Randolph Rose Joins Blue Door Art Center's Advisory Board

Randolph Rose, President of FEA Home, Randolph Rose Collection Inc. and RJ Rose Realty LLC., has recently joined the Executive Advisory Board at the Blue Door Art Center, a non-for-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to bringing the arts to local communities throughout Westchester that are currently undeserved by art programs and exhibition venues. Blue Door Gallery also presents widely attended and critically-acclaimed fine art exhibitions in a welcoming environment; community art programs at the gallery include monthly “Open Stage” performances, poetry writing workshops, art themed videos, art classes, performances and other special events.

“I am delighted to be joining the Executive Advisory Board at Blue Door Art Center,” said Randolph Rose. “My vision has been to increase the arts scene in lower Westchester County and continue the Yonkers revitalization movement. The arts are a vital part of Westchester County and organizations, such as the Blue Door Art Center, are helping this sector thrive.”

Rose started his idea of creating a Yonkers arts district back in the 1980’s when he moved his arts and furnishings warehouse from Manhattan up to Yonkers. He has since purchased the weaving building of the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills, on Nepperhan Avenue, which was the main building of the original carpet mills. Rose has spent the past 10 years rehabbing the huge 170,000 square foot, multi-tenant loft building. His 30 tenants are an extraordinary group of artists, antique dealers, vintage clothing companies, costume companies, set designers, staging home furnishing companies, artistic sculptors, piano restorers, Hollywood motion picture companies and local TV studios. The building also hosts Rose’s three family-owned businesses: The Randolph Rose Collection Inc., which specializes in handmade bronze sculptures that they create; FEA Home Inc., a sophisticated company specializing in antiques and one-of-a-kind works of art from the Far East and South East Asia; and R J Rose Realty LLC., a company specializing in creating a SOHO type of commercial multi-tenant building that caters to the arts.

Rose has formed a coalition with 11 other landlords, who together occupy a total of more than 1.5 million square feet of multi-tenant and industrial space in the Nepperhan Valley. The coalition is rebranding the area with street banners and contemporary lighting and graphics to make a new district referred to as CMAD (Carpet Mills Arts District). Together, they all hope to make this the start of a rebirth for Yonkers Arts.

Most recently in September, R.J. Rose Realty announced the purchase of another historical building in the Carpet Mills Arts District in Yonkers, NY. The building, originally known as “The Worsted Building” (179 Saw Mill River Road), was recently purchased from the Manner Warehouse Inc. “The Worsted Building” was the perfect fit for RJ Rose Realty’s portfolio due to its large size (208,000 square feet), seven floors, historic character and central location (only a mile away from major parkways). R.J. Rose Realty has already begun renovating the building to become useable space for artists’ commercial lofts, a place for technology companies, or for a professional school.