Understanding why to preserve arts space in strong markets you have to BTMFBA: Minneapolis

BTMFBA = Buy the Mother F* Building Already

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There is a September column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Northrup King's success with artist community shows that capitalism works," where the author doesn't understand why a complex of artist-related buildings, the Northrup King complex of 10 buildings, which had once been home to an agricultural seed company, needs to be acquired by a nonprofit when they had been owned by a for profit entity for more than 20 years.

The market changed.

So while tenanting the buildings with artists paying low rents made sense where there was limited demand for the buildings, now that the area has been revitalized and is experiencing high demand, alternative more profitable alternatives would result in the artists being displaced.

It's not rocket science.

In weak markets you stoke demands with whatever you can get.  In a seller's market, instead you focus on maximizing rents.

It's basic economics.  And basic Jane Jacobs.

The columnist basically argues it'd be better to redevelop these properties in the hopes that the artists could be relocated to other industrial spaces that may exist, but are derelict and in need of some desperate demand.

According to this building profile in the Minnesota business publication, Finance & Commerce, the rent per s.f. in the buildings is $7-$8. From the article:

More than 200 artists have studios in the Northrup King as well as another 30 or so nonprofit organizations and businesses. The building’s website lists artists working in 19 different disciplines. The largest tenant, Furnish, is a used furniture store owned and operated by Project for Pride in Living. Other big tenants include BFG Supply Co., which supplies products to the greenhouse industry, and the Minneapolis Public Schools.

Northrup King also hosts showrooms for textile artist Kelly Marshall, Danish Teak Classic and ALSADU Inc., which sells antiquities. Northrup King has around 250,000 square feet available that can be configured in various sizes, Woodward said.

The halls of the Northrup King building are filled with artists, patrons and families exploring the artist studios made available during Art-A-Whirl in northeast Minneapolis. (Minnesota Public Radio Photo/William Lager)

Is it still an arts district without artists?  MinnPost has a different take, "There’s a lot of beer, boutiques and luxury apartments in Minneapolis’ ‘Arts District’ these days. How much longer will it have any artists?"

Buy the Mother F* Building already.  My BTMFBA pieces discuss the need for artists and artistic disciplines to take control of the real estate they work or live in to protect their interests--especially long term interests over multi-decade periods of time.

That they can't expect real estate interests or planners to do it for them.

-- "BTMFBA: the best way to ward off artist or retail displacement is to buy the building," 2016
-- "When BTMFBA isn't enough: keeping civic assets public through cy pres review," 2016
-- "BMFBTA revisited: nonprofits and facilities planning and acquisition," 2017
-- "BTMFBA: artists and Los Angeles," 2017
-- "BTMFBA Chronicles: Seattle coffee shop raises money to buy its building," 2018

Transformational Projects Action Planning Framework specifies the need for an implementation organization.  Various writings summarized in "Why can't the "Bilbao Effect" be reproduced? | Bilbao as an example of Transformational Projects Action Planning" (2017) led to what I now call the concept of "Transformational Projects Action Planning" which lays out six elements necessary for successful knock your socks off ("transformational") revitalization:

1. A commitment to the development and production of a broad, comprehensive, visionary, and detailed revitalization plan/s (Bilbao, Hamburg, Liverpool);
2. the creation of innovative and successful implementation organizations, with representatives from the public sector and private firms, to carry out the program. Typically, the organizations have some distance from the local government so that the plan and program aren't subject to the vicissitudes of changing political administrations, parties and representatives (Bilbao, Hamburg, Liverpool, Helsinki);
3. strong accountability mechanisms that ensure that the critical distance provided by semi-independent implementation organizations isn't taken advantage of in terms of deleterious actions (for example Dublin's Temple Bar Cultural Trust was amazingly successful but over time became somewhat disconnected from local government and spent money somewhat injudiciously, even though they generated their own revenues--this came to a head during the economic downturn and the organization was widely criticized; in response the City Council decided to fold the TBCT and incorporate it into the city government structure, which may have negative ramifications for continued program effectiveness as its revenues get siphoned off and political priorities of elected officials shift elsewhere);
4. funding to realize the plan, usually a combination of local, regional, state, and national sources, and in Europe, "structural adjustment" and other programmatic funding from the European Regional Development Fund and related programs is also available (Hamburg, as a city-state, has extra-normal access to funds beyond what may normally be available to the average city);
5. integrated branding and marketing programs to support the realization of the plan (Hamburg, Vienna, Liverpool, Bilbao, Dublin);
6. flexibility and a willingness to take advantage of serendipitous events and opportunities and integrate new projects into the overall planning and implementation framework (examples include Bilbao's "acquisition" of a branch of the Guggenheim Museum and the creation of a light rail system to complement its new subway system, Liverpool City Council's agreement with a developer to create the Liverpool One mixed use retail, office, and residential development in parallel to the regeneration plan and the hosting of the Capital of Culture program in 2008, and how multifaceted arts centers were developed in otherwise vacated properties rented out cheaply by their owners in Dublin, Helsinki, and Marseille).I

Two pieces about applying the TPAP approach to the arts:

-- "Downtown Edmonton cultural facilities development as an example of "Transformational Projects Action Planning"," 2018
-- "What would be a "Transformational Projects Action Plan" for DC's cultural ecosystem," 2019

Revising my arts and cultural planning writings to call for the creation of an arts-focused community development corporation as an implementation mechanism to buy, hold, and rehabilitate commercial and residential property for arts uses.  Thinking about "transformation", I've modified my recommendations concerning "arts, culture districts, and revitalization" planning to specifically call for an implementation mechanism of arts and culture focused community development corporation to buy, rehabilitate, construct, and hold arts-related property including housing.

-- "Arts, culture districts and revitalization," 2009
-- "Revisiting stories: cultural planning and the need for arts-based community development corporations as real estate operators," 2018

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