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Artist Live-Work Districts Help Stimulate Economic Growth June 20, 2003 @ 8:30 PM on WVIZ Creativity and commerce. At first glance, they might seem completely unrelated. But Carnegie Mellon University professor Richard Florida says "Look closer." Florida contends that creative people drive economic growth. And on two recent visits to Cleveland, he urged city leaders to recognize the importance of creativity in economic development. Florida's ideas seem to have captured the imagination of civic leaders across the nation and here in Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland mayor Jane Campbell. In her State of the City address earlier this year, Campbell praised the contributions artists make to our local economy. She also said that arts districts are becoming centers for neighborhood and retail growth, pointing to success stories in Murray Hill and Tremont. If arts districts are indeed economic engines, how do we go about creating them in older, sometimes dilapidated neighborhoods? One way is by creating affordable spaces in which artists can live and work 
 Bill
GouldArtist/Architect I was learning how to paint a portrait and so I got a mirror, a big mirror and painted this picture, this oil picture and was concentrating on just the paint and the accurate description, I wasn’t worried about mood and I never knew how it would come out. Cynthia Barnes Artist Bill Gould proudly displays his self-portrait and his other paintings in his spacious home, a warehouse unit in the Superior-St. Clair neighborhood at 1400 East 30th Street. While not your typical abode, it’s fitting for Gould and his wife, Harriet, also an artist. Space under one roof is what they needed, and “space” they got. BG The economics is critical, for example, one time, I was in three spaces. I lived in Cleveland Heights in a house, I had a studio in ah near here in a big industrial building, and my offices was in a third building. CB Realizing he was not alone, Gould talked with city councilman Joe Cimperman, who represents Ward 13, the St. Clair-Superior district. Cimperman has organized two arts and cultural summits for the Cleveland City Council. And he’s a vocal advocate of using the arts to help transform communities. Joe Cimperman Ward 13, Cleveland City Council I only look to the neighborhood that i live in now in tremont and I know the hard work that was done with the Art Walk. And I see the comeback of that neighborhood and i know that but for art that neighborhood wouldn't be where it is. CB Cimperman championed a 2001 city ordinance that defined what live/work space is and encouraged its development by creating overlay districts that were formerly commercial or industrial. After talking with other artists about their challenges, Gould founded ArtSpace, a non-profit organization to help artists find affordable units. BG We get an average of a call a day from an artist looking for space, unfortunately, we can’t show them too many spaces because it’s just starting and unfortunately the concept of in, affordable space has to be, is very important because artists sad to say, can’t afford high rents. CB 
Ward 13 currently has about 15 live/work buildings for artists. Loftworks
and Hodge School are two others in the city. Since 1989, artists have
lived at Hodge School. This room that used to be a classroom is now
a live/work space for an artist. There are 37 studios in this building.
35 of them are occupied by artists.Rafala Green Artist/Sculptor,Hodge School resident Hodge, unlike many of the other buildings that I’ve lived in in downtown areas, warehouse districts, that kind of thing, where there were lots of other artists around, this one is in a residential community, so the challenge and the opportunity having an artists’ building in a neighborhood and artists’ energy in a residential community is unlimited. Charmaine Spencer Artist/Sculptor, Hodge School resident I needed the space, my stuff, my sculptor was getting too big to bring into my apartment and I like working big so, the space. CB The St. Clair-Superior Neighborhood Development Association owns and operates Hodge School. Located in a residential area, the school is more than just a place for artists to live. The owners say Hodge is a positive force for neighborhood revitalization.  Diane
SwanderExec. Director of St. Clair Superior Neighborhood Development Association Our commitment is to invest in the neighborhood, both through improvement of the landscape, the building, the school and to bring in the artists sort of to attract talent and interested artists in being a part of the community. CB As the artists become more involved in the community… the neighborhood becomes safer. But there’s another reason the St. Clair-Superior Development Association works hard to draw artists to the area: their creative activity makes the neighborhood more attractive to businesses. For instance, restaurant owner Bridget McGinty, a painter herself, plans to relocate to the East 30th street building and cater much of her business to artists. Bridget K. McGinty Tastebuds Owner We would really like to be able to put out the word that you can come to “Tastebuds” when we close on Fridays and eat for either a small donation or even for a piece of your work or you know, I think it would be a fun, fun, thing to get involved in. CB Live/work space is popular in many large cities across the country. While the concept is not new to Cleveland, the new focus is affordability. Recent reports show when artists move into a neighborhood, the quality of life and real estate increase. Cleveland State University Professor Robert Simons is studying that possibility here. Robert Simons CSU Professor Real Estate & Urban Planning What we’d like to do on a micro level on a neighborhood level is look to see if we can support that in any kind of cause of modeling, in other words cause and effect modeling here in Cleveland, where we can connect the artists and possibly live/work locations where they live, where they work and see if they are affecting the real estate property values in a given neighborhood. CB The study will be completed next summer. Meanwhile, local artists in these live/work spaces are doing more than creating art… they’re also creating positive change in their neighborhoods. Harriet Gould Artist It’s exciting. It’s like a return to the city, a lot of activity. For Making Change, I’m Cynthia Barnes Resources:
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