Spur Studios goes all Russell Industrial Center on Ypsilanti

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

This story originally ran 7/15/09

More creative studio space is coming to Ypsilanti in the form of Spur Studios.

The project is transforming vacant office space attached to an old manufacturing facility near Eastern Michigan University, 800 Lowell St., into studio spaces for artists and small businesses. Think Russell Industrial Center in Detroit but on a smaller scale.

James Marks, founder and creative director of Ypsilanti-based VGKids, is spearheading the project. Spur Studios will turn 10,000 square feet of vacant office space into 30 studios. Those studios can be used by everyone from artists to musicians. The idea is to turn the long-vacant space into a cultural asset that attracts talent and innovative ideas.

"The demand has been really strong," Marks says. "We think it will be a model we can replicate."

This idea is flourishing in Detroit at the Russell Industrial Center. The Boydell Development Group is turning a sprawling circa-1920s rustbelt factory into studio spaces for hundreds of artists and businesses. There are two rules at the Russell Industrial Center, respect the building and it occupants. Everything else is in bounds as long as its legal.

That philosophy and dirt cheap prices have made the Russell Industrial Center a runaway success and arguably the state's best small business incubator. Spur Studios is taking the same idea and running with it. Marks points out that Spur Studios occupants "can be loud without disrupting the neighborhood, and artists can get a little paint on the floor without losing the security deposit on an apartment."

A 1-year lease gets a tenant 24-hour access to a studio that is about 12 feet by 15 feet. About 75 percent of the studios have natural light.

Anyone interested in renting space can come by the Corner Brewery at 2 p.m. Sunday. A tour of the facility will follow the presentation. For information, contact Marks at marks@vgkids.com or (734) 732-6084.

Source: James Marks, founder of Spur Studios
Writer: Jon Zemke