Concept illustration of the AC Arts & Cultural District: View looking up Mississippi Avenue
As an integral piece of the larger Atlantic City Revitalization Plan, the AC Arts & Cultural District seeks to create a center for arts and culture in the region as well as provide a community for area artists. It is envisioned to be a place that offers housing affordable to artists and their families, an array of retail storefronts, restaurants, studio space, exhibit space, and various forms of public art. The district will not just be a home for visual artists but musicians, writers, architects, and many other people with creative talent, who will live, work, create and learn here. New institutions and residents will be drawn to the urban core through incentives and opportunities, this will foster support for the existing institutions and bring new energy to the city. Please continue to check back with the CRDA for future development opportunities within the District. Businesses, Residents, Developers, and Artists are encouraged to contact the CRDA for more information on becoming involved with this collaborative community effort.
ArtSpace, the nation’s leading nonprofit developer of the arts, came to Atlantic City in September as a consultant for the CRDA with the task of performing a prefeasibility study that sought to determine if the artist community in Atlantic City is large enough to support an artist live and work project. The study included several focus group meetings involving area artists, civic leaders, business owners, and other key stakeholders in the community. The results of this study were significant. ArtSpace determined that the artist community was large enough to move forward with a full residential artist market survey in order to determine the ultimate size of the live and work project. The size of the project, if deemed financially feasible, will be based off demand expressed through the survey results. That is why it is imperative for all area artists to complete the following survey: http://www.njcrda.com/artistsurvey
Proposed District Boundaries
Proposed boundaries outlined in purple spheres
Proposed District Incentives
Resident Incentives
Forgivable mortgages up to 10% for owner occupied homes.
Artist Incentives
$50,000 in annual competitive grants awarded for public art projects within the District.
Existing Property Owners
Facade grants will match up to $20,000 per owner for mixed-use or commercial use buildings.
Business Recruitment
Qualified Business Relocation Expenses will be paid for up to $10,000
Tenant Improvement Allowances up to $25/ sq ft
Business Development
Training- Provided by the Small Business Development Center at Stockton College
Marketing- Provided by the ACCVA
Ecommerce Assistance- Provided by the Small Business Development Center at Stockton College
Real Estate Developers
Below Market Rate Financing offered to qualified new and rehab projects within the district.
No construction tax on materials for new construction projects in the district.
CDBG grant money is available to certain qualified projects.
Future Opportunities
There will be new retail space in the new mixed-use parking garage available approximately March 2012.
Proposed project concept in the AC Arts & Cultural District: View looking at Boardwalk Hall
AC Arts & Cultural District in the News
http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/CRDA-Funding-Study-for-Arts-District-in-Atlantic-City-112319119.html
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_2c9b5886-0d51-11e0-b5dc-001cc4c03286.html