Magnuson Park Artists

11/08/2007

Now that the elections are over, the Seattle City Council is deliberating the 2008 budget. Mayor Nickels has proposed a three and a half billion dollar spending package. It would fund everything from increased public safety to a special customer service phone number. Tucked into the Mayor's budget is money to build artists' studios at Magnuson Park. KUOW's Marcie Sillman reports.

HAMILTON: "Be very careful..."

ISABEL HAMILTON LEADS THE WAY UP A DARK STAIRWELL IN MAGNUSON PARK'S BUILDING THIRTY.

HAMILTON: "This is all cleanup, remediation for asbestos and lead..."

LOOKING AROUND AT THE PILES OF PLASTER AND DEBRIS ON THE MILDEWED BLUE CARPET, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY HAMILTON JOKES THAT SHE'S THE SLUMLORD OF MAGNUSON PARK. ACTUALLY, SHE'S IN CHARGE OF TENANT RELATIONS HERE. IN THE EIGHT YEARS SINCE THE U.S. NAVY TURNED ITS SANDPOINT AIR STATION OVER TO THE CITY, COMMUNITY GROUPS HAVE RENTED SPACE IN MANY OF THE OLD BUILDINGS. NOW, UNDER MAYOR NICKELS' PROPOSED BUDGET, BUILDING 30 WOULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO ARTIST'S STUDIOS. AND WHERE SOME PEOPLE SEE A SQUALID HOVEL, PHOTOGRAPHER TOM COLLICOTT SEES POSSIBILITY:

COLLICOTT: "Artists are used to moving into buildings near the end of their life span, like in Pioneer Square. I don't think any other is like this, the sense of security, you know the building won't be sold to a developer, it's a permanent part of the city."

COLLICOTT AND TWENTY OTHER ARTISTS HAVE BEEN IN TEMPORARY DIGS AT MAGNUSON PARK FOR THREE YEARS. THEY WOULD HAVE FIRST DIBS ON NEW, PERMANENT SPACE, IF THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES FUNDING FOR THE BUILDING 30 PROJECT. AND WITH 28 THOUSAND SQUARE FEET, BUILDING 30 HAS ROOM FOR MANY OTHER ARTISTS AND ARTS GROUPS. MICHAEL KILLOREN, DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE, SAYS THE PROJECT WOULD BE A BOON IN A CITY WHERE HIGH PRICES KEEP WORKSPACE OUT OF REACH FOR MANY ARTISTS:

KILLOREN: "If you look at the history of adaptive re–use in this community, going back to the Batthouse Buildings, when the Parks Department, rather than mothball, turned them into Madrona Dance Studio, Seattle Public Theater, Pratt Fine Arts…Seattle has a great track record of turning those public assets into buildings that continue to provide tremendous benefit to the community through arts and culture."

KILLOREN SAYS OTHER SEATTLE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WON'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE TO PAY FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE FORMER NAVY HEADQUARTERS. THE TWO POINT SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS COMES FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT BUDGET. CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT NICK LICATA SAYS THE ARTS COMMUNITY DESERVES TO SHARE IN SEATTLE'S CURRENT ECONOMIC GOOD TIMES:

LICATA: "It is a large amount of money, but in comparison to the much larger amounts that certainly have gone to transportation and even housing with the housing levy, and the other ongoing contributions that the city's made to them, they far overshadow what we've done for the arts. We're putting much more money in Magnuson Park for instance in sports facilities than we are for arts. So again, in the scheme of things, arts is taking a very minor role."

IF THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES THE PROJECT, DESIGN WORK FOR THIS RENOVATION WILL START NEXT YEAR. ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WOULD PROBABLY MOVE IN IN 2009. MICHAEL KILLOREN, HEAD OF THE OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE, HAS HIS FINGERS CROSSED:

KILLOREN: "The decision to make the investment to turn these into dedicated cultural space is a decision we'll look back, 30 years from now, the market will change, rents will escalate, but this building will still be dedicatd to artist studio space, arts and cultural space."

THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO PASS A BUDGET BEFORE THANKSGIVING.

I'M MARCIE SILLMAN, KUOW NEWS.

℗ Copyright 2007, KUOW News