Where Creativity Meets Affordability: Artspace Unveils Affordable Housing Project for Tampa Artists
The U.S. has seen a significant shift in artist housing in recent years. Artists seek affordable alternatives as living costs rise in major cities like Tampa and Miami, driving a surge in artist housing projects in U.S. cities to provide cost-effective living and working spaces.
Tampa, known for its burgeoning art scene and cultural diversity, is home to many artists integral to its creative fabric. However, the rising cost of living and high demand for real estate pose significant challenges for artists, particularly those just beginning their careers.
The Tampa Arts Alliance, recognizing the need for affordable housing for artists, has embarked on an ambitious project named Artspace Tampa. This initiative aims to deliver a sustainable solution to local artists’ housing predicament. The project envisions a four-story, 23,000-square-foot building at 1610 East Third Avenue, generously donated by a local developer. It will house approximately 75 live-work units and 2,500 square feet of gallery and amenities space. This upcoming housing project will foster creativity by providing a connection point between artists within the Ybor City arts community. It will also provide space for artists to collaborate within the building.
The project, which is estimated to cost $27 million, will be funded through tax credits and philanthropic donations. The Tampa Arts Alliance is raising $600,000 to propel the project forward. Construction is set to begin in 2025.
The Tampa Arts Alliance outlined how this project will contribute to the city’s overall cultural landscape in a statement to Tampa Bay Living Magazine: “Tampa is becoming known as a city of arts. There is an increased awareness and support of the arts as a central component of our quality of life and the economic vitality of the region. The Artspace building will continue to add to that momentum by allowing artists to live and work in the bustling activity of the urban core. In addition, the non-commercial resident gallery space will create another venue for artists to showcase, perform, and display their work.”
Credits: The Tampa Arts Alliance and Artspace Projects
Artspace Projects, which builds, owns and operates affordable workspaces for artists and creative businesses across the U.S., will lead the project. Its Artist Selection Committee will interview applicants with a focus on their commitment to their specific art discipline, how living within the building will advance their work, how they intend to be good neighbors and how they intend to participate in community events and activities. Artists will not be evaluated on the quality of their work. The committee will vet artists’ preferences to ensure compliance with federal, state and local fair housing laws.
To date, Artspace Projects has completed 56 arts facilities in the U.S.
Reducing financial burden for emerging artists
As Tampa rents continue to increase, affordable housing for artists remains sparse, making these housing projects necessary for them as they provide a conducive environment to create and innovate without excessive living costs. But these spaces don’t come without challenges. Often, financing these projects requires federal, state, local and private funding. Furthermore, preserving buildings’ historical character while ensuring quality and amenities can be a delicate balancing act. Despite these challenges, affordable housing for artists is gaining momentum in the Tampa Bay region.
Organizations like Artspace Projects, The Ford Foundation and Partners for Livable Communities are sponsoring artist housing and urban revitalization projects in cities like Tampa. These initiatives aim to develop livable communities by providing affordable and permanent supportive housing in undersupplied markets.
Live-work projects have also gained popularity in urban areas like Tampa, where there is a growing demand for flexible and convenient workspaces coupled with a desire for a balanced and integrated lifestyle. By offering a place to live, work and create within the same development, live-work projects can support entrepreneurship, creative industries like art and small businesses. In addition, they aim to enhance the city’s vitality.
Advancing emerging artists’ careers while increasing community engagement
Artspace Projects shared their plans for engagement with the local artist community in Tampa and the Ybor City neighborhood in a statement to Tampa Bay Living Magazine: “Engagement will be an ongoing process throughout the multi-year pre-development timeline. Working with Tampa Arts Alliance, Artspace will engage the community through information sessions, informal gatherings, and participation in community arts events.”
According to Tampa artists, affordable housing like Artspace Tampa is about reducing costs for artists so they can provide cultural value through their work. In turn, this improves access to Tampa’s artistic community for visitors and residents alike, showcasing the city as an artistic hub in the U.S.
“Art makes Tampa a better place for all of us to live - more beautiful, more entertaining, more thought-provoking, more compassionate, more diverse,” said Jessica Todd, a Tampa artist and owner of Jessica Todd Studio, in a statement to Tampa Bay Living Magazine. “But it can be challenging to earn a lot of money working in the arts because the primary goal of the arts is cultural value, rather than monetary profit. So, that can make it really challenging for artists to live in the very cities they have breathed life into. That is certainly the case with the rapidly rising cost of living in Tampa. Affordable housing allows the artists to live in and enjoy the cities they bring value to, and allows everyone living in those cities greater access to the arts.”
Other artists are advocates of developments like Artspace Tampa to help emerging artists thrive in their careers and for building structure within the art community.
“If you’ve taken a bit of the financial burden off artists, then they have more energy and time to put into their art to create their own income streams, selling their art, or creating and having events where they come together to sell, even get bands to come, then the community of artists generates itself,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, a Tampa artist and owner of Elizabeth Mitchell Studio, in an interview with Tampa Bay Living Magazine. “This is wonderful for Tampa, and I’m happy that people are investing in it because once you help others along, you make the structure for them.”
To that end, support systems and resources will be available to help artists showcase their work and connect with potential buyers. According to Artspace Projects, the planned affordable housing facility will provide non-commercial residents with gallery space, giving artists who live in the building opportunities to showcase their work.
“I think the Artspace building will shift the landscape of Tampa via a ripple effect of a larger and stronger art community out into the city,” said Jessica. “I think even more arts spaces will crop up around the building and the city, and Tampa can become ‘known’ as being an arts destination like Austin or Asheville or Santa Fe. It could change everything for our city.”