GASPORT — The old Gasport Wood Products factory at 8409 East Avenue has become a business incubator, but it’s not hatching the types of enterprise that the owners envisioned following their purchase of the sprawling property almost six years ago.
Instead of small manufacturers, assembly outfits and the like, the 40,000-square-foot property fronted by what looks like an old house is serving as work space for artists, artisans, specialty repair people and health and wellness vendors. Currently there are 16 tenants, including an individual who set up a private gymnasium, and there’s room for more.
“We’re a build to suit operation,” Bo King said.
King and Dominic Ciliberto purchased 8409 East Avenue, which for roughly the first half of the 20th century was occupied by the Friend pump factory, at the county’s 2019 tax foreclosure auction. Although the roof and interior ceilings were collapsing when they took possession, King said they decided against demolishing it. “We gave it a chance and thought, let the people coming in dictate what it will be.”
The owners didn’t intend for the building to hold art studios. King said they thought it would be attractive to one or more startup industrial businesses, but as parts of the building were cleared of junk, it just made sense to rent out those newly freed-up small spaces. A custom tackle maker, an equine product vendor and a motorcycle repairman were among the first to hang their shingles inside. Chris Slowey, a miner and vendor of precious minerals, claimed two spaces for his Mellow Slow Minerals store in 2023, which brought welcomed attention to the larger property and eventually tenants engaged in various creative arts, from photography and sewing to painting and mask making.
Today, the hand-painted sign on the front door of the old “house” — it actually was a hotel prior to 1900 — identifies the site as East Avenue Eclectics and a majority of the tenants are working together to market themselves and the property. They’re hosting an open house from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday with features including music, barbecue by Gasport-based TN Smokehouse, beeswax demonstrations by beekeeper Derrick Darling (who rents a space to construct his bee boxes), demos of crystal bowl sound healing by Lynn Raduns (noon to 2 p.m.) and the show and sale of original paintings, masks and pottery pieces as well as gemstones, rocks and minerals in Slowey’s collection.
Among the artists who have a studio at East Avenue Eclectics are painters Rebecca Wilson, Cindy Meal, Dan Seaman and the Group of 4 Artists: Kim Meal, Peggy D’Amato, Marge Oehmler and Janice Barnett-Stover. Wilson arrived there first, in mid 2024, and four of her peers soon followed.
King is “a great landlord,” Wilson said. “He works with people to get them the kind of space they need. He put in a utility sink for an artist, so the bathroom sink wouldn’t get messy. He put new windows in parts of the building. He takes tenant suggestions.”
“I can attest to that,” Bob Florek said. The retired welding supply salesman behind Great Lakes Torch & Regulator Repair, whose customers are industrial, said King built a space that met his needs. “People looking for a startup situation, not much money, can get a great start here,” he added.
King, whose day job is constructing metal buildings, said he installed metal siding inside the factory remnants for the aesthetic, and the tenants seem to like that.
“It’s an industrial type, factory feel, but it’s cleaner,” he said. “It’s a work in progress. It’s a cool building, though.”