attract more people here and there, and we could actually have a little flourishing artists' enclave right in Hagerstown. And those are the kind of people who would actually LIKE to live in a funky old downtown rowhouse, if it's got architectural interest, or who would actually LIKE a condo in a downtown.

Good idea! And I really don't care if some of you think I want a glass of kool-aid or not. BTW I have no vested interest one way or the other. Sometimes it takes a little thinking outside of the box for progress. I would never have thought of the artists' studios but it makes sense.

My only real concerns are: (1) whether he can attract enough artists to make it viable; and (2) whether some people might pretend to be artists and try to use the studio as their actual living space (since it'll be so much less than an apartment). which would quickly turn it into a little ghetto. Hopefully he'll have a clause in his lease, prohibiting that use.

So true so true.

So your logic is based strictly on numbers. A new business must bring in at least "X" number of people to the downtown in order to be successful? My definition is a little different. I think that every business that pays taxes in the downtown area is a success, I think that business that attempt to bring in a decent clientel (Art Studio's, Bones & Cones, Antique Stores, German restaruant, the Bead place, the University, and condos.) is a success.

I agree--I don't care whose idea this is. I like this concept too, and it's actually worked in places like Cumberland. Their downtown has really blossomed over the past couple of years, and they started by renting studio space to artists. Several artists actually moved from other areas of the country to Cumberland for this reason, and their arts district is thriving and has brought new businesses to downtown. They've still got a way to go, but it's definitely a start.

I didn't realize Cumberland has already started doing this but I'm not surprised. My parents are from Cumberland. A few months back they were up there on a Friday evening and decided to go downtown for dinner. Cumberland does a First Fridays celebration where there was live music out in their pedestrian mall, and they saw hundreds of people down there. Mon asked someone if the downtown always drew a crowd that large for First Fridays, and was told that the crowd was actually on the small side, because it was also Homecoming weekend. I thought that was soooo cool, because I spent every summer up there growing up, staying with my grandparents, and Cumberland was one depressed town back then. It's very reassuring to me to know that at least part of C-land's revitalization is linked to the arrival of artists in their community, and that it's an example of what could happen to us as well.

I was born and raised in Cumberland, so I am very happy to see the turnaround of the once-depressed downtown area. And I've been to one of the "First Fridays," and yes, it draws a lot of people downtown. If Cumberland can do this, I don't see why H-town can't.

Deming told the herald mail that that they have received a lot of emails concerning art studios and that Demcore would not have any problem finding tenants for them. Next month they will be avaliable.

I was also born and raise in Cumberland and I must agree that it is nice to see something happening in their downtown. However, it is called "Friday's after Five" and this has been going on for at least 3 years now. I have attended many of these and it is a great time filled with beer, people, and bands. Thousands attend.

i stand corrected on the name. thanks hagopinion. wow, thousands attending? that's just awesome. maybe hubby and i need to make a roadtrip to cumberland after work on a warm friday!

http://www.downtowncumberland.com/index.ph...PAGER_section=2

Check out the pickures of the people on the downtown in Cumberland.

Also, in Cumberland it runs from mid May to last week of Sept.

WOW!!!! That's a crowd! How cool. Thanks for the link. I will check into that at the end of Spring. It's only about an hours' drive from my house, so it could be a fun Fri. afternoon/evening road trip. And a good excuse to go to Curtis' for Coney Islands...a lifelong Cumberland tradition!

Now Clever that is where I have to draw the line. I have never understood the attraction to Coney Island hotdogs and the special sauce. I have always been turned off by the hairy, greasy, sweaty guy lining his arm with hotdogs. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!

Now for D'Atris, that is good eating, the seasoned lettuce. Many think that Turtle is the same but it is not even close. The owner and his two sons tried to duplicate it but did has not been able to do so. He is also from Cumberland. If you have not tried Bunnys Tavern in LaVale it is a must try. The Haystack Salad and the cream of crab soup. WOW!!!!

What's a haystack salad??

aww, c'mon, my grandma always told me that the arm sweat on the hot dog buns was the secret ingredient!! i'll admit that my memories of Coney Islands as a kid are made rosier by the other fond memories that accompany them. they aren't quite as tasty as they used to be, but i still feel like i lost out on an opportunity if i go thru cumberland and don't at least stop in to order several of them, packed "to travel".

my OTHER grandma gave me the secret recipe to their sauce awhile back, and i have made it on occasion but it's not quite right. i have no idea what sorts of sordid things she did to obtain that recipe or who she got it from, but she'd probably be disappointed after all this time to learn that it's not THE recipe.

i've never had D'Atris but i have an aunt & uncle who make that THEIR food stop when they visit cumberland from the eastern shore. i'll have to remember it for next time. what do you suggest, an Italian sub maybe?

and i've never heard of Bunny's Tavern but i'd try it based on the name alone. maybe next time we go to Wisp we'll stop afterward for dinner. thanks so much for the info.

Sorry for the OT post!

Everything at Bunny's is named after things in the area. The Haystack got the name because of Haystack Mountain in Allegany County. But to what it is; A very large salad with a steak sub on top without the bread of course and french fries on top of that. Pretty much the same as a Pittsburgh salad without going to Pittsburgh. The house dressing is the best also.

I would try D'Atris first. Highly recommend everything but my favorite is the Cheese Steak Sub or the Italian Hoagie. For those that don't know in Cumberland a sub is hot and hoagie is cold. If you are not a big bread eater you can get any of the subs or hoagies as salads as well. However, the bread that they are made on is excellent as well. They also have some good desserts.

Everytime we went to Cumberland from Little Orleans we made a point to eat at D`Atirs. The best part of a Coney Island hot dog is the onions. Friday after 5 is alot of fun they have great local entertainment with all kinds of music. It`s worth the trip to see how other towns do things.

That's a very nice professional ad. Thanks for posting it, strungout!

You are absolutely right!