Minneapolis Warehouse Artist Living/Working Space Project

摘要

The result of a year - long study conducted by the Minneapolis Arts Commission (Minnesota), this report is the first comprehensive examination of artist housing in converted buildings in the United States. The Warehouse Artist Living / Working Space Project examined buildings in the downtown Minneapolis warehouse district to determine how vacant and underutilized warehouse buildings could be converted to artist studio / living space, in compliance with zoning and building code requirements, and remain affordable for low - and moderate - income artists. Initially, 80 buildings in the district were surveyed and 5 were selected for detailed analysis in terms of condition and structure, history, and location. Case studies for each building contain proposals for the reuse of the buildings and descriptions of interior demolition, code compliance, energy improvements, and unit development. To obtain a general understanding of the nature of the improvements required and estimated costs, design drawings of the study buildings are included, as are specific improvements for conversion of other buildings to living / studio uses, price information, and code references. Although it is unlikely that affordable space can be created without major subsidy from a public or private source, a variety of financing approaches are identified and explained. Income tax incentives may be valuable in reducing development costs if the investors are in an upper tax bracket and desire to limit their tax liability. Also, real estate tax incentives, in the form of abatement or exemption, and government financing programs are possibilities. A detailed economic analysis of annual occupancy costs is provided. To ensure that artists will be able to exert long - term control over these spaces, the report examines certain legal considerations, such as a system of ongoing incentives to developers, standard ownership forms (e.g., fee simple), and collective forms of ownership (condominium or cooperative). Diagrams, footnotes, and tabular data are included, with supporting data appended.