Lease vs. Own: Making Space for Art

• INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
• • How to Use This Guidebook
  • Lease vs. Own: Making Space for Art
  • Taking the Lead
  • Features of Artist Space Development
• GET TO WORK
• FORMING A TEAM
• ON LOCATION
• FINANCE

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Photo courtesy of Western Avenue Studios/BPV Lowell, LLC.

There are benefits to both leasing and developing an artist space, but to evaluate what could work best for you, consider the different scenarios that each can present.¹

Leasing Space

You can lease finished live- and/or work-space from a property owner. This is perhaps the most common method that you see advertised. As an artist, you can either lease a space independently, or as part of a group. If you choose the latter option, multiple tenant leases don’t require legal assistance. However, if you decide to formalize the group as a non-profit corporation; for-profit corporation; or as a leasehold co-operative, legal counsel would be necessary.²

You can lease raw space and then tailor it to your needs. The leasehold structure is the same as with a finished space, however you may want to pull in additional resources to help you negotiate the terms of your lease and to plan the space’s reconstruction. Sometimes external help can be sought from non-profit developers.³Or you may find assistance through local pro-bono consulting services (see Online Resources at the right), or through a local art council that can connect you to other space-related resources.

You can partner with an artist space developer to create a space that can be leased or purchased by fellow artists. Information on community development organizations who have developed artist space is available on the website of LINC grantee, ArtistLink. These community development organizations may provide useful models for an equitable process that not only considers the needs of the artists that would make use of the space, but also those of the surrounding community where the facility would be located.

Owning Artist Space

There are many reasons why someone may choose to purchase versus rent (and vice versa). If you have ever been pushed out of a building because the property was being sold or have been cheated by an absentee landlord, ownership may seem attractive. Or on a more positive note, you may be the lucky recipient of a property granted to you or your arts organization by the city or another agency. So, now what? In order to acquire, renovate, or sustain an artist space, you have a number of critical choices:

You can purchase a fully developed artist unit  

You can form a legal entity in order to acquire and/or develop the space yourself (you may decide to hire a real estate developer to deal with all the nuances). The artist units you create can serve the current membership of your newly formed legal entity, or they can be sold or rented to new members. If you are developing space, you will need to clarify:  

What is the development model? Under which title do you develop the space? As a non-profit corporation, a for-profit developer, a partnership, etc. See Section 3 Forming a Team for further details. 

What is the tenure form? How will the space be divided, owned and occupied?  Typical tenures include: owner occupancy, rental property, condominium and cooperative.  Cooperatives and rental properties owned by non-profit organizations are widely used tenure forms in artist space projects as they tend to work better in preserving long-term affordability for artists to sustain their occupancy.⁴

You can also partner with an established real estate developer who would acquire and develop the space, but it available to you for purchase once fully developed. Artists may consider purchasing the space as a collection of individuals (for example, structuring the space as condominiums); or as a group (for example, structuring the space as a co-operative). Arts organizations may follow this same process as well.

Further Reading

Morsch, Esq., Thomas. “Square Feet Chicago-Ownership Models.” Chicago Artists Resource.    Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.  Date of Access: Oct 30, 2009 www.chicagoartistsresource.org/music/node/8687

Morsch, Esq., Thomas, William Rattner, Esq., and David P. Resnick, Esq. “Square Feet Chicago-Commercial and Industrial Leases.” Chicago Artists Resource. Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.   Date of Access: Oct 30, 2009.   www.chicagoartistsresource.org/node/8667

Rattner, William, Esq.  “Square Feet Chicago-Residential Leases.” Chicago Artists Resource. Date. Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Date of Access: Oct 30, 2009. www.chicagoartistsresource.org/music/node/8666

Walker, Chris. Artist Space Development: Financing. Washington D.C.: Urban Institute, 2007.

Sources

Kartes, Cheryl. Creating Space: A Guide to Real Estate Development for Artists. New York: American Council for the Arts, 1993. 

Walker, Chris. Artist Space Development: Financing. Washington D.C.: Urban Institute, 2007.