More than two years after Prospect Park said goodbye to longtime neighbor Tower Grocery at 50 SE Bedford St., the building has a new owner. Artist Scott Jenkins is renovating the building for use as a studio for his art business, Don’t B Scared, and as the launching pad for a new magazine of the same name.

Jenkins, who does screen printing of fine art, t-shirts and “anything on paper,” didn’t come from far away — he has rented space at the Art and Architecture building, just west of Bedford on University, for the past two years.

His work on the building includes replacing the single-pane windows and adding more of the glass blocks that ran along the sidewalk on Bedford, in order to let in more light. The 50-year-old blocks came form the Art and Architecture building and are just some of the local materials he’s using to restore the building.

Since buying the building, Jenkins has met many of his neighbors, either at the store or at a meeting of the Prospect park/East River Road Improvement Association (PPERRIA), where he presented his plans for the much-loved building.

Jenkins said he heard concerns from a neighbor about a retaining wall that was removed by a previous owner of the site and that he will be replacing the wall.

The Highland Park resident said he’s happy to be staying in the neighborhood.

“I’d been looking for a building after renting,” said Jenkins. “It came up for sale, and I was really excited.” He may operate a retail art store form the location, as well, but that aspect is uncertain at this point.

Jenkins’ plans do include the launch of Don’t B Scared, a magazine of interviews, art, pop culture, music — even scuba divers — with a mostly local focus. He hopes to have an issue out in the late summer or early fall.

last revised: June 19, 2007

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