Saint Anthony Park is notably the geographic center of the Twin Cities -- a historic mixture of industry, educational institutions and quaint residential neighborhoods. "Natives" all know this neighborhood as being rooted in the arts as well. However, this may be a well-kept secret to many outside the neighborhood. It has spawned several notable nonprofit arts organizations such as the Textile Center and the Northern Clay Center, now both in Minneapolis and been a home to other small and midsize arts organizations, most recently the Gremlin Theatre at 2400 W. University Avenue.
The Central Corridor light rail line, scheduled to begin operation in 2014, will cross the southern part of Saint Anthony Park on University Avenue and is already beginning to have an impact on the neighborhood. Although the current economic climate has subdued speculative development, future development is around the corner and will soon change the face of the neighborhood. Primarily for this reason, the Saint Anthony Park Community Council invited Artspace to help assess the current arts environment and make recommendations for ways to preserve sustainable, affordable space for individual artists and arts-related organizations and businesses.
With financial assistance from a CURA Neighborhood Partnership Initiative grant, the artists/creative businesses in the neighborhood, and Councilmember Russ Stark, the Saint Anthony Park Community Council invited Artspace to conduct a Prefeasibility Site Visit to begin the process of evaluating and making recommendations to secure space for the arts in the neighborhood. The visit took place January 26-27, 2009; Artspace was represented by Wendy Holmes, Vice President for Consulting and Resource Development, and Stacey Mickelson, Director of Government Relations. A follow-up driving tour of the neighborhood occurred on February 12, 2009, with Amy Sparks, Executive Director of the St. Anthony Park Community Council and artist and community member Catherine Reid Day.
