Noel Allain, left, and Sue Kessler at the new location for their theater and bar.

Squeezed by the legal gray area of their Bushwick loft and limited by its space, the owners of neighborhood performance venue The Bushwick Starr plan to expand the facility and open a bar on a prominent block of Wyckoff Avenue.

The Bushwick Starr began in 2001 as a developmental space for the New York-based theater company Fovea Floods, and since then has evolved into one of Bushwick’s premier event spaces, hosting theater, music, dance, and even a variety show and “some pretty legendary parties.” But growing pains and financial difficulties have forced directors Noel Allain and Sue Kessler to make a gutsy decision.

“We realized that if we wanted to grow, we could no longer stay in this space,” said Allain. “And our rent recently went up.”

So the pair decided to look for a new space. When Allain’s friend Jason Dobson expressed interest in opening a bar in the neighborhood, a formal plan was hatched.

The new, purpose-built black box theater will share its double-height former warehouse bay with Barr, a watering hole to be operated by Allain and Dobson. This combination will allow the non-profit theater organization to delegate financial responsibility to a for-profit business, with the hope of creating a partnership for long-term arts sustainability in Bushwick.

“As a small organization we’re constantly having to temper our ambitions with our capabilities. Our core mission has always been to provide an opportunity for performing artists to develop new work and to present it to Bushwick,” said Allain. “There is more of an audience for experimental theater and dance then ever before,” and now that artists are being forced out of Manhattan and Williamsburg by the high cost of space, “we want to bring them to us.”

Kessler, who has lived in Bushwick since 2001, has seen the dramatic change in the neighborhood over the last decade, and feels it has finally evolved into a community that can support a proper theater facility — and that is ready for the kind of establishment Barr promises to be.

“We wouldn’t have thought to expand if there wasn’t a clear opportunity to do so,” she said. “I believe what we’re doing is respectful and responsible in regards to our place in the community, and I hope that we continue to be a positive addition to what is already a great neighborhood.”

Paris Smeraldo, owner of nearby restaurant Northeast Kingdom, supports the new business. “We’d much rather see a storefront that supports art and local artists than another convenience store.”

The plans have been drawn up and interior construction is already underway, with the developers eager to give the oddly configured space a more functional layout.

The partners are keeping a positive outlook and moving ahead as if the move were definite.

“We have been talking to some local investors,” Allain said. “Now it’s all down to the money.”

For information on investing, please contact The Bushwick Starr at info@thebushwickstarr.org