Appendix A: Comparable Cultural Arts Districts

Chattanooga, TN Bluff View Arts District

§ Population: 153,154

§ Private endeavor: Husband and wife turned historic building into museum, bought other surrounding properties

§ Two museums, Art gallery, sculpture garden, glass studio

§ Restaurants, B&B’s, restored historic houses

Operated as independent venture; two entrepreneurs own and manage 80 percent of the district.

Chattanooga, population 153,154, sits along the bluffs of the Tennessee River. Its Bluff View Arts District is a combination of restaurants, galleries, and bed & breakfasts, all within close proximity to many of Chattanooga’s cultural institutions.

In 1991 Mary and Charles Portera purchased a turn-of-the-century home adjacent to the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. They decided to turn it into an art gallery to compliment the existing activities at the Hunter and Houston Museums. In an effort to attract people’s attention to the area, the Porteras then bought several other historic homes in the neighborhood and turned them into restaurants, and inn and a meeting center. The district now has an additional two galleries, a sculpture garden, a glass blowing studio, three restaurants and another inn. The Porteras still own and operate about 80% of the buildings in the district.

The Bluff View Arts District has been a huge success, for the Porteras, for the City and for the existing institutions. The Porteras development has brought visitors to the museums that may not have otherwise come, and the City as a whole has benefited from the increase of activity.

Peekskill, NY

§ Population: 22,441

§ Arts district plan began in early ‘90s

§ Artists’ studios, galleries integral part of Mayor’s plan

§ Captured interest of artists fleeing NYC rents

§ Arrival of artists filled empty downtown spaces; coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques followed

§ Paramount Center for the Arts

§ Renovated movie theater

§ Films, concerts and a visual art gallery

§ City’s arts “center”

The City of Peekskill Department of Planning and Development currently manages the developmental process to maintain and grow live-work spaces for artists on the second floors of commercial buildings. The Department partners with the Peekskill Arts Council, the City’s Artist Certification Committee, the Peekskill Chamber of Commerce and Peekskill Business Improvement District to manage these efforts.

Peekskill is a town of 22,441 in Westchester County, New York. It is about 50 miles north of New York City. In the early 90s, the population was dwindling and the downtown area was becoming more vacant. The Mayor decided to make artist studios and galleries an important part of the City’s revitalization strategy.

The town wanted to turn its unused downtown warehouse spaces into something useful. Similar to Lowell, MA’s strategy, in order to have a vibrant downtown area one must have a population living there, so that the activity does not only happen from nine to five. In creating spaces where artists both live and work, the Town created a situation in which there would always be people downtown, 24 hours a day.

At the same time the Mayor wanted to get people into downtown Peekskill, rising real estate prices in New York City were driving artists to move further away from even the outer boroughs. Peekskill took an active role in pursuing displaced artists by taking out advertisements in SoHo art magazines and offering them low interest rates. This helped artists buy buildings and convert them into useful spaces. Once a few artists had moved to Peekskill, a buzz was created and more artists made the move north.

As an economic development incentive, landlords are offered tax incentives, grants, facade improvements, and loans to renovate buildings that can be used as live-work spaces by artists. To obtain one of these artist lofts for living and working, the Peekskill Arts Council or the City’s Artist Certification Committee must certify an individual as an artist.

In addition to occupying once-vacant spaces in the downtown, artists have brought businesses into the area. Several restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques have opened up downtown since the arrival of the new artist tenants. Mark and Livia Strauss, two well-known collectors from New York City, have moved to Peekskill and are opening a museum called the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art. The Paramount movie theater has been renovated to become the Paramount Center for the Arts, presenting films, concerts and a visual arts gallery. It is a place where artists can gather to form a community and share ideas.

The City of Peekskill Department of Planning and Development currently manages the developmental process to maintain and grow live-work spaces for artists on the second floors of commercial buildings. The Department partners with the Peekskill Arts Council, the City’s Artist Certification Committee, the Peekskill Chamber of Commerce and Peekskill Business Improvement District to manage these efforts.

Syracuse, NY

§ Population 160,000

§ Leaders and activists spearheaded effort to revitalize downtown area and connect local arts organizations

§ Strategic plan still in progress, but success is beginning to show:

§ Downtown residences 100% occupied

§ New residences planned

§ Local businesses opening up in downtown area

§ Large businesses staying in area

A Cultural Commission appointed by the Mayor and the County Executive, administers programs to cultivate collaboration among cultural groups, market the cultural attractions downtown as a single entity and raise funds to support the arts. The Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. assists the Cultural District Commission in the performance of its duties including the provision of office space and support staff. Other partners include FOCUS, the Cultural District Working Group, the Cultural Resources Council, major cultural institutions, City Economic Development and Community Development departments, County Office of Management and Budget, businesses and citizen groups.

Syracuse is a town of 160,000 in upstate New York. Like many upstate towns, the trend of decreasing population had the people of Syracuse worried. FOCUS, Forging Our Community’s United Strength, is a non-profit group that was formed to supplement (and in many cases provide an impetus for) what the government was already doing in Syracuse. FOCUS’ goal is to make Syracuse a sustainable community, and a “good place to live and work.” In 1998, this group along with other citizens groups completed a “visioning project” and came up with 87 goals for the City of Syracuse. Among the five most important goals were a) to bring the arts organizations closer together so they can collaborate, and b) to revitalize the downtown area.

There were already eleven arts organizations located in the downtown area, so connecting these two goals seemed appropriate. The next step was to begin to develop a relationship between the businesses and the arts organizations. FOCUS decided that in order to truly establish the downtown area as a cultural district, they would need to establish a city ordinance. The group got approval to propose a piece of legislation establishing the downtown as an “official” arts and culture district. City officials decided that if there were to be an official district, there would need to be commission that was responsible for the district. The commission is composed of three city officials, three county officials and one chairperson chosen by the mayor. FOCUS then interlaced this commission with the already existing Downtown Committee, creating the driving force behind the economic redevelopment in the downtown area. FOCUS understands the importance of arts and culture in both the economic success of a downtown (and city as a whole) and also culture’s importance to the quality of life for citizens.

At the beginning of the process, FOCUS brought together a variety of stakeholders to brainstorm about ways to creatively reach the goal of a revitalized downtown and a vibrant arts scene. These sessions included arts organizations, local businesses, developers and government officials. The groups, with the help of a facilitator, developed a strategic plan. The plan has been “slow going,” according to FOCUS executive director Chuckie Holstein. As always, working with the government is a slow process, but they felt it was important for the government to give validation to the arts district by officially designating it as such.

There are many projects still in the works. The historic Landmark Theater is in the process of being restored. There are efforts underway to put signage up in the downtown and to develop parking facilities. Local businesses are a part of these plans, as they affect businesses as much (if not more) than arts organizations.

Despite the slow-moving nature of this project, signs of success are already beginning to show. The downtown is definitely showing signs of revitalization, both quantitative and qualitative. Downtown residences are now 100% occupied, which has not been the case in the past. Not only are existing residences occupied, but there have also been new residences built. New local businesses are opening up in the downtown. And, perhaps more importantly, Syracuse has been able to maintain its existing businesses, including its corporate businesses. The exit of one of its corporate businesses would have been a near death-sentence for Syracuse, so that is no small feat. And, the establishment of a government ordained commission is something that FOCUS is proud of.

Lowell, MA

§ Population 105,000

§ Former mill town

§ Plan centered around individual artists; converted old mills into live/work space

§ Marketed aggressively to artists being priced-out of Boston

§ Successful partnerships between government, businesses and arts organizations

The plan for the Arts District is managed by the City’s Division of Planning and Development with support from the city’s arts advocacy organization, the Cultural Organization of Lowell.

Lowell is a former mill town of about 105,000 in northern Massachusetts. With over 5 million square feet of mill space (most of it vacant), in 1978 Lowell created the first Urban National Park in some of its mill space, turning it into a living history of an industrial mill town. Unfortunately, in the recession of the 80s, the computer giant Wang left Lowell, leaving the downtown nearly deserted. By the mid to late-90s, efforts were underway to try to revitalize the downtown area.

The arts were to be a large part of the renewal effort. In 1998, Mayor Eileen Donoghue proposed a plan for an arts district in Lowell. While city officials were initially skeptical, Donoghue was persistent. Using the successes of other arts-driven revitalization plans in cities like Providence as examples, she eventually garnered government support.

Lowell’s plan relies heavily on the involvement of individual artists. Warehouses and vacant mill spaces would be converted in to artist loft spaces, and then artists would contribute to the creative renaissance of the city. Lowell went so far as to take out ads in Boston-area arts magazines promoting the artist loft spaces. The Revolving Museum relocated from Boston to Lowell. At the time, artists were being priced out of the Boston area, and Lowell took a very active role in pursuing these artists.

Although it could appear as though Lowell was using artists merely as a tool for economic redevelopment, officials will tell you this is far from the truth. Instead of the “Soho effect,” where escalating rents eventually priced-out the artists who had made the neighborhood desirable in the first place, Lowell seeks to make artists permanent residents, and contributing members of the community. Artists buy the lofts, instead of renting them. In addition to just having a place to live and work, there are now new galleries and museums where their work can be showcased. The city eliminated its old arts council and formed the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL). City planners would like Lowell to become one of the top five arts communities in the country in the next 5-10 years.

Developed in 2001, COOL is the city’s arts advocacy organization, designed to provide general support to the many cultural activities of the community. With so many cultural activities happening on a daily basis, it had become absolutely essential to create a central organization for the coordination of these events.¹ COOL advocates for artists, arts organizations and the community, and acts as a liaison between arts groups and businesses.

Other contributing factors of success in Lowell were partnerships— public-private partnerships in particular. There is a partnership between the award-winning Merrimack Repertory Theater and the city-owned Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Merrimack Rep uses the Liberty Hall (which is part of Memorial Auditorium) free of charge. A finance agency offered special mortgage packages to artists purchasing homes in the city. A private developer donated 3,000 square feet of space in a newly restored building to the nearby Revolving Museum. The donation was made as a means for the museum to generate more income, which it needed at the time. The museum turned it into rental studios and gallery space.

Another theme throughout Lowell’s cultural district plan is preservation. Lowell has made an effort to preserve all of the mill spaces within the downtown area. This was important both to provide history and a sense of context to the town, and also because the mills, when restored, can actually be quite beautiful. There are now nine museums in the downtown area. Not all of these are art museums; some celebrate the history of Lowell as a textile mill town, and there is a streetcar museum and a quilt museum.

By all accounts, Lowell’s efforts have been a success. Over 75 percent of Lowell’s mill space is either renovated or under construction. Given the fact that as of 7 years ago none of the mills were occupied, this is no small accomplishment for the city. There are even new housing units planned for the downtown, including high-priced loft spaces.

Above all, one now gets the sense that Lowell is a good place to live, something that is of utmost importance to those who have dedicated so much time to this project.