  Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 968 Registered: 11-2004 |
Interesting concept, hopefully it works and can be applied elsewhere. HAVEN FOR ARTISTS: Apartment's developers seek creative tenants October 17, 2007 BY AMBER HUNT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Wanted: Struggling artists willing to live with like-minded people in newly renovated apartments costing $550 a month or less. After 18 months -- and $5.5 million -- developers of the spiffed-up Whitdel Building in southwest Detroit are set to fill the building's 32 units with area artists. They want to inject the already diverse neighborhood with, well, a little bit of creative cool. ... While many developers aim to turn aging Detroit buildings into low-income apartments and condos, the Whitdel project is unique in that its space is tailored specifically to artists. The building will include a common area for artists in the basement and an art gallery for the public. Nonartists can apply for residence as well, but developers primarily envision painters, actors, sculptors, dancers and musicians living as neighbors. They want a mix of artists and media -- creative types who can feed off of and inspire each other. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEW S01/710170357/1003/NEWS01 (Message edited by eric on October 21, 2007) | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 543 Registered: 08-2007 |
"Fame, I'm gonna live forever..." What criteria is used and who decides? I wholeheartedly want to see artists stay in the area and thrive, but this whole concept seems a bit elitist. Somehow, I don't think my string art will qualify. | ||
Steelworker Member Username: Steelworker Post Number: 1015 Registered: 02-2004 |
too bad i suck at anything artistic. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 4327 Registered: 10-2003 |
Elitist? I lived near this building for years, and it was basically a slumlord-owned crack mall. Large old apartment buildings, filled with studio apartments reflecting an era when young people were flocking to the city for jobs, are a tricky thing to rehab... Somehow, I doubt that the neighbors are nostalgic for the previous tenants. Kudos to Southwest Solutions for an innovative project that will bring new blood to the neighborhood and give the creative community some affordable housing solutions. | ||
Innovator Member Username: Innovator Post Number: 76 Registered: 07-2006 |
This project is one of many that Southwest Solutions is bringing on the SW Detroit market in the next few years, but it is specifically tailored for artists, with the gallery space in the first floor. Although artists might be given priority, anyone who qualifies for the affordable housing that SWS is developing should be able to get one. Plus the partnership with CAID will be bringing people in from outside the city. They are working on quite a few buildings. This one just happens to have a target market within the affordable-housing realm. Southwest Housing is anything but elitist -- their projects remain affordable housing for at least thirty years. In 30 years their projects will probably be the best affordable housing in the neighborhood - hell, they already are. I don't see how anyone can look at this project and see anything negative. For anyone who wants to look at the building, it's on the SE corner of Porter and Hubbard. It's quite a gem. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 544 Registered: 08-2007 |
For anyone who wants to look at the building, it's on the SE corner of Porter and Hubbard. It's quite a gem. I don't see it as a negative; I'm happy that an historic building has been rehabbed. I simply don't believe in housing by avocation; if more than 32 people apply, surely, some will be turned away. Who decides? Is it based on a quota (ratio of visual to performing arts)? Portfolio? Many out here complain of sub-standard city teachers. Where is the program to attract highly qualified teachers into the city? Beginning teachers don't make much, and a subsidized lovely historic residence may be a draw for them too. Yes, it may be a bright spot for the neighborhood, but how do other residents feel? The ones who are too poor to fix up their homes, yet others can swoop into a great new place simply because they're artists? This is what seems elitist to me. Let's not forget the thousands of city residents who would love to have someone rehab their buildings as well. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1525 Registered: 07-2004 |
I understand that CAID will be processing the artists' applications, and they have said they'll use the broadest possible meaning of "artist." | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 412 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: You can always create a website. | ||
Civilprotectionunit4346 Member Username: Civilprotectionunit4346 Post Number: 564 Registered: 06-2007 |
Art is Fart! | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1526 Registered: 07-2004 |
"Art is Fart!" Sadly, poetry counts too. | ||
Sknutson Member Username: Sknutson Post Number: 988 Registered: 03-2004 |
Seems like a wonderful idea to me, and a great thing for the neighborhood. I especially like the idea of the art gallery in the building - I assume that the residents will be able to show there work there, and it will be another reason for others to visit the area. quote: Oakman: I do not see where the building in question is "subsidized", its just low-priced. And I'm afraid that a residence tailored for teachers would be "housing by avocation" of which you disapprove. But I'd be all for it. (Message edited by sknutson on October 22, 2007) | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1841 Registered: 10-2006 |
"I don't see it as a negative; I'm happy that an historic building has been rehabbed. I simply don't believe in housing by avocation; if more than 32 people apply, surely, some will be turned away. Who decides? Is it based on a quota (ratio of visual to performing arts)? Portfolio?" Nope. Income level. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1527 Registered: 07-2004 |
It's subsidized. SWS is good at getting grants, subsidies, government funds, etc. That's why it's priced so low. | ||
Buddyinrichmond Member Username: Buddyinrichmond Post Number: 243 Registered: 02-2004 |
quote: Broadest possible meaning of artist would be "anyone". At least that is what the folks at the Office of Fair Housing suggest. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1529 Registered: 07-2004 |
How about a crackhead who paints a pipe tube with rock burns? | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 3205 Registered: 10-2003 |
"At least that is what the folks at the Office of Fair Housing suggest." There you go bringing "law" and "logic" into the conversation. Thanks a lot, Buddy. | ||
Dissolvedgirl3 Member Username: Dissolvedgirl3 Post Number: 9 Registered: 09-2007 |
Oakmangirl, I think I understand your point of view. However, whether you want to admit it or not, time and again studies have shown that where artists thrive, the neighborhood becomes more popular and monied people follow suit. We can look at SoHo and the meat market districts of New York and Wicker Park in Chicago for examples. This new growth and development rises out of the creative class. Now, I would also totally support the idea of subsidized housing for new teachers but if the developers want creative types, I support that whole heartedly. I think it's a smart investment in our artists and our city. Who knows? Five years down the line, maybe SWDetroit will be the next new and hip place to be, and will attract new young teachers? But will the artists already living there (outside of the subsidized building) be able to afford the rent still? Just a thought... | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 545 Registered: 08-2007 |
Oakman: I do not see where the building in question is "subsidized", its just low-priced. And I'm afraid that a residence tailored for teachers would be "housing by avocation" of which you disapprove. But I'd be all for it. Detroitnerd, thanks for the subsidization follow-up. Nice crackhead imagery; now if he could just add spoken word Kraftwerk to his repertoire, he'd be a shoe in. Sknutson, I did sound contradictory; however, I meant that since there's housing by avocation already in the works, why not expand it to attract other "desirable" city residents? I still believe strongly in mixed-income housing based on what one can afford. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1530 Registered: 07-2004 |
Dissolved: CAID's Timlin says he's looking into artists' co-ops, so artists won't get "gentrified out" of places they helped build. Anyway, I'm more curious to see what kind of artists are in the building: Good ones (relevant social issues, cool sensibilities, true innovation, quiet and steady work ethic) or bad ones: poets (who write badly and read EVERYthing with a trochaic foot), bad visual artists (just discovered action-painting, drink too much), art students (spend all their time phucking loudly), etc. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 414 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: Are you kidding? SW is already one of the few areas in Detroit to maintain it's population and sense of community through the years. Why put an artist colony there? Why not put it out near City Airport where the area needs revitalization? And I don't recall SOHO starting out as subsidized housing. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1531 Registered: 07-2004 |
Thanks, Oakmangirl. Shoe in? Is that Eggcornese? (You know I'm only teasing you ...) | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 546 Registered: 08-2007 |
We can look at SoHo and the meat market districts of New York and Wicker Park in Chicago for examples. Dissolvedgirl3, I agree to an extent, but artist enclaves usually happen organically; artists used to take over by squatting. I shudder to think we'd ever have a Soho type area; it's littered with tony boutique stores with locked doors and multi-millionaires in lofts. In fact, a former NYorker quoted in the article does not want to see the SW neighborhood gentrify. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 547 Registered: 08-2007 |
Shoe in? Is that Eggcornese? Watch it, Nerd! ;-) Actually that was an intentional one; "shoe in" makes more sense when seen as the next logical step to having "a foot in the door" or "a foot up your a**". I bet it's in the database. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1532 Registered: 07-2004 |
Well, you can be sure I'll never ask YOU to shoo me in! ;) | ||
Dissolvedgirl3 Member Username: Dissolvedgirl3 Post Number: 10 Registered: 09-2007 |
Dds, I never meant to say (and I didn't say) that SoHo started out with subsidized housing. I wanted to draw a comparison between the two places in the sense that there were/maybe will be a large number of artists living in the same geographical location. I am a fan of SWDetroit already; you don't need to tell me that. As for why they should or shoudn't be putting an artist colony there: don't ask me. I'm not an investor in the project. But as an artist myself, I would much rather live and create somewhere where there is a strong sense of community. You have to start somewhere. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 417 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: Exactly my point. Why start out in a thriving community? Comparing them is moot. Southwest is already established, whereas SoHo and Wicker Park needed help like many of the non-thriving areas of Detroit do today. The co-op in SW will be subsidized and the other two, as Oakmangirl pointed out, were organic. SW is already affordable to those that live there. If it's transformed into Detroit's new artist scene, where are those people who are, for the most part, productive residents of Detroit supposed to go when it's gentrified? I would much rather see investment in areas that need the help rather than in areas that are fully established and successful. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 550 Registered: 08-2007 |
Well, you can be sure I'll never ask YOU to shoo me in! ;) Make that a trochaic foot up your a**. Is the grammar war on? Check out the FB Eggcorn Group I created. Does anyone know history of squatting in Detroit? I'm pretty sure it went on in NYC through the 90's. Is it legal here? | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 4328 Registered: 10-2003 |
Why should Hubbard Farms be the place for this project? Besides being an active and vibrant community: Because our active community group got historic district status in the 90's, which means that there is financial incentive to rehab old apt buildings. Because this organization has already rehabbed a number of other buildings in the neighborhood, and it makes sense for their portfolio of properties to be in one area. Because they recognize that bringing young creatives to the area can have a positive effect. I'm a perfect example of that. I moved to the area 20 years ago when it was undiscovered and dirt cheap. (Even back then this building was a trouble spot, and the owners, while constantly "nudged" over the years to improve the building, were unwilling to make any improvements) Because I liked the area, I became an active member of the Community Group and eventually rehabbed two homes there... Finally to address "how the residents feel" (although I no longer reside there) There are grants available for those that are "too poor to fix up their own houses". I doubt that any of the neighborhood residents have a problem with a white elephant building like this being turned into clean, comfortable, well maintained housing that is available to other folks, but is being marketed to artists. After all, if anyone is turned away, this organization has about 5 other buildings within blocks... Of course, there are plenty of other areas where one can make investments. Why not show us how it's done and post about it here? | ||
Spitty Member Username: Spitty Post Number: 627 Registered: 07-2004 |
Why don't you word nerds and this guy get a room?! http://blog.oup.com/2007/10/co rpus-2 | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1533 Registered: 07-2004 |
Troch-a'-ic feet' are up' my ass' a-gain'... ;) | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 551 Registered: 08-2007 |
Oh, Spitty, if only you knew.... I actually read Zimmer's blog. Back to the thread: Barnes, I don't know how it's done; bringing in "young creatives" may work as part of an overall vision. What exactly is that vision? If rehab and neighborhood diversity is desired, why not mixed-income housing as part of a systemic plan to be inclusive of all backgrounds. Can't good artists find inspiration from just about anything? I find it silly that someone would want to ensure that they can "feed off of each other". How long does the subsidy last? Is it grant based? I hope it works out; it's a start, at least. What's the nature of the 5 other buildings? What do you suggest as to how it's done? | ||
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity Post Number: 948 Registered: 01-2005 |
Interesting idea, but not a new one. In the mid-80's I and a couple of friends wanted to start a "loft boom" in Detroit a la NYC's booming loft market. We looked at a lot of buildings. One we tried to buy was the Atlas Furniture Building on Gratiot across from the Market. It was (and is) a foreboding hulk of a building that looked/looks abandoned. However, it was 100% occupied by working artists. The then-owner rented each floor to an artist who then brought in others to whom he sub-let. Many artists used their spaces only as studio space but many lived and worked out of theirs. We got outbid by the owner of Rocky's Peanut store in Eastern Market, who built the first apartments in Eastern Market, above his store. They weren't lofts. They were apartments and started at around $1200 a month, high for the time. I believe he rented them all quickly despite no parking other than on-street. The guy was a pioneer. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 4329 Registered: 10-2003 |
Oakmangirl: The "vision" is, as I see it, (I am simply a former neighbor) attracting new residents to the neighborhood. In this case, creative types who may or may not have been priced out of other areas, i.e. the Cass Corridor. Geez, it's not like they are putting a sign above the door that says "only bohos with paintbrushes/sketchpads/notebo oks full of bad poetry need apply". The five or so other buildings are what you asked for: mixed income buildings for people of various backgrounds. All have units set aside for people with low incomes as well as mental and physical disabilities, as I understand it. More info is available on Southwest Solutions Website, I am sure. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 553 Registered: 08-2007 |
Geez, it's not like they are putting a sign above the door that says "only bohos with paintbrushes/sketchpads/notebo oks full of bad poetry need apply". I read the article that way; an art gallery is integral to the project. I don't even know if writers qualify. Perhaps, I misunderstood. By vision, I meant how does this fit into vision for all of Detroit? Thanks for the web lead; I'll take a look. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1539 Registered: 07-2004 |
Oakman: From what I hear, writers will be considered artists. I imagine performing artists (actors, singers, musicians, etc.) will also be considered. | ||
6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 546 Registered: 11-2006 |
Since when did everything have to fit in for a vision for Detroit, I don't think there is one, beyond making it a better place. This does that. SW is developed beyond many neighborhoods but even it still needs work let development happen where it happens and eventually it will spread. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 418 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: We've been hearing that "trickle-down" theory of development in Detroit for 20 years. Unfortunately, I fear development outside of the immediate downtown, with exceptions of SW and a few other areas, will have to wait even longer. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 554 Registered: 08-2007 |
6nois, If a city doesn't have a holistic outlook or plan, you end up with pocket developments, a few casinos, ruins, no mass transit, sprawl, etc. How does this hit or miss approach improve anything for the long term. I don't know urban planning as a profession, but I suspect that most major cities have a "vision". Here's a great example from Tokyo- just one page from an entire site dedicated to the long range plans for the city: http://www.toshiseibi.metro.to kyo.jp/plan/pe-020.htm I think we should all be asking why Detroit does not urban plan in this manner. |
