Open House on Housing Proposal for Low Income Artists

A new social housing project is taking aim at affordable space for artists, and they have their sights set on Mount Pleasant.

Under the Housing and Homelessness Strategy, the Culture Plan, the Mount Pleasant Community Plan, and the Mount Pleasant Community Plan Implementation, applicants are putting together a proposal to develop the first "low income" artist housing project in Vancouver in decades. This new building venture would allow artists space to live and work, while remaining part of a vibrant and growing neighbourhood.
 
Should construction be approved on the proposed new development, at Main and 2nd Avenue, it would include thirty units of studio, one, and two bedrooms apartments set aside for low income artists. In addition to the artist housing, the developer has agreed to commit to a plaza, plus 3500+ square foot of production space on the ground floor. Tenant artists would have not only a residential space, but access to work space on-site. 

Still in the early days of the planning and design of this development, draft designs are already available to give the public an idea of what this development will look like. This spring, an advisory group of artists will be formed to assist in further design development.

Should the proposal proceed, a nonprofit operator will be sub-leased to handle the operation of the space, plus artist selection. That operator will be required to meet a set of performance standards, established through consultation with the arts community's advice, on top of sample best practices.
 
A community open house will take place from 5-8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, at the Native Education Centre (285 East 5th Avenue). Members of the local neighbourhood and the arts community at large are encouraged to attend. 

For further information, and to view the draft designs mentioned above, click here to visit the project website.