2010 Year in Review, Thanks, and Looking Forward
Election 2010 Congratulations to:
Our new Tenderloin District Supervisor: Jane Kim! We congratulate Ms. Kim and look forward to working with her in
the struggle for equitable development for the Tenderloin (see our editorial: "Election 2010").
Key
2010 Events and Celebrations
Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel looks at 100 Taylor Street
The Urban Land Institute, San Francisco and the Tenderloin Economic Development Project co-hosted a Technical Assistance
Panel that examined the 100 block of Taylor Street and offered insights for its revitalization. Among the conclusions:
It would be ideal to provide owners and developers - both for-profit and non-profit - with flexibility toward achieving affordability
through design. This may be accomplished through relaxing regulatory constraints and finding new financing mechanisms
to support the development of high-quality low and moderate, i.e. mixed-income, housing. As it now stands, low income
housing regulatory policies and financing models greatly limit what developers can do and often result in projects that are
not in the best interest of low-income residents or their immediate neighborhoods.
Arts Facilities and Economic
Development Symposium
On October 28th, 2010, a diverse group of arts practioners, administrators, developers,
educators, foundation and government officials gathered for the Arts Facilities and Economic Development Symposium at UN Plaza. The event provided an opportunity to hear from national leaders and innovators in the burgeoning
field of arts-based economic development.
Among the exemplary projects highlighted were: Fox Theatre/Oakland School
for the Arts; Roundabout, Theatre Row and Spaces at 520 in Manhattan; South Oxford Space and the BAM Cultural
District in Brooklyn; and East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, CA. Leading examples
of affordable housing developments for artists were also explored. These projects illustrated the powerful intersection
between the arts, education, economic development and urban revitalization.
The sessions also illustrated
the pivotal role played by the public sector in facilitating and underwriting the development of both individual projects
and the cultivation of a larger arts district. Each of the projects involved close collaborations between
sponsoring organizations, local and state government agencies, and private philanthropy.
Congratulations
to: EXIT Theatre; Luggage Store Gallery; Hospitality House CAP; and Boxcar Theatre
Congratulations to each of these wonderful Tenderloin organizations for their recent successes in facility
development projects. We look forward to adding American Conservatory Theater, the San Francisco Unified School
District, the Gaiety Project and other outstanding organizations to next year's list!
2010 Thanks to:
The Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Grants for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, the Urban Land Institute
Foundation, the Bay Area Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Northern California Community Loan Fund and the Rainin
Foundation for their support over the past year. I would also like to personally thank the members of my board
for their time, service and encouragement.
Priorities for 2011
- Continued
collaboration with American Conservatory Theater and Equity Community Builders toward developing a catalytic multidisciplinary art and education facility that will transform a long-distressed and
pivotal intersection in the Tenderloin.
- Continued exploration of an "Affordable by Design" mixed-use model
that could offer a revitalization solution for the distressed blocks at the intersection of Turk and Taylor streets.
- Pursuit
of equitable planning and development as a public health priority with a special emphasis on youth, a large and almost completely
overlooked population in the Tenderloin.
- Continued collaboration with the (growing!) Tenderloin Arts Advisory Group
and our friends south of Market like Intersection for the Arts to help shape a future for mid-Market reflective of the area's rich art and cultural ecosystem.
Here's
to economic development and housing policy makers and practitioners having a creative and productive New Year!
Cheers,
Elvin
Picture: a few faces from the Tenderloin Arts Advisory Group and friends that came out on a cold wintry night
for holiday cheer at the Luggage Store Gallery. We look forward to working together in 2011!
