« Respectfully Renovating Modernism | Art Institute Addition Opening Announced » |
News Sat Jul 19 2008
Affordable Live/Work Space for Artists
The City of Chicago plans to turn The Strand Hotel building, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, into affordable artist lofts and live/work spaces. The 36 spaces are priced at $208,888, with subsidies available of up to $53,000 per qualified buyer, reducing the price to as low as a cool $155,000. The City is chipping in the vacant building and an adjacent parcel for parking, and the whole project is being spearheaded by The Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of Housing. The project's backers say this will add some cultural vitality to the neighborhood and give artists an affordable place to practice their craft. You gotta submit an application, though, so your paint-by-numbers hobby may not get you in -- Candidates will be interviewed by a panel of arts and community representatives, and those who show "an active pursuit of the arts" will be given preference.
To find out more about getting a loft of one's own, interested artists can attend one of the upcoming community meetings: Sunday July 20, at 2:00 pm and Saturday July 26, at noon, at The Grand Ballroom; 6351 S. Cottage Grove Avenue (less than a block from The Strand). To RSVP, visit www.thestrandartistslofts.com or contact Noelia Vega at 773.784.7900 or noelia.vega@ameritech.net.