Arts spaces as tools for neighborhood improvement

Nothing new here. Just like storefront churches arise out of material conditions of low demand and low rent, so do arts uses, especially if there are big unabsorbable spaces. (By comparison to NYC, DC has very few large old buildings.)

See "The Lords of Dumbo Make Room for the Arts, at Least for the Moment" from the New York Times about low rent offers to arts organizations for space in the DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn.