Artists in New York are known for moving to wherever the most space is available at the cheapest price — whether it be in Greenwich Village, SoHo, or Williamsburg.   So it’s no surprise to find a colony of artists working in a former factory in Gowanus, one of New York’s oldest industrial neighborhoods.

The Old American Can Factory is a sprawling 130,000-square-foot complex, housed within six buildings along the Third Avenue, at Third Street, near the Gowanus Canal. In 2003, a developer converted the can factory into work spaces for designers, artisans, artists, filmmakers, manufacturers, and non-profit organizations.

Christine Vasan makes jewelry from her studio in the Old American Can Factory.

The Can Factory is just one of many industrial buildings around the Gowanus Canal that businesses have converted into unique, vast workspaces within the city’s limits. Inside a 11,000-square-foot garage,  formerly used by the New York Daily News, the Brooklyn Boulders owners have constructed the city’s first facility dedicated to rock climbing. A few blocks away, Lael Schultz, the owner of FIND Home Furnishings, moved his furniture store into an 8,000-foot warehouse. He transported his company from a smaller space in Chelsea because he wanted to consolidate his retail, workshop, and warehouse under one roof. Similarly, woodworker Jozef Koppelman moved his shop from Industry City in Sunset Park to Gowanus because of the extra space he could rent here.

The Can Factory houses more than 200 workers, according to Angie Velasquez, a tenant who creates t-shirts and also helps run the building’s weekend craft market. The workshops inside offer high ceilings, large windows, and walls painted a crisp, bright white. There’s a superintendent on-site, daily trash pick up, three loading docks, two freight elevators, weekly maintenance, and a communal kitchen and tables where tenants can network and share lunch. The building also gives tenants a chance to sell their wares every Sunday at an event called The (Makers) Market.

Artist communities in New York aren’t usually known for being the most professional of places — just ask jeweler Christine Vasan. Before coming to the Can Factory, she rented space in a Jersey City artists’ factory, which burned down two months after she left. She said she is relieved to have a place to work that’s clean, maintained, and so community-oriented.

But to be a Can Factory tenant requires a rigorous application process, one that allows Factory organizers to “curate” the studios, Velasquez said. That process is a very private one, however. The building’s manager would not speak on the record for this story.

Vasan admits that she was so intimidated by the selection process that she held off applying for years. But when she discovered that one of her friends knew the manager of the building, she applied. She’s happy she did. “It’s nice to feel safe and secure in your space, and also to be in a space that your proud to have your clients.”