Ever since Richard Hoffmann was a student at Pratt (Brooklyn, NY) and saw how conducive to producing artwork his professors' lofts were, he fell in love with the concept of live/workspace.

"I marveled at the idea of waking up in the middle of the night with an idea and being able to walk a few steps and immediately put paint on canvas," he said.

Their spaciousness, large windows that admitted natural light, high ceilings and open floor plans were perfect for the pieces he was intent on creating. Besides, they were just—well, really cool.

So when he went looking for a studio of his own, he looked for something similar. The trouble was there were no real artists' districts in his native Rockland County, where Hoffmann wanted to settle to be close to his family.

He ended up finding suitable studio space in an old theater in Suffern, NY that he could commute to from his home in West Nyack, 20 minutes away. A racquetball club was then using the theater, which was located in the town's Central Business District (CBD).

"They actually converted a former basketball court and exercise area for my use," he explained.