Preliminary survey results seem to have confirmed what many Berwynites already knew — Berwyn has a burgeoning arts scene and is anxious for more.

The survey reached out to more than 35,000 artists within a 50-mile radius of Berwyn. Just under 200 artists who responded to an online survey said they would be interested in living and/or working in Berwyn if Minneapolis-based Artspace were to help the city build a development of affordable live/work spaces for artists, according to Sara Bratcher, senior urban planner with the Berwyn Development Corp., which has been spearheading the effort to bring an Artspace development into the city.

The survey, which concluded in April, was the second phase of a months-long process to determine if Berwyn could sustain an Artspace development.

“Based on the survey, it seems that the raw numbers did come out favorably,” Bratcher said.

Artspace typically builds complexes with at least 25 residences that include studio spaces for artists. In order to consider building a development, Artspace requires an online survey and must see a three-to-one demand ratio for each possible unit.

Based on the preliminary results, 112 respondents were interested in moving into one of the affordable units, so Berwyn could support a medium-sized development with 37 live/work units.

The results also indicated a high demand for just studio space, and the preliminary report said a potential development could support 26 studios.

But while the numbers may be there to back it up, there is still a lot of work to do before the city learns whether a new artists community could be moving in among the bungalows. Artspace will present a final report on the survey’s results to the City Council by July 1. The report could determine there is sufficient interest in Berwyn for Artspace to build and manage a property. Or,

Artspace could recommend the city build the complex with Artspace acting as an advisor, rather than developer. The agency also could also recommend against any kind of development.

If Artspace determines there is sufficient demand, the city will need to find money for the project. Even with money in hand, the developments typically take two to four years to complete.

“The next step is the hardest and that’s the funding,” Skryd said.
Many of Artspace’s multi-million dollar developments are funded in large part through public/private partnerships.

“The Chicago Switching Station, they got a lot of their money from Chicago Community Trust,” 4th Ward Ald. Michele Skryd said. “So we’d have to go out and build some partnerships with people. That will be what we’ll do next.”

Artspace first visited Berwyn in August when representatives met with local officials and artists to tour the city’s main corridors in search of prospective places to build a development. An abundance of real estate, proximity to downtown Chicago and the willingness of local leaders to put in extra effort all stood out to Artspace. After the August visit, the group determined Berwyn had potential to become an arts mecca. They returned to the city in March to raise awareness about the online survey.

In order to be eligible, artists must be actively pursuing some sort of artistic endeavor. Because about 50 percent of Artspace developments are financed by federal low income tax credits, an artist’s household income cannot be greater than 60 percent of the county’s average median income. In Cook County, a qualifying household of four could earn no more than $71,600. The survey results also indicated nearly half of the respondents met these guidelines, which could help the development compete for competitive affordable housing grants.

“The preliminary results just kind of give us the base data but a lot of that will be a little more clear in the final report,” Bratcher said. “It will be analyzed a bit better and there will be more observations.”

Artspace resume
CREATED 1979
BACKGROUND The agency has since created more than 1,000 affordable living and studio spaces in 23 developments in 12 states.
OTHER LOCAL PROJECTS The opening of Garfield Park’s Switching Station Artist Lofts in 2004 marked Artspace’s first full-scale project in Illinois. Artspace now has projects in Waukegan and Elgin.