Vested Interest is an ongoing project led by Jacob Titus and Dominick Simeri. Despite being an old factory, we bring an ecological imagination to this work—better said by our friend Jason as “Fields Not Factories,” which is to say that in life, patience matters. Seasons come and go, and new life takes many different forms. So we’re building at a paced slowness.
This page is a loose record of that process: what’s underway, what’s next, and what we’re thinking about. If you’re curious about what’s ahead, or want to be part of it—we’d love to talk.
Spring afternoon at Tutt Street studio, March 2025
The Birdsell Project opening in the courtyard, August 2017
What’s underway
New Artist Studios (Upstairs)
Three new studios are under construction on the second floor—two around 500 sq. ft. and one around 800, with finished walls, solid doors, and natural and overhead lighting. They’re meant for people who need quiet, light-filled space to work and think.
The Cage (Ground Floor)
An 825 sq. ft. studio near the courtyard. Once a storage space and the building’s table tennis hang-out, it’s now fully finished and available to lease.
Painting, cleaning, small fixes
We’re hanging new signage, installing exterior lighting, patching drywall, decorating hallways, and chipping away at maintenance issues. We want to build a building that you can trust.
What’s next
The Barbershop
1,400 - 3,000 sq. ft. with potential to become a co-working space, storefront, or suite of studios. We’re considering how to divide or inhabit it—open to ideas.
The Storefront
A street-facing retail space on Sample Street with a dedicated parking lot. It’s freshly painted and we’re hanging some vintage lighting fixtures now. Its future use may expand to include coffee, print, or retail tied to the community here. Again, open to ideas.
The Warehouse
A raw 8,000 sq. ft. space at the front of the building. We’re in early conversations about how it could support storage, fabrication, light manufacturing, shared workspace, or long-term creative buildout.
How we’re thinking
Not every space needs to be finished to be useful. Some rooms come to life through use, not design. We’re leaving space for that.
We’re learning that renovation is as much about attention as it is about materials, and about cultivation, not control. What does the building want? What does the work call for? What rhythms are already here?
We’re open to unusual uses, slow builds, and good fits. → Contact us
In 2017, The Birdsell Project turned the then-empty complex into a gallery. This short film captures that first summer.