The Station North Arts and Entertainment District will welcome a $12 million artists' residence and gallery by the end of the year, furthering city officials' goal to make the area north of Mount Vernon a magnet for creative types.
A team of four developers and the Rouse Co. Foundation are leading the City Arts project, an 80,000-square-foot building with 69 rental units and eight townhomes that will go on sale.
The developers are currently looking for someone who can book performers and find artists to display their work on the walls, says Charlie Duff, president of Jubilee Baltimore Inc., one of the developers. The other developers are Homes for America Inc., TRF Development Partners-Baltimore and Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development. Southway Builders Inc. is the general contractor.
Duff envisions City Arts as a place that can help retain artists in Station Arts after they hit 25. The Station North area is chock full of "cheap grubby space" that appeals to the recent college graduate, but few spaces for folks in their late 20s, Duff says.
"Eventually, people want to settle down and go to bed earlier and they can't do it now in Station North," he adds. "We want this building to become part of the Station North scene as it evolves."
The neighborhood is home to long-time businesses Tapas Teatro and Everyman Theatre. In recent years, it has attracted new arts organizations, including Single Carrot Theatre and the Strand Theater Co.
The City Arts project at 440 E. Oliver Street was financed with the federal low-income housing tax credit. Rents will cost $625 for a one-bedroom apartment and $750 for a two-bedroom apartment.
Prices for the townhomes have not been set yet, Duff says.
Source: Charlie Duff, Jubilee Baltimore Inc.
Writer: Julekha Dash