Nashville Business Journal - by Eric Snyder
A new apartment development is aiming directly at the economic strength of a surprising bunch: artists.
The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency is set to begin construction next summer on the $5 million Ryman Lofts, a 60-unit affordable apartment development for artists in Rolling Mill Hill along Hermitage Avenue.
Starving may be the most-used adjective to describe artists, but arts districts in cities like Portland, Ore., Asheville, N.C., and Paducah, Ky., show they can also nurture thriving neighborhoods. In addition to bringing businesses in the vicinity, such districts can also help attract new residents across the city.
“It first starts with making housing affordable for artists,” said Jennifer Cole, executive director of the Metro Arts Commission.
Artists beget galleries and boutique store-studio combinations. More foot traffic leads to more opportunities for street-level retail like cafes, galleries and other craft-based businesses. Other creative businesses, like design firms, also are attracted to these areas.
“Anything that’s sort of interesting and is not ... a national brand but is kind of more local in its character,” said T.K. Davis, a professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s College of Architecture and Design and a board member of the Nashville Civic Design Center.
On this front, the area should see a boost from the efforts of The Mathews Co., which is handling leasing for the trolley barns, another MDHA project along Hermitage. Groups like the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and Emma have already announced plans to move to the redevelopment project, while others, like The Center for Nonprofit Management and Hands On Nashville, have signed letters of intent.
“The goal of any art district is to make it a destination — to make people want to come,” Cole said. Without affordable housing options, areas that gentrify around an artistic hub can price the actual artists out of the neighborhood, she said.
Phil Ryan, executive director of MDHA, said the lofts will primarily consist of one-bedroom units, with a few three-bedroom units for families. Although Ryan said he was unsure what rents may look like when residents begin to move in during the summer of 2012, he said prices for the one-bedroom units would be near $650 and three-bedroom units would run $750 to $900 if they were renting today.
Ryan said the concept stemmed from conversations between MDHA, the mayor’s office and the Nashville Music Council. The Ryman Lofts are being created with musicians in mind, but other artists would not be precluded, Ryan said.
Nashville-based architectural firm Smith Gee Studio is designing the lofts.
The lofts will “provide affordable housing for artists and include unconventional floor plans, large windows, hard surfaces and significant meeting spaces that are conducive to artistic endeavors,” according to MDHA’s website.
Having districts designed around artists can help reinforce a city’s brand of being a creative city. The Metro Arts Commission sought to expand awareness of its creative opportunities last month, when it released the results of a study evaluating the city’s Creative Vitality Index.
Nashville’s creative index — as judged by things like the number of jobs in creative industries, participation in local artistic activities and revenue of nonprofits — ranked fourth in the country, behind Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York.
Ryan said construction bids on the project should go out in the spring. Work is to begin this summer
A new apartment development is aiming directly at the economic strength of a surprising bunch: artists.
The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency is set to begin construction next summer on the $5 million Ryman Lofts, a 60-unit affordable apartment development for artists in Rolling Mill Hill along Hermitage Avenue.
Starving may be the most-used adjective to describe artists, but arts districts in cities like Portland, Ore., Asheville, N.C., and Paducah, Ky., show they can also nurture thriving neighborhoods. In addition to bringing businesses in the vicinity, such districts can also help attract new residents across the city.
“It first starts with making housing affordable for artists,” said Jennifer Cole, executive director of the Metro Arts Commission.
Artists beget galleries and boutique store-studio combinations. More foot traffic leads to more opportunities for street-level retail like cafes, galleries and other craft-based businesses. Other creative businesses, like design firms, also are attracted to these areas.
“Anything that’s sort of interesting and is not ... a national brand but is kind of more local in its character,” said T.K. Davis, a professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s College of Architecture and Design and a board member of the Nashville Civic Design Center.
On this front, the area should see a boost from the efforts of The Mathews Co., which is handling leasing for the trolley barns, another MDHA project along Hermitage. Groups like the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and Emma have already announced plans to move to the redevelopment project, while others, like The Center for Nonprofit Management and Hands On Nashville, have signed letters of intent.
“The goal of any art district is to make it a destination — to make people want to come,” Cole said. Without affordable housing options, areas that gentrify around an artistic hub can price the actual artists out of the neighborhood, she said.
Phil Ryan, executive director of MDHA, said the lofts will primarily consist of one-bedroom units, with a few three-bedroom units for families. Although Ryan said he was unsure what rents may look like when residents begin to move in during the summer of 2012, he said prices for the one-bedroom units would be near $650 and three-bedroom units would run $750 to $900 if they were renting today.
Ryan said the concept stemmed from conversations between MDHA, the mayor’s office and the Nashville Music Council. The Ryman Lofts are being created with musicians in mind, but other artists would not be precluded, Ryan said.
Nashville-based architectural firm Smith Gee Studio is designing the lofts.
The lofts will “provide affordable housing for artists and include unconventional floor plans, large windows, hard surfaces and significant meeting spaces that are conducive to artistic endeavors,” according to MDHA’s website.
Having districts designed around artists can help reinforce a city’s brand of being a creative city. The Metro Arts Commission sought to expand awareness of its creative opportunities last month, when it released the results of a study evaluating the city’s Creative Vitality Index.
Nashville’s creative index — as judged by things like the number of jobs in creative industries, participation in local artistic activities and revenue of nonprofits — ranked fourth in the country, behind Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York.
Ryan said construction bids on the project should go out in the spring. Work is to begin this summer
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