New spaces for living and working in the creative economy

Abstract

With economic development agencies and city planners increasingly aware of the role of the arts in local economies, artist housing appears to be an essential step in the cultivation and retention of an arts community. While artists' lofts are typically thought of as converted post-industrial structures, there is a need for new construction in areas where postindustrial structures are too expensive, not suitable for conversion, or nonexistent. This thesis looks at new construction of artist housing from the developer's standpoint to discover how developers can create new live/work space for artists. It explores the development of three new artists' live/work projects (The Banner Building in Seattle WA, Laconia Lofts in Boston MA, and ARTBLOCK 731 in Boston MA) to determine how and why a developer should consider building new artists' live/work space. The thesis begins with a brief review of the various forces which have led to the arts' recognition as a significant economic driver at the national, regional, and community levels. It then analyzes the space needs of artists at the individual level. These needs are contrasted with those of the developer who is faced with the challenge of developing new space for artists under regulatory and financial constraints. The three case studies inform a framework of conditions under which artists' live/work space should be considered and developed. The cases indicate the need for a certain degree of government involvement in artists' live/work development, including land use policies and building codes to enable the creation of suitable spaces, as well as subsidy to incentivize the development of affordable spaces. On the other hand, too much city oversight and regulation is seen to lead to unnecessary costs and lower project-level affordability. The built case studies illustrate how new artists' projects can revitalize neighborhoods and how professional developers are best prepared to assume the challenges of developing artists' live/work space.