Vacant downtown storefronts eyed for arts, music activations to reverse downturn

Seeking to bring more foot traffic to an area with an increasing number of vacant storefronts, the Downtown Austin Alliance is working to partner local artists and musicians with property owners interested in exposing their spaces to new potential businesses.

So far, two spaces have been named as participants in the Downtown Austin Space Activation program, which was announced last week at the Future of Downtown summit that included the release of the latest State of Downtown report. That analysis showed that building activity and occupancy levels have decreased in the past year because of a combination of high rates of office vacancy and high interest rates that have increased the cost of construction.

Jenell Moffett, chief impact officer for DAA, said the positive results of some short-term arts activations downtown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic showed that there was potential in a more long-term program that could bring events or residencies to public spaces and other open areas as well as open storefronts.

“We are looking to get as many different types of installations – short-term installations, really – to show the depth and breadth of all the different things you can do in these underutilized spaces,” she said. “In this pilot phase, we’re collecting data and we’re really trying to make the case that activation is what brings downtowns back.”

Moffett said the DAA currently has a strong list of potential spaces and interested activators that are being evaluated for potential matchups. Sponsorship partners are also being recruited to help cover some of the expected $1.5 million needed to prepare up to 10 spaces and compensate the artists or creative groups who move in to them.

A third partner space is expected to be announced ahead of a June 13 open house that will help to gauge the overall interest from creatives, property owners and potential sponsors.

In a sign of how long the program could potentially last as a solution to downtown occupancy issues, Moffett said the first cohort of activations will serve as a pilot program to gather data to show property owners how effective the pairing of creatives and downtown space can be.

“We are really trying to get as many people involved as possible in the short-term way, to basically reintroduce them to downtown and let them know here’s a place for you here. There’s a space for you here,” she said. “A lot of the activations that you’ll see are going to be event-based. They’re going to be civic organizations. They’re going to be several conversations, panel discussions, things of that nature. We’re going to have artists and creatives come in and share their art and their talent. Musicians pop up and do different features in that way. Then we’re thinking, once we get a lot of those metrics and we garner enough financial support to scale the program, then in the spring, our vision is certain.”

Local organizations that have already expressed interest include Diversity Ethnic Chamber Alliance and Future Front.

Moffett said the Downtown Austin Space Activation program will have a fairly open approach to how to activate participating spaces, with one potential model being six-week residencies for area visual artists ahead of a public exhibition.

“The biggest part of it is that we’re not overprescribing anything if there’s enough funding. Ultimately, the goal is that all these properties are activated and occupied, whether it’s by us or by the natural market conditions,” she said. “We want to make sure that we’re intervening when the market is taking a pause or in a dip or not performing the way it once was. We want to ensure that foot traffic stays heavy and downtown remains vital.”

Photo by Downtowngal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Posted In: Austin, District 9