The interior of 14 Cedar Street Studios has the appearance of a dormitory for art students.
But there are no pimply-faced college students inside.
Instead, you'll find artists like Charlotte Sorsen, a glass-bead maker and jewelry and clothing designer, and Susan Sanford, an artist who specializes in pastels.
"I wanted to come back to a studio style of life, so to speak," Sorsen said. "I like being in a studio atmosphere with other artists around and a little bit more room."
But it's not just artists. There are therapists, lawyers, a karate studio, and even a hair and nail salon inside the three-story building.
The artists in the building will showcase their work at the third annual Open Studios Event this weekend. The event will feature fine art and photography, textiles, the performing arts and even the healing arts.
The weekend is not only a celebration of the artists, but of the transformation of a 140-year-old building that went from a worn-down structure on a Brownfields contaminated site to a sustainable and affordable workspace for artists and small businesses.
Just seven empty spaces remain in the once-vacant, 66-unit building that owner Barbara Lorenc started with nine years ago.
A studio space for artists immediately sprung to mind when Lorenc first toured the former mill 13 years ago while working as a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker.
"I saw it, and I got this chill down my back," Lorenc recalled.
Four years later, the town, which had taken over the contaminated site, put it up for auction.
Lorenc learned about the auction the day before, after returning from vacation with her children. At the time, the mother of three living in Newbury was on the brink of divorce.
"He didn't see that I could do something like this. He didn't see the vision I had," Lorenc said of her husband.
After purchasing the building at the auction for $175,000, Lorenc's vision quickly emerged.
Lorenc said friends thought she was crazy and banks wouldn't go near her because the land next to the building was contaminated. The contaminated soil had made it difficult for previous owners to redevelop the property.
But Lorenc was undeterred. After buying the building, just about everything except the outer brick walls had to be replaced.
The biggest expense was cleaning up the tetrachloroethylene that had been dumped on the property by the Henschel Corporation years before. The process took three years and cost $423,000 — more than double what she had paid for the building.
Even as she's cleaned up the contaminated land, she's also had to replace everything in the building: the plumbing, heating, electrical, windows, and even the walls.
Lorenc credits MassDevelopment, a quasi-government agency offering financing programs and real estate development services for a number of projects including Brownfields redevelopment, with getting the building to where it is today. The group gave her a grant to cover part of her insurance costs and offered loans to pay for the cleanup.
There's still work going on at 14 Cedar Street Studios, but it's hard sometimes to distinguish if it's the artists crafting their creations or contractors fixing the building.
It's just what Lorenc wanted: a messy building.
"I know when people are getting inspiration, they don't necessarily want to have everything perfectly neat and clean," Lorenc said.
Like a college dorm, the doors to most of the offices are typically wide open — with vibrant colors, paintings and designs catching the eyes of passers-by and sometimes drawing them in.
"I'm still working at it all the time," Lorenc said. "It's not something you put your heart and soul into and you immediately get a return. I can see the end point. I'm still working my way there."
IF YOU GO
What: Open Studios Event, featuring presentations, demonstrations and performances.
When: Tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
Where: 14 Cedar Street Studios, Amesbury
Special activities: Introduction to yoga sessions by People's Yoga Saturday at noon and 12:30 p.m., a students from Martha Peabody Voice performing Sunday at 3 p.m. Sunday, and glass jewelry-making demonstrations by Gail Zona of gdesign Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. A silent auction to benefit Our Neighbors' Table in Amesbury is planned all weekend.
How: Free admission; refreshments available. Visit www.14cedarstreetstudios.com.
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