The art of regeneration

To many a British live/worker beavering away in a small development with a few like-minded souls, Minneapolis-based Artspace may seem as though it’s not only on a different continent but another planet. The organisation owns more than 560 live work units in 14 projects across the US, and a soon to be completed development in Buffalo, New York, will take that number well into the 600s. New developments in Fort Lauderdale and Seattle will tip it over the 700 mark before the end of the year.   

Artspace is a non-profit real estate developer for those in the visual arts, and includes retail and performance space alongside live/work in its portfolio. Sculptors, print makers, filmmakers, musicians, dancers and theatre people occupy their units, all of which are rental.

Roy Close is Artspace’s director of resource development. Given the size of his organisation alone, would it be fair to say that the live/work concept is something that’s truly entered mainstream consciousness in the US? ‘In some respects, undoubtedly yes,’ he says. ‘It’s clear that cities all around the country have realised that this is a phenomenon that exists and has real potential for economic development.

‘The standard economic model here is that you build an industrial park on the edge of town and you hope that you’ll be able to persuade businesses to locate there,’ he says. ‘And they do - they move from the middle to the edge of town! What cities are discovering is that it makes much more sense to bring a bunch of artists into the centre who will make the neighbourhood fashionable. Non-artists then start to move in and over time the neighbourhood changes. It’s known as the SoHo effect.’

This is exactly what happened in the Minneapolis warehouse district the 1970s, which is how Artspace came into existence. ‘We were created by the Minneapolis Arts Commission, which was a rather low-key agency of the city government,’ he says. ‘We kept a list of available space – loft space, studio space, live/work space, and we were sort of the meeting ground between landlords who had space and artists who were looking for it. We did that for a long time.’

Like many a similar area, however, the city’s warehouse district became something of a victim of its own success, at least as far as the artists were concerned. ‘In the early 70s it was a down at heel district where nobody really went – there was no reason to,’ he says.

‘But the space was available and cheap and artists started moving in – it became a very hip place to be and so naturally the restaurants moved in and so on. It’s now the liveliest area of downtown Minneapolis, but there are very few artists left because they’ve been priced out of existence.’

It was this that led Artspace’s board of directors to transform the organisation into a non-profit real estate developer. The first of their new projects opened in 1990 and they’ve been growing in scale ever since,

So how does Artspace manage to overcome the perennial problems of affordability? One way is to take advantage of a Federal programme called low income housing tax credits, applications for which are graded according to certain criteria and, if awarded, are sold to a broker. ‘You then use the cash to build your project,’ says Roy.

Tom Stender is a furniture designer who’s just moved into Artspace’s soon to be completed Buffalo, NY, project, consisting of 36 live/work units in a historic printing building, 24 in a new construction behind it and 13,000 square feet of commercial space.

‘It’s not just the lower rent, because it’s subsidised, but the idea that a likeminded group of artistic people could be around each other and contribute, share ideas and make an atmosphere that was conducive to creative work,’ he says. ‘This is a brand new project so we’re getting an email list together and find out who’s who and organise a big get together. Studio space and gallery space are going to be added, which is another way for people to meet.’

Allocation to the Artspace schemes is made by income first, followed by a selection process. ‘Because it was created as an affordable housing tool you have to commit to maintaining the affordability of the units for a specified period - originally 15 years, now typically 30 and occasionally 50,’ says Roy. ‘Even if we were to sell the building, whoever bought it would have to maintain the affordability or return the tax credits.’

So what advice would he offer to organisations in this country who were thinking of using communities like this as a catalyst to turn round ailing neighbourhoods? ‘Commitment to long-term affordability is essential,’ he says. ‘If artists are priced out within a decade, then in a way you’ve lost the advantage of having them there. On the other hand, I don’t suppose the city of Minneapolis has any complaints about the economic vitality of its downtown business district.’

Artspace’s mission remains creating and maintaining space for artists and artistic organisations. ‘The economic regeneration tends to come with the package,’ he says. The organisation will also always use a local partner of some kind – sometimes they’ll have an equity stake in the project and sometimes not.

Knowing your market is also an essential, says Roy. Before every new project the organisation carries out an ‘artists market survey’ – a questionnaire to determine eligibility which asks about income, size of family and size of space needed. ‘We get not only a sense of how large the market is but also whether there’s anything else we need to take into account.’

The survey for the ‘Frogtown’ lofts in Saint Paul, Minneapolis, for example, revealed a very large number of artists who were single parents, so it became a family project and there are now 50 children living in the building, a converted printing press.

‘Every case is different,’ he says. ‘It depends on the building, and on the artists market survey. We like to have some commercial component because it increases the activity in the building and creates job opportunities for the artists - if you have a coffee shop or a store that makes it a livelier place.

‘One of our warehouses now has a Japanese restaurant regarded as the best in the city, and there are several independent galleries, delis, a music venue. They do become real communities, and the artists take an interest in running them and having a say in the governance of the place.’

Such is the loyalty of the tenants that some have lived in the units since they opened, for the best part of two decades. ‘It really is home to them,’ he says. ‘There are obviously some things you give up – you never have equity in your home, for example, but you do have affordability in areas that have become completely unaffordable.’

While ensuring permanently affordable space is never easy, often it’s the artists themselves who decide to cash in on the boom, says director of Boston-based ArtistLink, Jason Schupbach, whose organisation, unlike Artspace, provides live/work units for sale.  

‘Artists are just like anyone else,’ he says. ‘They want equity, and at some point they say ‘we’re sitting on a goldmine here.’ They’re human beings too – they don’t want to be poor their whole lives. But if you’re doing rentals, like Artspace, then affordability is central because your market is people coming straight out of college.’

ArtistLink has very close links with Artspace and, as well as providing live/work units for artists, designers and architects, it works with developers and state government to share best practice and lobby for policy change. Both organisations are members of LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity).

‘I’ve seen a lot of towns think they can bring artists in and that will be the saviour of their downtown area,’ says Jason. ‘Certainly that’s happened in many communities but there’s been a definite trend across the world - from Palermo to Buenos Aries to East London - of artists moving into a run down neighbourhood and colonising it and it ending up super-gentrified. We very much focus on permanence on ownership so the artists don’t just get kicked out.’

It’s important not just to think that, simply because you build a live/work artists community, regeneration will surely follow, he warns. ‘There’s a lot of really interesting stuff starting to happen but you have to be very careful – you can’t force these things just by building artists spaces. You need to do your homework first and be sure that there’s a demand, really study your market. This is where market surveys, as Artspace do, are ideal – three people interested for every live/work unit you’re going to build is a pretty good ratio. You’ll find it can work even in the most unusual places.’

Artistlink has around 60 projects in some form of development at the moment, 60-70 per cent of which are live/work. However, the organisation is still unsure of the long-term impact of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. ‘We don’t know how many of them will get going –things are still adjusting right now,’ he says.

‘The important thing to remember about live/work is it’s not rocket science,’ says Jason. ‘It’s about saving money when you build. Don’t overspend and keep things simple - very simple work area, very simple kitchen. People like a blank slate that they can adapt. Have good ventilation, high ceilings, good sound insulation and you’re done – it’s not that hard. You don’t need to over-think it and you don’t need to overbuild it. You’re trying to give people a space, a palette.’

‘The essential thing is that there needs to be a binding commitment to affordability on the part of the developer over the long term to make these projects successful,’ says Roy Close. ‘And you have to be able to define affordability. Here it’s done by a percentage of the ‘area median income’, so the artist applying to live there can’t earn over that.’ But what happens if someone becomes successful and that takes them over the affordability limit? ‘Once you income qualify you can’t be evicted just because you become successful, but it’s self selecting because they’ll usually want to move on themselves anyway.’

And does that still hold if they decide they’re no good as an artist and want to become an accountant instead? ‘Yes it does,’ he says. ‘God forbid.’