Loading...
Nomination of Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown Funding Copyrig hted April 5, 2021 City of Dubuque Consent Items # 7. City Council Meeting ITEM TITLE: Nomination of Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown Funding Opportunity SUM MARY: City Manager recommending support for the nomination of the Voices Productions'Voices Studio project for the Lowe's 100 Hometown funding opportunity to be used for renovation of their recently purchased property at 1585 Central Avenue. SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File;Approve DISPOSITION: ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Nomination of Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown Funding Opportunity-MVM Memo City Manager Memo Memo to MVM re Voices Studios Nomination for Staff Memo Lowes' 100 Hometowns Funding Opportunity Nomination Narrative Draft Voices Studios Lowes 100 Supporting Documentation Hometowns Dubuque THE CITY OF � ui-Aseria cih DuB E , . � . , � II � Maste iece on tj2e Mississi i zoo�•zoiz•zois YP pp zoi�*zoi9 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Nomination of Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown Funding Opportunity DATE: March 31, 2021 Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Jenni Petersen-Brant recommends City Council support for the nomination of the Voices Productions' Voices Studio project for the Lowe's 100 Hometown funding opportunity to be used for renovation of their recently purchased property at 1585 Central Avenue. There is no budget impact associated with submitting the nomination of the Voices Productions' Voices Studios project for the Lowe's 100 Hometowns funding program. If funding is awarded, funds will go directly to and be managed by the Voices Productions organization. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. Y Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:jh Attachment cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Dubuque Economic Development Department TF-3E CITY OF � 50 West 13th Street All-AmericaCitf� Dubuque,lowa 52001-4864 D�..J L L I � Office(563)589-4393 I I TTY(563)690-6678 ,MASt�Yj7l2CE OYl th�.MISSISSZ�7�71 http://www.cityofdubuque.org zoo;�zmz•znia TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator SUBJECT: Nomination of Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown Funding Opportunity DATE: March 31, 2021 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this memo is to request support for nominating Voices Studios for Lowes' 100 Hometown funding opportunity by the City of Dubuque and to authorize Jenni Petersen-Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator, to submit said nomination as attached. BACKGROUND Voices Productions, one of Dubuque's established nonprofit arts and culture organizations, recently purchased property at 1585 Central Avenue, the former Diamond Vogel retail store location, to establish a permanent home for the organization. Economic Development staff and a variety of community partners are engaging in and enthusiastic about this development. It is an organic, grassroots opportunity to bring the community impact of Voices' previous pop-up arts and culture happenings that were key to the Historic Millwork District redevelopment to ongoing Central Avenue Corridor revitalization efforts. DISCUSSION Volunteers with the Voices organization have been engaging the Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator with news and updates on their vision and plans for 1585 Central on an ongoing basis since December 2020, including seeking advisement on availability of funding opportunities through the City or other sources. A primary concern for getting the project off the ground is the need for renovations to the building including significant ADA updates to ensure the space is accessible to all and safe for hosting regular public event programming. Voices' estimates phase 1 of renovations to take place within the next 8-months at $145,000; a 2nd phase of renovations is estimated at $75,000. The Lowe's Home Improvement corporation recently announced its `100 Hometowns' program, an initiative to complete 100 impact projects in 2021 as part of a $10 million nationwide commitment to give back to the communities that Lowe's serves. Voices' have been encouraged by the Store Manager, Mike Bryson, of local store #117 to submit a nomination for consideration. The press release provided by Voices Productions on March 9, 2021 stated: "Voices Productions, a Dubuque based not for profit art advocacy organization, has acquired a new headquarters and permanent home at 1585 Central Avenue. Formerly located in the Millwork District, Voices Productions has been without a physical address since 2015. The new location will be referred to as Voices Studios and has 10,000 square feet in which to explore its creative placemaking initiatives. Included in the Voices Studios complex will be two 1400 sq ft art galleries, an expansive artist's studio, a framing shop, a sculpture garden within an urban courtyard, and an art bar (think panache). Here, Voices will launch an artist in residency program and roll out a multidisciplinary schedule of visual and performing art shows, as well as curate an always evolving sculpture garden. This new location, blessed with a richness that comes from being in a diverse neighborhood, will provide a headquarters for Voices to pursue its interest in community activism, culture jamming, and art advocacy —while showcasing emerging and established artists from both near and far. It's been said that there's a gap in the cultural life of Dubuque. By acquiring an anchorage of their own on the Central Avenue corridor, Voices hopes to help bridge that gap by leaning in on issues of racial disparity and community engagement. With the leverage that comes from being in a permanent place, Voices will seek to express the central tenet of its charter, which calls for harnessing the power of art to transform and uplift an experience. Improvements are being made to the building, with a completion date yet unknown. Voices Studios, an organization bereft of money, seeks community support to help complete the necessary ADA upgrades. Sponsorship and naming rights to the art gallery and sculpture courtyard are under consideration." Seeing alignment with multiple City planning initiatives including strategies of the Arts & Culture Master Plan, the Equitable Poverty Prevention Plan, the Central Avenue Master Plan, and current City Council priorities, Staff is seeking authorization to submit the attached nomination, demonstrating and leveraging the City's support for Voices' efforts to strengthen their potential for funding. BUDGETIMPACTS There is no budget impact associated with submitting the nomination of Voices Productions' Voices Studios project for the Lowe's 100 Hometowns funding program. If funding is awarded, funds will go directly to and be managed by the Voices Productions organization. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff asks that the City Manager approve this request and recommend City Council to support the nomination by City for Voices Productions' Voices Studio project for the Lowe's 100 Hometowns funding opportunity. If approved, Staff will follow up by submitting the nomination through Lowe's online nomination portal. Cc: Jill Connors, Economic Development Director Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Teri Goodman, Director of Strategic Partnerships DRAFT NOMINATION BASED ON ONLINE NOMINATION PORTAL PROJECT NAME: Voices Studios by Voices Productions TYPE OF PROJECT: Area Revitalization (e.g., Small Business, Renovations/Repairs, Renovations to Downtown Areas), HOW ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT YOU'RE NOMINATING? Other CITY, STATE: Dubuque, IA WHY IS THE PROJECT YOU'RE NOMINATING IMPORTANT TO YOU? Voices Productions is a not-for-profit arts organization with a 15-year history of producing cutting-edge cultural content that reflects and brings together the people of Dubuque. Their mission embraces creative ways in which the arts are used as a community development tool, cultivating expansive dialogue while engaging diverse and often overlooked populations. Building on their proven track record of pop-up arts happenings and transforming downtown Dubuque with 40+ large scale building murals to date, Voices Productions recently acquired a property in the 8-block Central Avenue Corridor in Dubuque's diverse Washington Neighborhood. This area of town, once a thriving business district, was severely impacted by the economic downturn of the 1980's and has yet to fully recover. It is an ideal and exciting location for an organization like this to be establishing its permanent home. By weaving itself into the fabric of the Central Avenue community, I believe Voices Productions and the formation of Voices Studios is positioned to use the power of the arts and creative placemaking strategies to lean in on issues of race, economic disparity, and inclusivity while serving as an inspirational catalyst for the continued revitalization of the Central Avenue Corridor. The building itself needs significant upgrades to be ADA accessible with additional renovations to construct a space that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive to all in the community. Programming concepts for Voices Studio include working artists' studios, an artist-in-residence program, live perFormance venue, a community exhibition space, and a sculpture garden, offering ample opportunities to curate socially relevant endeavors in tandem with the community around it. TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHAT PROBLEM YOUR PROJECT WILL SOLVE AND WHO IT WILL SERVE: One of the older commercial districts in Dubuque, the Central Avenue Corridor, was at one time fairly self-sufficient providing most of the commercial services needed by residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, including retail, business and household services, banking and a fire station. Many of the buildings in this area are mixed-use, allowing for residential living on the upper floors. In recent years, the Central Avenue Corridor has struggled to overcome the impacts of deindustrialization and the economic crises of the 1980s, when Dubuque's economy spiraled downward. Many industries and businesses in Dubuque, including those along the Central Avenue Corridor, either relocated or closed shop permanently. Over the course of time, properties have fallen into disrepair and real estate values have dropped, businesses have struggled to regain a foothold, and current perceptions of this area of town unfortunately perpetuate negative attitudes and racial stereotypes toward the residents that call the Washington Neighborhood home. Since 2016, the Central Avenue Corridor has been a City's target area for economic redevelopment and improvement in the quality of life for residents along the corridor which abuts Dubuque's historic and ethnically diverse Washington Neighborhood, a focus of redevelopment since 2005. Significant financial and human capital resources have been directed at these revitalization efforts for the past decade and current conditions have created a prime environment for a more robust renaissance. The energy Voices Studio will bring to these efforts, in line with several City initiatives including our Arts & Culture Master Plan, our Equitable Poverty Prevention Plan, and City Council high priorities, has the potential to be a pivotal gamechanger. WHAT MAKES THE HOMETOWN YOU'RE NOMINATING SO SPECIAL? Dubuque is lowa's oldest city and is among the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River, founded on the lands of the Mesquakie Indians. Its history is one of partnership and resourcefulness, beginning with its first permanent settler, French-Canadian fur trader Julian Dubuque, whose close relationships with the Mesquakie become the foundation of the Dubuque we know today. In 1837, Dubuque became the first opportunity for miners to settle along the banks west of the Mississippi leading to its reputation as the "Key City"— the place in which the door to dreams of a better life were opened. Dubuque has also long been a historical and cultural center with its numerous historic sites, architectural historic districts, a revitalized main street, history and art museums, live theaters, a symphony, three private colleges, two seminaries, a Bible college, libraries, recreational and sports venues, beautiful parks, miles of hiking and biking trails, and the great Mississippi River. It is a community known for its strong resiliency, addressing community challenges through public / private partnerships to bounce back and be forward-thinking in the face of repeated flooding events, crippling economic downturns, polarizing social inequities, and widely publicized history of racial tensions. Recent recognitions include being named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, the Most Livable Small City, and an lowa Great Place, as well as having been named an All-America City. Dubuque, lowa is truly a "Masterpiece on the Mississippi." APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT? 1000+