July 2nd, 2005

NORTHFIELD — They’re calling it serious space for serious artists. Whatever the tagline, a proposed development of an artists’ community on the west side of the Cannon River will radically impact Northfield’s arts community. On Thursday, developer John Mathern, ArtOrg Interim Director Dave Machacek, Ross Currier of the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, and Bardwell Smith of the Art Town Committee unveiled preliminary plans for a mixed-use development that will provide affordable housing for the area’s artists and studio space for them to work. The site is on the south side of Second Street and on the east side of Minnesota Highway 3. It’s part of the land that Mathern’s company, Mendota Homes, acquired for its Riverfront Redevelopment site. Until this proposal, “it was not defined as to how it should be used,” Mathern said. So far, the development proposes underground parking and three floors of residential rental housing at an affordable rate for working artists. But the part of the project which will draw the public in is the first floor which will include “equipment intensive studios” such as glass blowing, pottery and printmaking, Machacek said. The process and creation of the artists’ art will be open to the public through set hours during the day. “This is serious space for serious creative professionals,” Currier said. For the artists who would become residents of this development, their work “is their living and their passion,” Smith said. To have their work and the creation of their art open to the public, “would enhance the vitality of the downtown and further the economic interest of these artists,” Smith said. Although Northfield has a strong community of artists and venues at which they can show their work, studios are scattered around the city and, in some cases, are located in the Twin Cities. And although Northfielders have a strong connection with the arts, Currier sees this project as a chance for Northfield to become an arts town with a capital “A.” “I think this will get more recognition for Northfield,” Currier said. “… This kind of facility for working professionals … helps support them if you have an access to this sort of facility, your career is going to go forward.” As far as the NDDC’s involvement in the project, Smith said that when the organization was created its vision was to create “magnets” to draw people to the downtown. “Having artist studios is a very good magnet,” he said. “Art is something that can draw people to the downtown.” At 10,000 square feet, the proposed project is equivalent to the lower level of the old Northfield Middle School project that was under negotiations to be developed into a similar project by ArtSpace, Smith said. Currently, Carleton College is in negotiations with the Northfield School District to purchase the old Middle School and make that building into an arts center for the college. Although the partners in this development are hoping to generate a buzz, it will take them about a year to 18 months to work out some of the funding that will support the building. “The housing will be self-supporting,” Mathern said. “The critical element is use of the first floor. That’s why we’re all working to get … that first floor funded.” “To ensure economic viability over the long term, we need to take the time necessary to set it up to make if economically viable,” Currier said. Currier believes there is ample opportunity for other artists and arts organizations in the community to be involved in the project. “There’s 10,000 square feet. ArtOrg currently occupies 1,500 and would like to expand to 3,000 square feet. That’s still 7,000 square feet available,” he said. “(The Northfield Arts Guild) is an obvious possibility for helping to program some of that space. I think we would like to see the possibility of including some other segments of the art producing community. I think of younger people — maybe there’s an opportunity for the high school or the public school’s participation. An opportunity for the charter school ArtTech possibly sharing some programming,” he said. Representatives of the Arts Guild could not be reached for comment on Friday. In addition, Currier said he hopes that such a facility also will draw talent from the colleges. “That might be a way to bring the arts off the hills and down into the valley,” he said. Although this project is relatively new, there is already substantial buzz building in the community about it. “I think people are pretty excited,” Currier said. “I think there was a lot energy and a lot of people involved and motivated when the old Middle School was a possibility. “I think there still is, as one person put it, grief and mourning when that opportunity slipped away and I think folks are perhaps little bit cautious … their hearts have been broken once before so there’s probably a bit of ‘wait and see’ for other people,” he said. But as this project goes forward, Currier said he hopes those people will come forward again. “Let’s take some of the ideas from that previous vision and see how they can be applied to this site,” he said.

– Michelle Kubitz

Reprinted with permission from the Northfield News.