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GREENSBORO - Advertising executive Allen Broach unveiled on Thursday a new event space in downtown Greensboro that feels more like New York than North Carolina.

He calls it Studio B, a two-level spot off South Elm with polished rails, bistro tables and 17-foot ceilings with exposed steel beams. It'll join two other event spaces within a few blocks of one another and adds another dimension to the city's emerging downtown.

And that dimension? Big-city hip. Definitely big-city hip.

"We did what we felt was right,'' said Allen's 36-year-old, David, a painting contractor who worked with his father on the year-long project. "And this is awesome, beautiful and different.''

Over the past year, David and Allen worked on turning an old gymnasium into a chic 2,400-square-foot space that will be used for everything from wedding receptions to live-music performances.

Capacity: 300 people. Renovation price tag: $400,000.

"It has to make money," said Broach, laughing. "To pay that $400,000 back.''

Broach is not new to downtown Greensboro.

He came down 23 years ago across the tracks on South Elm when downtown Greensboro was more ghost town than hip town. He spent $145,000 to buy the 1920s era building, the old headquarters for the Salvation Army building, and turned it into space for his advertising business.

Back then, downtown Greensboro was as quiet as a cemetery after work. Today, downtown Greensboro has turned into a bustling spot, 24/7, with loads of bars, restaurants and retail within a walkable mile.

In the past few years, two event spaces - Kress Terrace and The Empire Room - opened up in downtown Greensboro. Now, there are three.

Studio B sits in the back of his 13,000-square-foot building, behind the live theater that bears his name: Broach Theatre.

On Thursday, a few hours before Studio B's ribbon-cutting ceremony, Allen and David busied themselves with a few last-minute details. But stand for a minute, on a floor painted lido blue, and you get a sense of potential and party.

On the walls was work from local artists at Lyndon Street Artworks. On a circular table was an eight-place setting of china and silver. And on the counter, beside a styrofoam cup from Chick-Fil-A, was a blue-colored cocktail in a martini glass.

"My mom used to tell me when I got all calmy that I didn't have enough mess going on,'' Broach said earlier today. "'She always told, 'You've going to start something.''

And he has. At age 61.

Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jeri.rowe@news-record.com.