Discussion of the ways in which the real estate and arts industries might collaborate to foster the development of creative communities.
At a meeting held at the New York Athletic Club, leaders from the city’s real estate and arts industries discussed the challenges of developing creative communities at this point of the pandemic and how new collaborations and initiatives may assist grow the city’s artists sector.
The topic of discussion at this event, which was made possible by Crain’s sponsorship, was novel approaches that residential and commercial real estate corporations might use to collaborate with arts and cultural organisations. According to the keynote speaker at the event, Karen Brooks Hopkins, who is also a senior consultant to the Onassis Foundation and was formerly the president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, this may be accomplished through building industry partnerships and being innovative with investment paths.
“The real estate market is drawn to areas with thriving artistic communities. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by cooperating with one another as experts, but this has not always been the case “— I quote her. The question that needs to be answered is how the two of us, who play important roles in New York City’s prosperity, may find one other and live happy lives together.
Hopkins suggested that one approach to achieving this goal would be to compile a city directory listing all of the development sites that are now available as a result of requests for proposals that take into account arts cooperation opportunities. Hopkins urged real estate developers to serve on the boards of arts and cultural organisations and collaborate with these groups to initiate new programmes. One example of such a programme is the purchase of memberships in bulk at a discounted rate and the subsequent gifting of these memberships to tenants who have purchased or rented an apartment.
Breaking down
Fred P. Gabriel, Publisher and Executive Editor of Crain’s, moderated a panel discussion with Laurie Cumbo, Commissioner of the City Department of Cultural Affairs; Randi Berry, Executive Director of IndieSpace; Laura Callanan, Founding Partner of Upstart Co-Lab; and Brian Murray, CEO of Shift Capital; the topic of the discussion was identifying new opportunities for the arts and real estate.
Cumbo referred to the idea of a partnership between the arts and real estate as “the big scary wolf,” and he stated that both industries and city authorities needed to do more to “break down those silos” in order to drive increased collaboration and investment.
Cumbo said that one way to alleviate some of those concerns is for developers to provide arts and cultural organisations with longer-term leases at more affordable rents. This would ensure that partnerships formed through development projects would not be considered a “one-time infusion” that would eventually be lost by the community.
“It’s vital that we embed these particular benefits to the community for the long term,” Cumbo said. “It’s critical that we embed these particular benefits to the community.”
According to Murray of Shift Capital, in order to encourage increased investment in the arts, it is essential that the real estate community address the issue of gentrification, which he referred to as the “elephant in the room.”
“As developers, if we’re not embracing the creative economy and the diversity that surrounds that because we’re frightened to have a dialogue about gentrification, then we’re not going to get there,” he added. “We’re not going to get there because we’re going to get there.”
According to Berry, who works with IndieSpace, it is essential for developers to work together with regional arts and culture organisations rather than bringing in new partners who are unknown to the communities they serve.
Projects that are sustainable.
Another debate, which was led by Natalie Sachmechi, a real estate writer for Crain’s, examined projects that are meant to be sustainable not only for the community in which they are located but also for the local arts groups that they collaborate with. On the panel were Sade Lythcott, Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Theater, Josue Sanchez, Senior Director of Development at L+M Development Partners, and Rocky Bucano, President and Executive Director of the Universal Hip Hop Museum.
For example, the home of the National Black Theater, which is located at 2033 Fifth Avenue, will be redeveloped into a new 21-story building through a partnership with a development team that includes L+M. This building will include more than 200 residential units, retail space, and an improved performance venue.
The local arts community will receive support from the project through the implementation of a brand-new pilot scheme that will allocate a percentage of the residential units at the project to rents that are significantly subsidised.
“These buildings go up, costs go up, and artists get pushed out,” Lythcott of the National Black Theater said, “and all of that labour is constructed on our backs.” As a result, “we want to ensure that we can continue the creative economy that we have been supporting in Harlem for the past 50 years,”
