Courtesy Ely Center
The John Slade Ely House at 51 Trumbull St. — home to the Ely Center of Contemporary Art — is up for sale.
ECOCA founder Jeanne Criscola made the announcement Sunday evening.
Since 1964 the former mansion of Grace Taylor Ely has been a hub of the visual arts community in New Haven, first for the New Haven Paint and Clay Club and the Brush and Palette Club, and, since 2016, for ECOCA.
The nonprofit ECOCA was formed to carry on Ely’s vision for the life of the mansion when Wells Fargo, acting as trustee of the Grace T. Ely Estate, sold the property to ECA/ACES for $390,000.
At the time, the regional arts school planned to renovate the building and use it for its visual arts program, with ECOCA leasing it until renovations began.
As Criscola wrote in her official press release, “with the proposed sale, ECOCA is faced with difficult options. The first is to exercise a first right of refusal to purchase the building for $800,000, which a Stamford developer has offered for the property as is and waiving inspection of the building. The second option is for ECOCA to search for a new home, deserving of our namesake and mission, where we will continue to provide a contemporary art experience with creative collisions by artists for our ever-expanding audiences.”
ECOCA has until March 15 to make its decision, but is “focusing all of its efforts to find partners to ensure that we stay in this historic building which we have always called home.” ACES has committed to allowing ECOCA to continue its scheduled programming through June 30.
The full press release appears below:
To our friends,
We are writing to share some really important news that is going to significantly impact the future of the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA).
Area Cooperative Educational Association (ACES), the owners of the historic John Slade Ely House (JSEH) and home to ECOCA, have put the JSEH building up for sale.
As a background, in 1964 Grace Taylor Ely bequeathed her former Trumbull Street mansion for local community arts organizations. Since 2016, ECOCA has fulfilled that vision, providing the New Haven community with excellent public exhibitions and events in a setting that honors the city’s rich past.
ECOCA’s mission, and its ties to the 1905 Elizabethan mansion, has been guided by Grace Taylor Ely’s vision to present emerging contemporary art in juxtaposition with New Haven’s time-honored past.
With the proposed sale, ECOCA is faced with difficult options. The first is to exercise a first right of refusal to purchase the building for $800,000, which a Stamford developer has offered for the property as is and waiving inspection of the building. The second option is for ECOCA to search for a new home, deserving of our namesake and mission, where we will continue to provide a contemporary art experience with creative collisions by artists for our ever-expanding audiences.
ECOCA has until March 15 to exercise their first right of refusal to purchase the building. If we are to do so, time is of the essence to find community partners/angel investors, or city and state organizations committed to preserving this beloved building’s connection to New Haven’s cultural community. The ECOCA Board, comprised of eight volunteers, is focusing all of its efforts to find partners to ensure that we stay in this historic building which we have always called home.
If we are not successful in finding the right investor/partner, we will commence searching for a new home deserving of our namesake and our shared mission. We will update you about our plans as they develop.
In the meantime, we want to assure you that ACES has committed to us that exhibitions will continue to run uninterrupted, through June 30, 2022.
We would also like to invite you to come visit us and enjoy our unique art sanctuary while you still can!
And please share this news with everyone you know.
You can support us by making a donation, below, or by mailing us a check to our Trumbull Street address.
Jeanne Criscola, Founder
elycenter.org
ECA/ACES is violating the wishes of the trust of the late Grace T Ely who wanted the home used for the Arts in perpetuity, in their offering the property for sale to a developer rather than an arts institution. I sincerely hope that the arts community will come up with the money to allow the ECOCA to purchase the building, or in failing that, that Yale will buy the property to ensure that it will always serve as an arts related institution for the good of the community.