Image courtesy Leeser Architecture

Culturebot couldn’t make it this morning, but Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and the heads of BRIC Arts | Media broke ground on the renovation of the Strand Theater at 647 Fulton St., near BAM’s Harvey Theater, originally built in 1919. BRIC’s relocation to the spot (along with, I understand, the Urban Glass reNEWal Project), which will open in 2013 after $33 million renovation led by architect Thomas Leeser, is the latest stage in the development of the BAM Cultural District, and it provides some cool opportunities for BRIC. In addition to video production studios and a 3,000 square-foot gallery space, it creates a new 250-seat blackbox theater/performance space, along with smaller studio spaces that can serve as flexible showcase performance spaces. BRIC has also announced its initial residency programs. The Ronald K. Brown/Evidence Dance Company will enjoy a multiyear residency, but the Fireworks Residency program, funded the Rockefeller Foundation, looks particularly cool. Intended to support the creation of new large-scale, multi-disciplinary works, the initial beneficiaries include the director of Bang-on-a-Can as well as British impresario Julian Crouch, the artist behind Shockheaded Peter and the more recent The Devil and Mister Punch, which debuted at Philadelphia Live Arts last month (see here for Culturebot’s review).