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Preliminary Feasibility Study
Lakewood, Colorado
October 2013
Prepared for
ARTSPACE
250 Third Avenue N., Suite 500
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612.333.9012
www.artspace.org
City of Lakewood Denver Regional Council of
Governments
40 West Arts District
SCSUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE
DENVER REGIONAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
1
Introduction
he City of Lakewood, Colorado, owes its name to a railroad man, W. A. H. Loveland,
who platted its first lots in the 1880s. But it owes much of its mid-20th century
growth to America’s love of the automobile and the commercial activities that
support the “love of the open road” lifestyle. Before the interstate system was built, U.S.
Route 40 was the main drag
between Denver and Salt
Lake City, and it passed right
through the heart of
Lakewood on West Colfax
Avenue. Although I-70 has
supplanted U.S. 40 as the path
of preference through the
Rockies, West Colfax Avenue
remains a major thoroughfare,
and much of its historic
character has survived.
Indeed, to drive along West
Colfax Avenue today is to be
reminded of an era when gas stations, roadside diners and indie motels were staples of the
American landscape.
But Lakewood itself has moved far past the 1950s. Today it has more than 140,000 residents
and is the fifth largest city in Colorado, trailing only Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, and
Fort Collins. A measure of its status is the new W light rail line, which opened earlier this
year, connecting Union Station in downtown Denver to the Jefferson County Courthouse in
Golden. Seven of the W line’s 13 stations are in Lakewood. For much of its route, the line
runs beside West 13th Avenue, two blocks
south of Colfax.
In 2011, with the W line under
construction, the City began to explore
opportunities for creating an arts district in
the vicinity of the Lamar Street station.
Lamar is not a major street, and the station
itself is a simple platform – a far cry from
the spectacular two-story station that
T
Looking west along Colfax Avenue in the late 1960s (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Lamar Street light rail station
2
bridges Wadsworth Boulevard, one stop to the west. But Lamar has something that
Wadsworth can’t match: the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD), a
private four-year institution with more than 500 students. The east end of the 24-acre
RMCAD campus is four blocks straight north of the station, and if you were to draw a line
between them, Colfax Avenue would cross it at the midpoint.
Out of this geographic propinquity was born the 40 West Arts District, an area centered, as
its name suggests, on the historic West Colfax Avenue corridor, which still bears the U.S. 40
designation. Recently recognized as an “emerging creative district” by Colorado Creative
Industries, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International
Trade, 40 West is administered by a volunteer nonprofit organization whose mission is “to
enrich the community and support the creative, cultural, and economic vitality of the
region.” Its office, near the intersection of Colfax and Teller Street, contains a gallery and an
80-seat black box theater with a resident ensemble, the Edge Theatre, that is mounting eight
shows this season.
Although it is young, 40 West has already established itself as a force in the area. It has
sponsored a variety of low-budget arts activities, including the painting of a colorful mural
on the side of a building that is visible to eastbound traffic on Colfax. It has established
strong relationships with the City of Lakewood, the West Colfax Community Association,
and the Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District, whose Executive Director,
Bill Marino, also serves as Chair of the 40 West Board.
Earlier this year, in partnership with 40 West and with financial support from the Denver
Regional Council of Governments, the City of Lakewood invited Artspace to conduct a
Preliminary Feasibility Visit to assess the potential for an affordable live/work project for
artists in the 40 West Arts District. The visit took place Aug. 21-23, 2013. Artspace was
represented by Wendy Holmes, Senior Vice President for Consulting and Strategic
Partnerships; Roy Close, Vice President for Special Projects; Felicia Harmon, an Artspace
consultant based in Loveland, Colorado; and Matthew Rucker, an artist who resides in the
Northern Warehouse Artists Cooperative, an Artspace mixed-use project in Saint Paul,
Minnesota. This report contains our findings and recommendations for next steps.
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Findings: Project Concept
uring a Preliminary Feasibility Visit, Artspace gathers information about six main
issues: project concept, artist market, site feasibility, financial feasibility, local
leadership, and sustainable community impact. Of these, the starting point – and
the most all-encompassing – is the project concept, the vision that the community hopes to
bring to life by means of an Artspace development. If the project were a train, the project
concept would be the engine.
Some communities are clear about what they hope to accomplish. It may involve preserving
a specific building, or it may involve a broader concept such as economic revitalization of a
neighborhood. Other communities,
however, look to us to guide them
through the process of determining
whether an arts project makes sense
for them – and, if so, what kind of
arts project it should be. Still other
communities have a general idea of
what they would like to achieve but
seek professional advice about how
to proceed.
In Lakewood, the project concept is
clearly defined. It revolves around
three main goals:
• Revitalization of the West Colfax Avenue corridor
West Colfax Avenue is a long street with multiple challenges. It came of age in an era
when long-distance travel by car meant slower speeds and more frequent stops for
fuel, meals, and lodging. But those days are long gone, and so is the cross-country
traffic that used to keep Colfax Avenue humming. Today the street looks old and
tired. Many of its storefronts are empty, many of its surviving businesses are barely
hanging on, and it is far from a pedestrian-friendly environment. In the twelve-block
stretch between Harlan and Teller Streets, the unofficial boundaries of the 40 West
Arts District, far too much space is occupied by used car dealerships, budget motels,
fast food restaurants, and above all by parking lots. In the five-block stretch between
Kendall and Pierce Streets, the north side of Colfax is given over to the JCRS
Shopping Center, a large, aging, underutilized1960s-vintage shopping center that is
D
Davies Chuck Wagon Diner, a stainless steel relic from the 1950s, is on West Colfax Avenue. Its 36-foot-high cowboy sign is a Lakewood icon. (Photo: Pam Moris-Dorrance)
4
famous as the home of the popular Mexican restaurant Casa Bonita, a Lakewood
landmark, and a few other businesses, but has little else going for it. And because the
shopping center is set well back from the street, its contribution to the streetscape is
essentially that of a mammoth, unkempt parking lot. Across the street, the south side
of Colfax is a mix of small stand-alone commercial buildings – an archipelago of
bricks, steel, and glass in a sea of asphalt.
Revitalizing the corridor will be a huge undertaking, but the City appears eager to
tackle it. The arrival of the W light rail line and the Lamar Street station, which is two
blocks south of the shopping center’s eastern end, appear to have focused the City’s
attention on this part of the corridor. We repeatedly heard the JCRS Shopping
Center described as “ground zero” or the “epicenter” of the City’s redevelopment
efforts in the corridor. A new Colfax-Lamar intersection, with traffic lights and
dedicated bicycle and pedestrian lanes, is already in the works, as is a roundabout
with improved pedestrian and bicycle crossings and public art sculpture at 14th and
Lamar, and a large piece of public art for the Lamar Street station.
• Establishing a permanent population of artists in the 40 West Arts District
Not yet two years old, the 40 West Arts District has already made its presence felt in
the corridor – witnessed not only by the colorful mural that now enlivens the north
side of Colfax Avenue between Reed and
Saulsbury Streets, but also by an impressive
list of less visible accomplishments,
including the aforementioned state
designation as a creative district; more than
a hundred artist members; productive
partnerships with the City of Lakewood,
the local business improvement district,
RMCAD, and adjacent neighborhood
associations; establishment of a fully
funded Artist in Residence program at
Lamar Station Crossing; active public
relations and social media support for other
galleries and arts-related activities in the area; and an ambitious schedule of 10
exhibitions per year at its own gallery. Area artists appear solidly lined up behind the
new organization. Establishing a permanent population of artists in the corridor will
enhance the efforts already underway to transform the Colfax corridor into a true
arts district destination with the power to catalyze redevelopment.
This colorful mural, designed by Lakewood artist Johanna Parker and painted by volunteers in a weekend, is an early 40 West initiative.
5
• Transit-oriented development that relates to the Lamar Street station.
The City of Lakewood has made transit oriented development (TOD) around the
Lamar Street light rail station a major priority. Indeed, the first TOD housing project
on the W line, Lamar Station Crossing, is under construction at 6150 W. 13th
Avenue, almost directly across the street
from the station. It is a 110-unit Low
Income Housing Tax Credit project with an
80%-20% mix of affordable and market rate
units; it will also have five live/work spaces
for creatives on the ground floor – with one
unit already dedicated to the 40 West Artist
in Residence Program. The developer is
Metro West Housing Solutions (MWHS), an
independent nonprofit that began life in
1974 as the Lakewood Housing Authority.
The project will be completed in January,
and MWHS is eager to move forward with the second phase of this project and
other possible projects nearby. The Artspace team was shown three possible
development sites close to the station.
While it is unlikely that a site can be found that will serve all three goals equally well, the
project concept is viable and a number of potentially good sites exist within a quarter-mile of
the Lamar Street station. We will discuss these in the Site Analysis section.
Lamar Street Crossing, under construction during our visit, will be the first transit-oriented development on the W line.
6
Findings: Arts Market
he Artist Focus Group and the public meeting are the primary vehicles used by
Artspace to gather anecdotal information about the needs, trends, and vision of the
area’s arts community. In Lakewood, we also had the opportunity to talk with
individual artists during visits to artist studios and galleries in the area.
Most of the artists who attended the Artist Focus Group said they have studios in their
homes, garages, or basements, which is typical for suburban areas (urban dwellers are more
likely to have studios outside their homes). Others have separate studio spaces, including
about half a dozen with storefront studios in Block 7 at Belmar, a large new commercial and
residential development about three miles from the Lamar Street station. The artists we met
included one or more painters, sculptors, silversmiths, luthiers, textile artists, folk artists,
graphic designers, and interior designers, as well as arts administrators and teachers – in
short, a diverse group representing a variety of disciplines.
When we asked them what is missing for Lakewood artists, they noted:
• A convenient place to buy art supplies (one of the best art materials stores, we were
told, is on the east side of Denver near the old Stapleton airport site).
• A place where artists can share equipment used in printmaking, woodworking, and
other art forms that require large or expensive tools.
• Classroom spaces.
• Cooperative or shared studio spaces.
We learned, too, that:
• Live/work space is a priority for many artists, who want enough space for a family as
well as a studio.
• There is a widespread perception that Lakewood should be doing a better job of
keeping RMCAD graduates in the community.
• There is interest in connecting RMCAD to the arts programs at the Metropolitan
State University of Denver and at the University of Denver.
• Some Lakewoodians see potential to convert the old motels that line Colfax Avenue
into work or even live/work space for artists. (An example of this kind of adaptive
reuse is the Oasis Hotel in Phoenix, which was converted to artist space several years
ago; see www.oasisongrand.com.)
• The Jeffco Public School District is nationally known for its strong support of the
arts.
T
7
• Denver is too expensive for many
artists. Some move to Lakewood or
other suburban communities around
Denver where the cost of living is
lower.
Our tour of potential sites included stops at
several artist studios and other facilities.
These included:
• The 40 West Arts Building at 1560
Teller Street. The arts organization
has made the most of its small space
at one end of a one-story
warehouse, and it is eager to expand
either in its current location –
Marino talked of popping off the
roof, replacing exterior walls with
garage doors, and expanding
beyond the walls with outdoor
creative space, food trucks, and so
on – or elsewhere in the area. A
new location would be attractive in
that Teller Street is at the edge of
the arts district, eight blocks west of
Lamar Street and ten blocks from
the light rail station. If Artspace
ends up developing a mixed-use
project closer to the station, 40
West would be interested in being
an anchor tenant, Marino said.
Depending on the configuration of
the project, The Edge could also be
in the bargain.
• Johanna Parker’s studio in a
converted garage behind her home
on W. 20th Avenue. Ms. Parker
creates exquisitely detailed
collectibles, many with holiday
themes, that are mass-produced in
Artist Johanna Parker in her studio.
Lonnie Hanzon’s assistants at work on the sculpture he has designed for the Lamar Street station.
A colorfully painted parking place welcomes visitors to the 40 West Arts Building.
8
China and the Philippines and sold internationally. She said she would prefer to have
a production facility in Lakewood because it would give her greater control over the
finished products. Ms. Parker is active in 40 West and designed the mural that now
graces a wall on West Colfax between Reed and Saulsbury Streets.
• The studio of Lonnie Hanzon, a prominent Lakewood sculptor who works on large-
scale commissions and public art at a studio attached to his home in “the Glens,” a
charming neighborhood of winding streets and mid-century modern houses on the
western edge of the 40 West Arts District. Among many works in progress, we saw
the partly completed sculpture that he is creating for the Lamar Street station.
• The Studios in Block 7 at Belmar. These seven storefront studios are tucked under a
parking ramp on the east side of the commercial core of the Belmar retail center.
They are accessible and reasonably spacious but feel a bit isolated – not only from 40
West, which is more than two miles away, but also from the rest of Belmar, an area
that enjoys a great deal of pedestrian traffic despite the fact that nearly everyone who
comes to Belmar arrives by car.
• The Lakewood Cultural Center, part of the City of Lakewood’s civic campus near
Belmar Park. The Cultural Center has 38,000 square feet on two levels, two galleries,
an outdoor plaza that can be used for performances, and a 315-seat theater that hosts
some 150 performances a year. As with the nearby Belmar center, most visitors come
by car.
• The RMCAD campus, 1600 Pierce Street, 13 major buildings and a cluster of smaller
ones, most of them erected in the first three decades of the 20th century by the
Jewish Consumptive Relief Society (JCRS), a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. In
the 1950s, with tuberculosis all but eradicated, the JCRS became a cancer research
center, and in 2002 the entire campus was sold to RMCAD with the exception of the
“New York” building, which we will discuss in the Site Analysis section.
Although we did not have time to visit the Lakewood Arts Council Art Center and Gallery,
this long-established nonprofit organization, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this
year, is a significant member of the Lakewood arts scene. The Council operates its own
cooperative gallery and sponsors events in performing arts, visual arts, and literature.
MEASURING THE MARKET
Understanding the market for residential and other kinds of spaces that artists need is an
important early step in the planning for a live/work or mixed-use arts facility. Regardless of
the project concept, we usually recommend an in-depth Arts Market Survey even if Artspace
is not expected to be the developer. The Arts Market Survey uses a template we developed
15 years ago and have used to quantify the space needs of more than 25,000 artists around
the country. In each community, using local input, we customize the template to reflect
9
unique characteristics of the proposed project and the local arts scene, then host it online for
up to eight weeks. Developing the questionnaire, publicizing it (we attempt to reach at least
3,000 artists), collecting the data, analyzing the results, and preparing a report takes about six
months.
The primary goal of the survey is to determine the size and nature of the market for a
live/work or mixed-use arts project in the community. We also use it to demonstrate a
market for affordable rental space sufficient to satisfy the various public and private entities
that make financial investments in our projects, including the banks that provide mortgages
and the investors that purchase Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The Arts Market Survey
gathers a wealth of data about the area’s creative individuals, including:
• age, gender, ethnicity, household size, and other demographic information;
• the arts activities they practice;
• the arts facility features and neighborhoods of most interest to them;
• their current income range and the percent of it that is generated by art;
• their current studio or work space arrangement; and
• how much they are willing and able to pay for housing and studio space.
Most important, the survey tells us with reasonable accuracy how many live/work units or
studios the local arts community can fill. We generally determine the residential unit count of
a proposed project by taking the number of artists who meet two criteria – they qualify for
affordable housing and they express interest in relocating to the project if it is built – and
dividing that number by three. For example, if 120 artists meet both criteria, we plan for a
40-unit project. This conservative “triple redundancy” policy ensures that our projects lease
up quickly and stay fully occupied over time. Because smaller projects are more expensive in
terms of their relative demands on our staff resources, in most communities a 30-unit
project is the smallest that Artspace will consider if we are to be the developer.
10
Findings: Site Analysis
lthough Artspace usually looks at buildings and sites in the course of a Preliminary
Feasibility Visit, identifying the “perfect” candidate for a project is not an objective
at this early stage. Even in communities that have identified only one candidate
building, we prefer to look at others as well, if only to obtain a sense of the possibilities in
the event that the first choice proves unavailable at a price we can afford, too contaminated
by hazardous materials, structurally unsound, or otherwise unsuitable for our purpose. Site
selection is properly a function of predevelopment, when we have established a preliminary
project scope and space development program for evaluating building and site capacity.
In Lakewood, we were given a map with a dozen sites outlined in red. Although time did not
permit us to look at all of them, we managed to walk through several and drove by others.
They ranged from vacant parcels to the JCRS shopping center, an enormous property
containing close to a million square feet of space. Several of the sites would be more or less
suitable for an Artspace live/work or mixed-use project, and we will discuss them
individually here.
NEW YORK BUILDING
1651 Kendall Street
This is a remarkable building. It was erected
in 1922 for the Jewish Consumptive Relief
Society (JCRS) and originally served as a
residence for male patients. At some point
– presumably before 2002, when the rest of
the campus was sold to RMCAD – it was
acquired by Jefferson County, which uses it
as a halfway house for adult males.
The most prominent feature of the
RMCAD campus is a classical mall – a
broad avenue of grass flanked by classroom
buildings, an auditorium, and the like – that
runs from one end of the campus to the
other. The New York Building stands at the
east end of the mall, facing it. With its
imposing clock tower, formal entryway, and
symmetrical wings, it was clearly intended to
A
The New York Building’s main entry
11
be a “statement” structure to match the so-called Texas Building at the opposite end. This
orderly arrangement makes for a very pretty campus – or would, if it weren’t for the chain
link fence and overgrown shrubbery that separate the New York Building from the rest of
the mall. These days one enters the New York building not through its front door but from
the parking lot in the rear.
RMCAD would love nothing better than to get the New York Building back and restore the
campus to something close to its original appearance. Jefferson County, for its part, would
like to sell the building and relocate the halfway house to a site closer to the county’s main
correctional facility several miles away. A variety of entities, both public and private, have
expressed interest in acquiring the building, if a reasonable price can be agreed upon.
Numerous scenarios have been and continue to be explored. One possibility includes
exchanging the New York Building for the vacant Albertson’s store in the JCRS Shopping
Center, which RMCAD owns. In this scenario, the Albertson’s store would be demolished
to open a gateway between RMCAD, the Colfax-Lamar intersection, and the Lamar Street
station. This strikes us as a very good idea that could go a long way towards transforming the
eastern half of the JCRS Shopping Center into an appealing pedestrian/bicycle mall. There
are obstacles, we were told, including the difficulty of finding a suitable new site for the
halfway house; but we do not see these obstacles as deal-breakers.
Is the New York Building a candidate for an Artspace project? Probably not. Most of its
spaces are too small for live/work, and we think its historic design should be preserved as
much as possible. But this does not mean it lacks potential for other arts-related uses. On
the contrary, we believe the New York Building could serve RMCAD well as an
office/studio building, and its common areas would make excellent lounges and meeting
spaces.
JCRS SHOPPING CENTER
Colfax Avenue between Kendall and Pierce Streets
The JCRS Shopping Center, which takes its name from the acronym for the former
sanitarium, its next-door neighbor to the north, consumes five blocks on the north side of
West Colfax Avenue. It is a huge chunk of real estate: a dozen or so buildings, most with
common walls but at least two free-standing; 256,000 square feet in the buildings themselves;
952,000 square feet including the vast parking lot that separates the buildings from the street.
The most thriving business in the entire complex is Casa Bonita, a Lakewood institution,
with its unmistakable gold-capped tower. As noted above, one of the buildings, a former
Albertson’s store, is owned by RMCAD, which opens up some possibilities for property
swapping. The City of Lakewood has made redevelopment of the JCRS site a top priority,
and Bill Marino described it to us as “ground zero” for the revitalization of the West Colfax
corridor.
12
There are many variables at play here,
including the existence of three
independently owned businesses (two fast
food restaurants and a bank) that occupy
“pad sites” on the Colfax Avenue side of
the JCRS parking lot, a multiple ownership
scenario of the shopping center itself that
will undoubtedly require the City to get
deeply involved, and the need for a
thoughtful redevelopment plan. But if the
City and its partners – including,
presumably, 40 West and the Lakewood-
West Colfax Business Improvement District – are committed to transforming this site into a
mix of commercial, office, market-rate housing, and artist space, we think there is great
potential here. The site is ideal: it is on Colfax Avenue and midway between RMCAD and
the Lamar Street station. An Artspace project in this vicinity would have great potential for
long-term, sustainable community impact.
WALGREEN’S STORE
6300 W. Colfax Avenue
This vacant building occupies the southeast corner of the Colfax-Lamar intersection, which
places it directly opposite the east end of the JCRS Shopping Center. The 13,400-square-foot
building is architecturally undistinguished and unsuitable for adaptive reuse as an arts facility,
but like everything else along this stretch of Colfax Avenue it comes with a large parking lot,
so the property as whole contains more than 65,000 square feet – ample for a midsize
Artspace live/work project of two or three stories. The property is for sale; the owner is
asking $2.15 million, which is probably more than Artspace would be willing to pay, given
the existence of less expensive but equally suitable sites nearby. That said, the location is
ideal and the site is of a suitable size.
CEMENT BATCH PLANT
1300 Harlan Street
This vacant 270,000-square-foot site, which formerly housed a cement processing plant, is
on the W line four blocks east of the Lamar Street station. It has one major amenity – an
adjacent city park – but it feels a bit out of the way compared to other sites we visited. An
Artspace project in this location would probably have less potential for sustainable
community impact than the same project closer to the Colfax-Lamar intersection.
The JCRS Shopping Center: Abundant asphalt, with Casa Bonita’s distinctive tower holding center stage.
13
LAMAR STREET PROPERTIES
1300 block of Lamar Street
The Artspace team drove by, but did not visit, two businesses on the east side of Lamar
Street between W. 13th and 14th Avenues. One, at 1300 Lamar, is a 61,500-square-foot
property containing a building owned by Columbine Paper that is used for offices and
storage; it is immediately adjacent to the light rail station. The other, at 1350 Lamar Street, is
an 81,400-square-foot property owned by Anderson Associates, a landscaping firm; it has
two small buildings, originally used for residences. Neither of these properties is currently
for sale, but their proximity to the Lamar Street station is a strong plus for any developer,
not just Artspace. If they become available, they should be considered as candidates.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY IMPACT
Assessing the potential for sustainable community impact at this stage is difficult. Until we
know more about the market for artist space in Lakewood, have a better understanding of
the financial resources that can be brought to bear, and have identified a short list of viable
candidate sites, we cannot reach well-informed conclusions about the potential for long-term
community impact of one site relative to another. But Lakewood has a clear idea about
where it wants to focus its attention: in the 40 West Arts District, in the Colfax Avenue
corridor, and as close as possible to the Lamar Street light rail station. We think that any site
that fits this description is likely to have good potential for sustainable impact.
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Findings: Financial Analysis
n artist live/work project represents a significant investment of civic resources. A
typical Artspace project of 30 to 40 units, with between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet
of non-residential space, can cost $10 million or more. Predevelopment expenses –
the “soft” costs, such as architects’ fees, that must be met before construction can begin –
are seldom less than $750,000. While a variety of federal programs, such as Low Income
Housing Tax Credits (which typically provide more than 50% of the total equity of an
Artspace live/work project), can be used to generate funds for construction, we look to the
community for predevelopment support and commitments of affordable housing allocations
in a combination of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and HOME funds, or
the equivalent.
We generally learn a great deal about financing opportunities and challenges from the
Finance and Funder Focus Group, and Lakewood’s was no exception. The attendees were a
diverse group that included representatives from Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute,
Colorado Microfinance Alliance, Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation,
Colorado Housing Finance Agency, Metro West Housing Solutions, Colorado Creative
Industries, the Denver Foundation, City of Lakewood staff, the Lakewood-West Colfax
Business Improvement District, and others.
The Denver Foundation representative, for example, described that organization’s Impact
Investment Fund, which is essentially a Program Related Investment for projects and
initiatives that are catalytic in nature. Representatives from the two microfinance agencies
spoke of their programs, which are designed to foster innovation and provide support for
small business development. Tax increment financing (TIF) funds are available in some areas
of Lakewood, as are brownfield remediation dollars and other urban renewal tools. Our
takeaway, put simply, is that there are sufficient resources to warrant consideration of an
Artspace live/work or mixed-use project in Lakewood if an Arts Market Survey determines
that a market exists for 30 or more units.
THE TAX CREDIT CHALLENGE
Obtaining the funding and financing required to develop an Artspace project is always a
challenge, and this is especially true of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), which
generate up to two-thirds of the construction budget for a typical Artspace live/work
project. LIHTCs are highly competitive, and it is not uncommon for an application to be
rejected at least once before receiving a tax credit award. In Colorado, LIHTCs are
administered by the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), an agency we know
A
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through our project now in development in Loveland. Terry Barnard, CHFA’s tax credit
officer, attended one of our sessions and was very supportive. But we recognize that the
competition will be intense. It took us three attempts to obtain LIHTCs for the Loveland
project, and if an Artspace project in Lakewood moves forward, we would be pleasantly
surprised to receive a tax credit award on the first attempt.
PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT
Philanthropy plays an important role in every Artspace live/work project. In a typical
project, between 10% and 15% of the total funding comes in the form of gifts from
foundations, corporations, and, in some cases, individuals. We were pleased that a
representative of the Denver Foundation attended one of our focus group sessions and
expressed interest in helping us get to know the foundation community in the Denver area.
Corporate giving is likely to be a significant factor as well in Lakewood.
Identifying the unique angle for this project and aligning it with as many public and private
agendas as possible will help leverage the gap support for a mixed use live/work project in
Lakewood. The site will be a factor in aligning these agendas.
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Findings: Local Leadership
ocal leadership is the sine qua non of an Artspace project: without it, nothing else
matters. We look to local leaders to serve not simply as liaisons between Artspace and
the community but as cultural activists who can help drive the project forward. So we
look for individuals who have already demonstrated leadership in moving their own projects
forward.
In Lakewood, we were happy to find a highly energized Core Group that sees the possibility
of an Artspace project in the West Colfax/Lamar Street corridor as “a remarkable
opportunity,” to use Bill Marino’s words at our first meeting. Mr. Marino and his peers are
focused on the concept of a sustainable project that will bring a permanent population of
artists to the 40 West Arts District and have a catalyzing effect on the area. The City is fully
engaged; Mayor Bob Murphy attended several sessions and threw his weight behind this
initiative by introducing the Artspace team at the public meeting, and other elected officials
pledged their support as well. In a follow-up email to Wendy Holmes, the Mayor described
Lakewood as “a dynamic community, with many of our initiatives emanating from the
neighbors and businesses, with full support of elected officials.” The 40W Arts District, he
added, “is the latest and, frankly, the greatest example in this heritage of collaborative
creativity.”
Mr. Murphy made it clear that he will advocate strongly for an Artspace project. “We were
also inspired by the energy, passion and long-term success of the wide variety of Artspace
projects throughout the country,” he wrote. “Of course, we can’t help but imagine the
dynamic possibilities of something here in Lakewood!”
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Recommendations & Next Steps
rom Artspace’s perspective, Lakewood is a strong candidate for an Artspace live/work
or mixed-use project. With a population of more than 140,000, it has sufficient size
and appears to have sufficient resources to support the development of a project. Its
leadership appears strongly in favor of moving forward. And it has a successful track record,
as the Belmar commercial development and the complex of civic buildings at Belmar Park
clearly show.
As an immediate next step, we recommend an Artist Market Survey. A full-scale survey is
typically designed to reach 3,000 to 5,000 artists. We expect a response rate of 10% of those
we reach. We ask them a variety of questions to determine whether they meet federally
mandated financial qualifications to live in affordable housing; whether they need residential
space, studio/working space, or both; whether they have special space design needs related
to their artistic discipline or personal circumstances; and so on.
The survey’s primary goal will be to determine the size of the market for an affordable
live/work project. In our experience, a three-to-one redundancy is sufficient to ensure the
success of a proposed project – that is, for every unit under consideration, we seek three
responses from artists who say they would be interested in relocating if the project is built.
In other words, if the survey identifies 120 artists who are income-qualified and who would
like to become residents of an Artspace project in Lakewood, we would recommend a 40-
unit project.
The survey also will help determine other variables, such as the ratio of one-, two-, and
three-bedroom units, what is truly affordable in Lakewood, the need for amenities to serve
specific kinds of artists, and perhaps preferences for location. Although it is impossible to
build a live/work project that addresses every artist’s needs, we can use the data collected by
the survey to inform our planning. Should local developers wish to incorporate space for the
arts in their current or planned projects, the information could also be useful to them, if you
would wish to disseminate information from the report.
A market analysis of this kind costs $30,000 if limited to individual artists and $42,500 if
expanded to include arts organizations and creative businesses. It takes four to six months to
plan, execute, and analyze. We conduct our surveys online, which not only simplifies data
processing but also makes it easier to determine the need for midcourse corrections. For
example, if early responses suggest that some artist groups are not responding to the survey
in representative numbers, we can conduct additional marketing and outreach to make them
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aware of the survey and/or establish a telephone response system for artists who lack
computer access.
It is characteristic of Lakewood’s forward-thinking approach to working with Artspace that
the City and 40 West, aware that this report would recommend an Arts Market Survey, are
already aligning people and resources to move forward on this recommendation.
CONTINUING THE DIALOGUE
We encourage the Core Group, and others who wish to be part of the planning of an arts
facility in Lakewood, to work to foster an ongoing dialogue among artists, the development
community, and civic leaders. Given the existence of the 40 West Arts District, this
encouragement may be an example of carrying coal to Newcastle. Nevertheless, we cannot
overemphasize the importance of maintaining the momentum that has been begun and
ensuring that everyone works cooperatively toward the goal of creating a single project or
setting the stage for multiple initiatives.
Additionally, arming artists with talking points about arts development, economic impact,
and creative tourism will be essential to keeping the grassroots effort unified and bringing on
board additional support at the city level. Website updates that connect the arts community
and keeps everyone up to date on initiatives and meetings is a great idea that should be
pursued.
CONCLUSION
The Artspace team was deeply impressed by the degree to which Lakewood’s civic leaders,
business community, and artists have come together around the idea of bringing a
permanent population of artists to the 40 West Arts District. Mayor Murphy, who grew up
in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins, joked that “about every third person here” is from
Minnesota. In a more serious vein, he added: “The fact that so many people in this region
are from somewhere else has turned out to be a foundation of our strength here. It doesn’t
matter where you are from or where you went to school. You come here and in a way you
start over, but the mantra is collaboration. That is our secret ingredient that makes us
nationally and globally competitive.”
“We all look forward to the next steps with Artspace,” the Mayor said. “These discussions
continue to invigorate not only our artists, but our entire city.”
This is the kind of attitude that can make working with civic leaders a pleasure. We look
forward to continuing to work with the City of Lakewood and its constituents.
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APPENDIX 1
THE PATH OF AN ARTSPACE PROJECT
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is an Artspace project. In fact, a typical Artspace
live/work project takes from four to seven years to complete. Although no two projects are
precisely alike, they all travel a similar path through the development process.
Here is a brief look at a typical Artspace live/work project as it proceeds from first inquiries
through feasibility studies, predevelopment, and development to completion and occupancy.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of every activity that goes into an Artspace
project, and that some actions may occur in a different order.
STEP 1: PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY
Overview • Information Gathering and Outreach
Primary
Activities
• Meet with artists, civic leaders, and other stakeholders
• Conduct public meeting to introduce Artspace and solicit feedback
• Tour candidate buildings and/or sites
• Conduct extended outreach as needed to ensure that people from
underrepresented communities are included in the process
Deliverables • Written report with recommendations for next steps
Prerequisites for
Moving Forward
• Demonstrated support from local leadership
• Critical mass of artists and arts organizations with space needs
• Established base of financial support
Time frame • 3-5 months, kicked off by a 2-day visit
Cost • $15,000
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STEP 2: ARTS MARKET SURVEY
Overview • Assessing the Need
Primary
Activities
• Assemble a comprehensive list of artists (and arts organizations, if
applicable) in the area
• Reach out to artists and creative organizations from diverse arts disciplines,
ages, ethnic backgrounds, etc., asking them about their space needs
• Conduct a public meeting to launch the survey and educate the community
about the project
• Analyze and report on survey findings
Deliverables • Written report with recommendations for next steps
Prerequisites for
Moving Forward
• Sufficient number of responses from eligible, interested artists to support
an Artspace live/work project
Time frame • 4-6 months
Cost • $30,000 (artists only) or $42,500 (artists and arts organizations)
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STEP 3: PREDEVELOPMENT I
Overview • Determining Project Location and Size
Primary
Activities
• Work with City and other stakeholders to establish (a) preliminary project
scope and (b) space development program for evaluating building and site
capacity
• Analyze candidate buildings/sites with respect to cost, availability, and
other factors impacting their ability to address development program goals
• Review existing information about potential site(s) to identify key legal,
environmental, physical, and financial issues affecting their suitability
• Negotiate with property owners with goal of obtaining site control
agreement
• Continue outreach to artists and arts organization
• Connect with potential creative community partners and commercial
tenants
Deliverables
• Confirmation of development space program and goals
• Assessment of site suitability and identification of any contingent
conditions to be resolved through continued due diligence
• Site control agreement or update regarding status of site control
negotiations
• Summary of project status
Prerequisites for
Moving Forward
• Site control agreement with property owner
• Growing stakeholder/leadership group
• Both parties’ agreement on project scope and feasibility
Time frame • 3-6 months
Cost • $150,000
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STEP 4: PREDEVELOPMENT II
Overview • Project Design and Financial Modeling
Primary
Activities
• With City participation, establish process for selecting architectural team
• Confirm development goals and space program with architectural team
• Engage architect to create conceptual plans and schematic designs
• Engage contractor or cost consultant to provide pre-construction services
• Resolve any contingent conditions relating to site control
• Create capital and operating budgets
• Obtain proposals and/or letters of interest from lender and equity investor
financing partners
• Prepare and submit Low Income Housing Tax Credit application
• Submit other financing applications as applicable
• Maintain excitement for the project within the creative community
• Encourage and guide local artists to activate the site with arts activities
Deliverables
• Schematic designs
• Financial pro-forma detailing capital and operating budgets
• Preliminary proposals and letters of interest for project mortgage and
equity financing
• Summary of project status
Prerequisites for
Moving Forward
• Award of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (first or second application)
or commitment of alternative funding
Time frame • 10-13 months
Cost • $300,000+
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STEP 5: PREDEVELOPMENT III
Overview • From Tax Credits to Financial Closing
Primary
Activities
• Secure final gap funding commitments
• Raise funds for equity, including private sector philanthropic dollars
• Complete construction documents and submit permit applications
• Negotiate construction and permanent loan commitments
• Negotiate limited partner equity investment commitments
• Advance project to construction closing
• Communicate the progress of the project to the creative community to
keep up the involvement and excitement
Deliverables • Successful closing and commencement of construction
Time frame • 4-6 months
Cost • $300,000+
STEP 6: CONSTRUCTION
Overview • Construction and Lease-up
Primary
Activities
• Oversee project construction
• Engage local management company
• Identify commercial tenants and sign lease agreements
• Reach out to potential artist tenants, providing education on the
application process
• Conduct residential tenant selection process
Deliverables • Completed project ready for occupancy
Time frame • 12-18 months
Cost • Depends on project (not part of predevelopment contract)
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APPENDIX 2
BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE ARTS
What makes a city great? Across America, cities large and small are discovering that one
essential quality of every great city is a great arts community. In an era when people are freer
than ever to choose where they live, vital arts communities help cities attract and retain
residents and businesses. Thriving arts districts are magnets for tourists, restaurants, theaters,
and creative industries. In a great city, the arts are not an extra, something to be considered
only after “more important” items on the civic agenda are funded. In a great city, the arts are
as fundamental as streets, parks, and public transportation.
At Artspace, helping cities integrate the arts into their civic agendas is part of our core
business. Over the last two decades we have completed 35 major arts projects that contain
more than a thousand affordable residences – each with space for a built-in studio – for
artists and their families and provide more than a million square feet where artists and arts
organizations work, teach, exhibit, rehearsal, perform, and conduct business.
We have seen firsthand the power of the arts to transform urban landscapes. Two of our
earliest projects helped launch the celebrated renaissance of Saint Paul’s Lowertown
neighborhood during the 1990s. In Reno, a lively arts district has sprung up around an
Artspace project that opened a decade ago. An Artspace project in Seattle turned an
abandoned block in Pioneer Square into the center of that city’s independent gallery scene.
What is Artspace?
Established in 1979 to serve as an advocate for artists’ space needs, Artspace effectively
fulfilled that mission for nearly a decade. By the late 1980s, however, it was clear that the
problem required a more proactive approach, and Artspace made the leap from advocate to
developer. Today Artspace is widely recognized as America’s leader in creative placemaking.
As a mission-driven nonprofit, Artspace is committed both to the artists who live and work
in our projects and to the communities of which they are a part. We work with civic leaders
to ensure that our projects successfully deal with the issues they were designed to address.
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Our programs
Artspace programs fall into three categories: property development, asset management, and
national consulting.
Property development
Development projects, which typically involve the adaptive reuse of older buildings but
can also involve new construction, are the most visible of Artspace’s activities. Artspace
typically completes two to four projects each year. Most projects take three to five years
from inception to operation.
Asset management
Artspace owns or co-owns all the buildings it develops; our portfolio now contains more
than $75 0 million worth of real property. All our projects are financially self-sustaining;
we have never returned to a community to ask for operating support for a project once it
has been placed into operation. Revenues in excess of expenses are set aside for
preventive maintenance, commons area improvements, and building upgrades.
National consulting
Artspace acts as a consultant to communities, organizations, and individuals seeking
information and advice about developing and operating affordable housing and work
space for artists, performing arts centers, and cultural districts. Our expertise as an arts
developer gives us not only a unique perspective but also a unique set of skills, and
sharing this knowledge we have amassed over the years is central to our mission.
Our history
Artspace’s first live/work project opened its doors in 1990. In the mid-1990s, Artspace
developed its first project outside Minnesota, the 37-unit Spinning Plate Artist Lofts in
Pittsburgh. Invitations to work in other states soon followed. Artspace is now the nation’s
leading developer of live/work housing for artists with 28 live/work projects in operation
from coast to coast. In all, these projects contain more than 1,150 residential units.
Artspace is now a nationally prominent organization with offices in Minneapolis, Seattle,
New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. We have projects in
operation, under construction, or in development in more than a dozen states. Our national
consulting program has helped communities in virtually every address their arts-related space
issues. The nature of our work is evolving, too, to include multiple-facility projects, long-
range planning, arts districts, and arts initiatives designed to serve culturally specific groups
such as native Hawaiians, the communities of color in New Orleans, and the Native
Americans of the Northern Plains.
