The much-anticipated Artspace preliminary feasibility visit to Crookston has arrived, with consultants engaged in a whirlwind of meetings and tours over a 24-hour period before heading back to St. Paul early this afternoon. And from what Wendy Holmes, senior vice president for consulting and strategic partnerships, and Roy Close, director of resource development had seen so far Wednesday night, they were cautiously optimistic.
“There are some amazing historic buildings in Crookston, all of which are under utilized or not utilized at all,” Holmes told a crowd of about 30 people attending a community presentation at Crookston High School Wednesday evening. “They're actually in good shape compared to some of the projects we've worked with. Sure, they need some attention, but they're workable.”
Artspace projects
Artspace was established in 1979 in Minneapolis as an advocate for artists’ space needs, Holmes explained, and moved into the role of developer several years later. It is now America’s leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts, with 24 completed projects in 17 cities and 12 states from coast-to-coast, six currently under construction and 10 in the predevelopment stage. Its mission is “to create, foster, and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations.”
Some of the organization's current activities include:
• Project development – The most visible of Artspace’s activities involves adaptive reuse of older buildings, which Holmes said helps communities reclaim their neighborhoods and buildings and transform them into productive community assets. Some projects require new construction, and may be a mix of the two.
“Live/work” projects are Artspace's forte, residential buildings in which each unit has extra studio space. Its projects are a mix of affordable live/work units, retail space and administrative and performance space for arts organizations. Other design elements include high ceilings, large windows, durable surfaces and wide doorways, which are what artists want. These projects also include common spaces to encourage cooperation and a sense of community within the building.
• Asset management – Artspace owns or co-owns all the buildings it develops.
“We're also a business,” said Close. “We continue with our long-term commitment to our projects as the owner/operator. This way, they will remain affordable.”
Holmes pointed out that 89 percent of the live/work units it owns meet or exceed federal affordable housing standards, which helps in qualifying for tax credits and other financing. Once operating, the projects are financially self-sustaining through rents collected.
“We have never had to go back and ask a community for operating support,” she said.
• National consulting – Close said Artspace fields many calls from elected officials, city administrators, arts organizations, historic preservationists, developers, universities, community leaders and others interested in creating or retaining affordable space for the arts. The organization acts as a consultant to communities, organizations, and individuals seeking information and advice on developing such projects for the arts, usually within the context of historic preservation.
Artspace has done consulting work in almost every state and hundreds of cities and counties across the country.
Financing
“You have to have a little patience with Artspace projects,” said Close. “They don't happen overnight. They typically take three to five years to complete.”
The reason is that as a nonprofit developer, Artspace does not bring investment capital to the table, so financial resources are gathered from a variety of public and private sources. A typical project gets about 80 percent of its funding from public sources and 20 percent from the private sector, he said.
“The upside is, our projects are fully funded before we break ground,” Holmes added.
Tax credits are a large part of the funding package, and the recent experience of MetroPlains Development being twice denied tax credits for redeveloping the Palace/Wayne Hotel has left a sour taste in the city and county. Holmes said Artspace had a similar experience with one of its potential projects.
“There are a lot of different tax credits out there, but the market for them varies from year to year,” she explained. “Other projects are having trouble getting them right now, too.”
The new State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit passed by the legislature two weeks ago is a huge boost for historic renovation projects, she said. Its goal is to stimulate green job growth, increase local tax base, and revitalize urban and main street communities.
“Cities always ask what it will cost them,” said Close. “The answer is very little in money, but a lot in terms of support. It's a good buy: Very little investment with lots of return.”
Preliminary feasibility visit
Close said the preliminary feasibility visit is the first step in the process that could lead to an Artspace project.
The Artspace team's visit to Crookston was funded through the Laura Jane Musser Fund. Holmes stressed that the organization does not go looking for potential projects but, rather, is approached by project organizers.
“These aren't randomly picked by Artspace. They call us,” she said.
Artspace makes 20 to 25 feasibility visits to cities around the country in an average year. Of these, two to four lead to projects.
Once they arrived early Wednesday afternoon, Holmes and Close were lead on a tour of historic buildings in town. Although they only drove by a few, like the Palace/Wayne and former Cathedral, they went inside and upstairs in the Fournet (now Four Seasons) and Union (former Quist Trading Post) buildings before meeting with artists and arts organizations.
“From the conversations we had with artists, they work out of their homes and like a common shared space to work together,” said Holmes.
So how does Artspace define “artist?”
“People often ask us what we define as art,” said Close. “We define it as broadly as possible. If somebody asks if it's art, we'll say 'yes, if you think it is.' We don't judge it.”
The visit concludes today with the team viewing more historic buildings and meeting with civic leaders and a financing focus group. As Holmes explained, the fact-finding process takes five general areas into consideration: project concept, market need, site suitability, potential to fund and sustain a project, and local leadership.
“Support from the community is of vital importance here,” she said. “We're here to gauge community support for a project and strong leadership is needed to make that happen.”
Artspace will develop a draft report in four to six weeks, which could recommend further steps such as a market research survey and more in-depth feasibility studies on possible sites.
“There are obstacles with every project,” she said. “The two biggest ones for a smaller community are knowing how much space you'll need and finding investors for tax credits. But it can be done.”
For more information on Artspace, visit www.artspace.org.
