GLENS FALLS — The thought never crossed his mind.
Eric Unkauf has owned The Shirt Factory since it opened its doors as a space for artists in 1999. Until recently, he had never been approached by anyone looking to purchase the property.
But he was met with an offer from a developer’s agent to purchase the building to convert into apartments.
It wasn’t a very long conversation.
“I told him I wasn’t interested. I mean there wasn’t a lot of thought involved on my end,” Unkauf said over the phone.
The amount of money offered was not the issue for Unkauf. He has no intentions of selling his building for any reason, he said.
“I’m not looking to sell the property even if it had been double or triple the amount that they offered,” he said.
Unkauf recently executed an expansion of sorts with The Shirt Factory Annex at 18 Curran Lane. That building houses Rock Hill Bakehouse, Rock Hill Bookhouse and Sweetside Records, and Glens Falls Distillery.
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He could look to expand even further if the right opportunity rose to his attention, he said.
“That is kind of an expansion for us,” he said of The Shirt Factory Annex. “If an opportunity presents itself for something else that’s close by or adjacent then we’ll look at it if it makes sense.”
Mayor Dan Hall said he wasn’t surprised to hear Unkauf had received an offer for The Shirt Factory. He said developers all around the country are going into old brick buildings and old mills to revitalize the properties.
He said this happened most recently at The Mill of Glens Falls, which was converted into condos.
“This is a hot market right now. I think most areas are seeing a resurgence of developers coming in and realizing that there’s profitability in putting together a project,” he said.
Hall mentioned that there are proposals in the pipeline from people looking to build apartment complexes.
“It’s the trend that’s going on right now because of what’s going on in the housing market,” he said.
When Unkauf made the offer public through a Facebook post on The Shirt Factory’s page, someone shared an article in the comment section.
The article was about the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. The factory was founded in 1974 and holds the largest collection of working artists’ open studios under one roof, according to its website.
According to the article, the Alexandria City Council will be voting on the best course of action when it comes to the city-owned Torpedo Factory Art Center this month. Some leaders in Alexandria believe the best move forward would be a combination of artistic and commercial use for the property.
About 14 years ago, Unkauf sat down and looked ahead to what he wanted The Shirt Factory to become. He pinpointed the Torpedo Factory as a model to follow.
“That property in particular, the Torpedo Factory, was one that we said, ‘Hey, they’re doing things right,’” he said. “We were kind of holding that up as an example of an ideal of where you can go and what you can be.”
Unkauf made it clear that, in his view, they aren’t close to doing what the Torpedo Factory has been able to achieve. The facility is a little older than The Shirt Factory.
“That facility is probably 25 years older than The Shirt Factory. They started in 1974,” he said.
According to Unkauf, the city of Alexandria is opting to move artisans and artists out of the facility in favor of mainstream businesses.
“I’m not saying Starbucks, but things like that,” he said. “They’re just going to make it kind of a very bland and generic experience.”
Moving forward, Unkauf said that the goal hasn’t changed. He wants to continue to provide a welcoming environment for small businesses, artisans and artists. He wants to provide the opportunity for his roughly 100 tenants to connect with the public.
He also hopes to continue the events that The Shirt Factory puts on.
“In large part, the special events are to make that connection between the public and local artists and artisans,” he said.
One of those special events is the food truck corral that Unkauf hosts at The Shirt Factory.
Hall said he thinks that the food truck corral has done a good job bringing in business to the community, and said that Unkauf has done well with that and other events he puts on, like the open houses at The Shirt Factory.
“I think people enjoy going, especially this time of year, to The Shirt Factory when they have their open houses and the artisans can show their stuff. I think it’s appreciated by the community,” he said.
The offer hasn’t impacted Unkauf or his mission in any way. He isn’t going to blame someone for doing their job, he said.
But it didn’t matter what amount of money was on the table, his answer would always be no.
Unkauf mentioned the number of brick buildings in the area that have been torn down over the past 15 or so years. If the choices are to tear down a building or convert it into housing, he said he would prefer the latter.
But he is certainly not a fan of the idea.
“Could they have made some of those into housing? Probably. Would that be a better alternative than tearing them down? Most definitely. But I don’t think making apartments out of these buildings is the most imaginative reuse of them,” he said with a chuckle.
