UOVO, an art storage facility created by a collector in the United States, is seeking approval in New York to build a second site near Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The proposed seven-story 240,000-square-foot building will be located at 74 Bogart Street, currently a parking lot and will expand the company’s footprint close to its existing 150,000-square-foot Bushwick facility, which opened in 2020 before the pandemic.
Founded in 2013 by Miami real estate developer Steven Guttman, Uovo operates 30 locations across the United States and has large headquarters facilities in Queens.
The company stores and manages collections for museums, art galleries and high net worth individuals, with the aim of converting bush lots into storage space for art, wine and fashion archives for private and company owners.
According to local records, the developer built an adjacent Cubesmart facility and acquired the site for $45.5 million in 2019. If the plan is approved by the city, the construction company S9 will oversee the design.
The plan proposed online to Uovo was shown signs of community pushback, sending a circular open letter to the Brooklyn zoning board, raising concerns about the impact of developing such a large business sector that is not used for residents there.
The lot is located in District 34, and the area officials say the area has experienced some of the widest residential displacement in New York City.
In the past, the company’s expansion was reviewed due to issues with its labor record. Uovo was accused of retaliating against employees trying to unify when many art managers lost their jobs due to temporary closures of public and commercial art institutions. The company denied the allegations.
In a previous statement, UOVO insisted it is committed to the public interest in New York and was co-distributed with the Brooklyn Museum for the $25,000 Artist of the Year Award, and an upcoming program to help renovate Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick.
