“This framework that we wanted when we first started, when I worked at the city through Souly Austin, was to garner the political commitment – and that is the word I want to stress – the political commitment to nurturing destinations that bring economic, cultural, community, neighborhood value to Austin,” she said, adding that common enhancements for cultural districts would include sidewalk improvements, lighting, planters, street crossings, loans for facade enhancements and a variety of fee waivers for sidewalk activations. Nicole Klepadlo, who helped launch that program and is currently head of the Red River Cultural District, said the city has long needed a structure for cultural districts that will make it easier for community leaders to get a commitment from city hall on the financial, programmatic and regulatory tools needed to help districts grow and thrive. The framework will likely borrow many of the principles and tools that were part of the Souly Austin program that was created to promote the creation of small business districts around the city. … Of course, that comes down to budget decisions.” We do hope that eventually this could potentially spur more investment. “This finally gives us an organized toolbox to resource and connect our districts so they can potentially tap into city programs or projects that would amplify their messaging. “We’re kind of creating a working definition around that, which is microgeographic areas that contribute to the unique characteristics of Austin or contribute economic opportunity to create complete communities around the city of Austin,” he said, adding that the finished framework will let city staff and Council more easily evaluate potential districts.īeyond any incentives Council may eventually enact for creative or cultural spaces – akin to density bonuses awarded for affordable housing and other community benefits – Schmidt said the city likely will create cultural district overlays or similar considerations for designated areas to encourage or require a baseline amount of cultural space in new development projects. Matthew Schmidt, a program manager with EDD, said the city’s lack of a standardized process for creating cultural districts can make it a challenge for community and business leaders who want to protect and enhance distinct areas throughout the city. Those districts are the African American Cultural Heritage District, the Fifth Street Mexican American Heritage Corridor, the Red River Cultural District and the South Shore Cultural District. That framework would make it far easier for community members to petition the city to create a cultural district and would likely lead to a rapid increase from the four such districts already established. Meanwhile, staff in the Economic Development Department expect to present a framework to City Council this summer that could spell out the economic and cultural components of other districts around the city based on a high concentration of music and arts uses or other businesses that bring a distinct flavor to a small geographic area. What’s at play is the implementation of a change in land use policy that makes it easier to open music venues and creative spaces in all parts of the city, to the level of a sevenfold increase in the number of lots that could now hold a commercial live music space. Once enacted, the combination of economic incentives, infrastructure support and planning considerations could make it easier for cultural uses to cluster even as property values continue to grow throughout Austin. A pair of long-gestating city initiatives have entertainment and arts proponents eyeing the many new areas around the city that could become cultural districts in the next handful of years.
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