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Artist hub on schedule
Ventura project called a key for city's economy
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Video: The WAV project
A first glance at the WAV project, a mixed-use community for artists that is being built in Ventura.
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Photos by James Glover II / Star staff Ruff Co. employee Luis Alvarado works on the roof of the Working Artist Ventura housing project in downtown Ventura. The project gives affordable living and working space for artists and their families.
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More from Local NewsWith construction in full swing, tenants could move as early as September into a downtown Ventura development designed for artists and other creative businesses, as well as homeless families and young people leaving the foster care system.
"We feel confident the first people could move in as early as Sept. 1," said Chris Velasco, president of the nonprofit organization Projects Linking Arts, Community & Environment Inc., the project's Minnesota-based applicant.
City officials can hardly wait. With a handful of other housing developments in downtown delayed or on life support, they say the "Working Artists Ventura" project is the most important local economic linchpin in a decade.
Six stories high in some spots, the $58 million project will offer 54 affordable live-work units for artists and their families, 15 "supportive" apartments for people facing severe poverty and trying to end their homelessness, and 13 ocean-facing, market-rate condominiums.
A 99-seat theater-gallery, park, arts-related commercial space and small parking garage also will be included. Rooftop solar panels shaped in the form of a wave should harness enough energy to power the complex and add electricity to the regional grid.
The combination of the varied housing options in a certified "green building" makes it unlike "any housing project in the state or nation," said Velasco, who was in town this week to lead site tours as workers pounded nails around him. Velasco also wanted to reassure supporters that the project is financially viable, despite the gloomy economic times.
The project is being built atop an abandoned 3-acre site at Thompson Boulevard and South Ventura Avenue and is visible from Highway 101.
The development is certain to add new people, jobs and vitality to downtown, Councilman Ed Summers said. It is projected to eventually add more than $100 million to the local economy, from prevailing wage construction jobs to anticipated art shows and street-level coffee houses, cafes and jazz clubs.
"It's like a five-birds-with-one-stone kind of project," Summers said of the project designed by Santos Prescott Architects and CardeTen Architects.
The 54 artist units were designed with high ceilings and roll-up doors for the living and working needs of artists and their families and must remain affordable for at least 55 years.
Rents will adjust on a sliding scale, likely ranging from $390 to $1,000 a month.
Because of the affordability guarantee and units for the homeless, the project was able to capture an array of financing, including millions in government tax credits and loans. Of the roughly $58 million cost, about $42 million is for construction, officials said.
"So far, the checks are all clearing," said Velasco, who acknowledged some $35 million in financing from Washington Mutual had to be absorbed by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. after federal regulators seized the bank and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to J.P. Morgan.
Of the 13 market-rate condos to be sold, eight are spoken for, and interest has been steady in the others, Velasco said. The proceeds from the market units will help cover the overall costs. Other ongoing fundraising will continue, Velasco said, and supporters are working on sponsorship opportunities.
The project will provide housing and social services for low-income residents seeking an end to homelessness, said Rick Pearson, director of Project Understanding, a Ventura-based nonprofit group that will coordinate the services.
Velasco also is working with Casa Pacifica of Camarillo, a nonprofit group that helps abused or neglected children, so the project can provide housing and support for 18-year-olds moving out of foster care and Casa Pacifica.
Downtown officials are eager for the artist hub to open. Coupled with a planned expansion of the Museum of Ventura County, the project will strengthen the area as a cultural and tourist destination, said Sid White, the city's economic development manager.
With the slumping economy, it could be one of only a few projects actually built in the next two years, he said. "We need this," White said, "perhaps now more than ever."
Posted by lawson_wayne on December 4, 2008 at 5:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Slumping economy and people making stuff nobody buys explain exactly how this is going to help the economy to the tune of $100 million. Is the $100 million per year or over the next millennium?
Why not attract a small factory to that site? It would be walking distance for many unskilled workers and add more to our tax base this place is a money pit of housing subsides. Who will be foolish enough to buy the market rate units and watch how many friends the recovering homeless can cram into their efficiency apartments.
It is sad that our city government is so delusional that they see artists (I wish they would subsidize my hobbies it would be good for my soul) as the local economies linchpin, I thought I was reading The Onion at first.
Posted by Rob_Dawg on December 4, 2008 at 7:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Star reports:
"The project is being built atop an abandoned 3-acre site at Thompson Boulevard and South Ventura Avenue and is visible from Highway 101."
This is factually incorrect and requires retraction. The site was not abandoned, it was assembled using city money and city pressure and displaced ongoing private businesses in the process.
Posted by dse_kpa on December 4, 2008 at 8:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a wonderful concept, and I can't wait to see how everything pulls together. I think that this is a great thing for our community, especially on that end of town.
This is a very creative way of providing support for the arts and giving opportunities to the less fortunate. And the fact that it the building is built green is a plus.
Posted by katndog on December 4, 2008 at 8:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds interesting but...If you paid the premium $ for the ocean view do you want your neighbor to be a mentally ill homeless person? Or would you prefer an 18 yr old fresh out of foster care with little to no living skills, along with emotional problems so severe their family couldn't handle them, even with all the support that the city/county/state could offer, as your neighbor?
Perhaps it will become a Utopia for all the nation to watch and envy? Maybe the local artists will share their love and passion of art and share how it saved their lives and turned them around?
Maybe it will be a mecca for the misfits to join together and create, form lasting friendships, give back to their communities?
I hope the positive is possible.
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 4, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I Kinda like the idea
Posted by srcheek on December 4, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I like this idea in regards to people who need help. However, would also like to see our local working heroes who cannot afford to buy a home be given the opportunity to move here. That would be our nurses, police officers, fire department personnel, teachers, etc.
Posted by dairyclown on December 4, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Artist: Lazy good for nothing leech who does not want to work a real job. Our City Council needs the boot! Every last one of them.
Posted by dairyclown on December 4, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And the JUNK they call ART created in their delusional minds. A bunch of no talent losers sponging off of society.
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 4, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mr. clown,
art is in the eyes of the beholder....
havent you heard of modern art?
you can super glue a tin can onto a boot and it would be art...
just because u dont like them and what they do doesnt mean they are losers...
Posted by ego093 on December 4, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Actually, Simply Jay, superglue is not an approved art material under the ISTM 6300 standard. Acceptable adhesives for art under existing regulations include Gorilla Glue, Elmer's paste, and 3M spray-mount. Double-sided tape is also acceptable in certain applications.
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 4, 2008 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ego...
i cant tell if you are serious or not
lol
Posted by venturapagan on December 4, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A lot of artists ALSO work full-time regular jobs, are educated, and a lot of us, my fiance and I included, never do drugs; please don't generalize. We'd love to make a living at it, but it's difficult to say the least. If I were single and didn't have a buncha cats, I'd consider living there, but alas, I need a yard for my veggies and a cat run.
Posted by venturapagan on December 4, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
my concern is that they often tout low prices for these type places during construction, then triple the price when they go on sale. Case in point; the condos that were built on the old Mayfair theatre spot on Santa Clara St in downtown Ventura. Originally were advertised at $400k (!!), but ended up being offered at $899!! Looks like most are still vacant.....
Posted by vtadad on December 4, 2008 at 1:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The biggest problem for the city is that this project is 100% subsidized and is the only project being built in downtown. It is folly to think that the 13 penthouses will sell for $1MM period in this market (or any market) considering what they would be surrounded by 24 hours a day.
This project cannot succeed without the sale of those units and downtown cannot succeed without private, market rate developments.
There appears to be a total of 82 (54+15+13) units. Divide that by the $58MM price tag and you get an average unit cost of $707,317!!! Projects are being mothballed in downtown because they can't build them for under $300,000!! This will be a tremendously expensive homeless shelter for the next 5 years and more. This looks like it should have been built in Dubai where money is no object.
Posted by dairyclown on December 4, 2008 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The City Council is Corrupt and in the pocket of the developers.....
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 4, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i tink i will look into moving in over there
lol
Posted by srcheek on December 4, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The City Council and our Mayor work hard and take an awful lot of flak from people regardless of the issue or the topic. Bashing them seems to be a hobby for a lot of posters. If you don't like them, be sure to vote for someone else. I would like FACTUAL instances in which you can prove the "city council is corrupt and in the pocket of developers". Not opinions but actual FACTS that can be proven.
Posted by pkc4real on December 4, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How does one define "artist"? Who decided what the definition of "artist" was? How did we come to the mix of artist and homeless? I'd like to meet the grant writer or read the grant that secured federal dollars for this project. This just sounds bizarre. How is this going to infuse millions into the Vetura economy when we are catering to a segment that "needs assistance". By definition this part of society doesn't have discretionary income. There are so many holes in the logic here it's mind boggling.
Posted by caroldammit on December 4, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
pkc: go to the site & check it out. i think the idea is that artists, combined with people in need of purpose and direction, facilitated by those who care about both, will join forces to create a SuperCreativeCooperativeCommunity complete with it's own theater for concerts, art exhibitions, etc...& umm...if you can figure out how one would go about getting in there, lemme know! :o)
no, really...
Posted by vcmann on December 4, 2008 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The new tenants better like noise!
They have a highway at their front door, a LOUD train coming by blowing the whistle all day and night, the Races every Saturday, Concerts at the Fairgrounds and the Fair every summer.
With all that noise, the rent better be affordable!
Posted by MakingWaves on December 4, 2008 at 6:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The WAV is not 100 percent subsidized. Some funding came from federal low-income housing tax credits, which require state approval based on low-income housing criteria. A small loan from the city which will be paid back with interest, fundraising efforts, redevelopment agency monies and the sale of the market-rate units rounded out the financing.
This development is generating interest worldwide because of its vision and scope. It will be a huge cultural tourism draw and will generate tax revenue for the city from retail and art-related sales.
The broker handling the sale of the market-rate penthouse units has had incredible interest in the project and gets 2-3 calls every day about it.
I have no doubt that all of the market-rate units will be sold, even in this economy.
Posted by pkc4real on December 4, 2008 at 6:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
caroldammit-
Ah yes Utopia. A wonderful concept. The only element that ruins this wonderful idea...is man himself. We need to evolve much, much more as a race. I hope it works and only time will tell.
Posted by Rob_Dawg on December 4, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A full business day later and still no correction to the lie that the site had been abandoned. Shame on the Star. If the Star won't fact check why even bother publishing? Just link to the City web site.
Posted by vtadad on December 4, 2008 at 8 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MakingWaves -
Outside of fundraising, each of those mechanisms are a subsidy.
Subsidy - a direct pecuniary aid furnished by a government to a private industrial undertaking, a charity organization, or the like.
Even if the market units sell (which they won't) at $1MM each, the project then has "paid down" its costs to $45MM. If this were a market rate project, the carry on that at 6% would be $270,000 per month! Just a click less than the best projected case of gross rents at $50,000.
This is a public project period and that is okay. Just as long as people understand that it is a public project. The trouble I have is that the market rate projects that will actually bring the critical mass of housing and people to downtown sit mothballed while government subsidies continue to roll. How about those greedy developers now? The ones that are losing their land and investments? Any bailouts for them?
Posted by MakingWaves on December 4, 2008 at 9:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My point was that it is not 100 percent subsidized and certainly not by the City of Ventura, which you didn't make clear in your post. Eight of the 13 market-rate units are already spoken for and from the number of inquiries received I predict they will all eventually sell.
It's obviously not an environment for everyone. It is a development for those who are socially conscious, green and like to be near a hubbub of action. I know people who have bought there and are excited about it.
The federal grants allowed it to be built. I am grateful that any big project can grow and thrive right now, especially one as exciting as this one.
The Hansen Trust project on the East End also has a certain number of low-income units set aside, but there is currently no funding for them.
The state mandates that our city provide a certain number of low-income projects to its citizens.
Posted by For1776 on December 4, 2008 at 10:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And please explain why you would want to shoot down a revenue-generating project that will house people and bring tourists here? It will bring dollars into this community.
Ojai is a world-renowned tourist destination and it is in large part because of its arts community. Cultural tourism is a burgeoning market.
Posted by Justathought on December 6, 2008 at 7:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Apropos for someone who names himself "Dairyclown." Get the man a thigh bone and a hollow log to beat on. What is art to you, Mr. Clown, a monster truck rally? All nude dancing? A reality TV marathon? You know, there are some artists who would actually consider you a piece of cultural, living art. The ironic thing is that you wouldn't get it, at first scratching your head and then shouting expletives of frustration into the wind.
Actually, the whole idea sounds naive, unsound, and far too risky. The combination of elements are a blueprint for disarray and failure. I just can't stand the sound of a loud mouth running down artists. We would live in a darker and more sordid world without them.
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