Affordable live/work space for creatives
The DDA has engaged in a contract with Artspace, a national non-profit developer of affordable live and work spaces for those working in the creative industries. The project is aimed at bringing affordable housing and work space to support creatives in Downtown Colorado Springs.
For the past two years, the effort to bring Artspace to Colorado Springs has been envisioned and led by the Colorado Springs Creative Collaborative, a group of creatives and volunteers organized by local advocate Bob Wolfson.
A typical Artspace project progresses through four phases of development. During the first phase, Artspace visits a community and determines the pre-feasibility of the project and whether the community is in a position to lead an effort and eventually absorb the project. During phase two, Artspace conducts an Arts Market Survey, which was completed in Colorado Springs in 2017.
The project, through the support of a contract of up to $750,000 from the DDA, has entered into the third, pre-development phase. This phase involves obtaining a site, designing the project, and finalizing the financial model to allow the project to obtain competitive Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and other sources common to affordable housing development. This phase is expected to take up to two years, after which, if successful, Artspace will move toward construction and opening of the project.
Project updates will be posted here, so check back for additional information.
About Artspace
Artspace is the nation’s nonprofit leader in artist-led community transformation, with more than 46 projects in operation across the country and another dozen in development, representing a unique, $600 million investment in America’s arts infrastructure. With headquarters in Minneapolis and of?ces in Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C., Artspace is America’s leading developer of arts facilities and has served as a consultant to hundreds of communities and arts organizations nationwide. To date, Artspace has completed nearly 2,000 affordable residential units and more than 300 creative businesses and working studios. Presence in Colorado includes Artspace Loveland Arts Campus, and projects in planning and development stages in Trinidad, Lakewood, Denver’s RiNo Arts District, Ridgway, and others.