Developer Sought for 1st Live-In Art Gallery

Hoping to capitalize on what they say is the growing success of the loose-knit Artists Village, city officials have voted to seek a developer for the first live-in work space of its type downtown.

More than 50 artists already lease work space in privately owned local buildings such as the Santora Arts Complex, Empire Market and Hervey-Finley, according to a city staff report.

“We feel pretty confident that people will feel comfortable living there,” said Susan Jones-Helper, the downtown project’s manager.

Cal State Fullerton art students and their professors are scheduled to live and work in the nearby city-owned Grand Central Building once renovations are completed in 1997.

But the proposed development at 3rd and Sycamore streets would be the city’s first live-work space for professional artists.

The 45,000-square-foot parcel, owned by the city, is now a parking lot.

The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, voted 5 to 2 Monday to solicit developers this week and set a July 9 deadline for responses.

Councilmen Ted R. Moreno and Tony Espinoza voted against the plan. Moreno, a frequent Artists Village critic, said that the city could end up spending $1 million to lure a developer to the area if, for example, it were to donate the parcel, valued at about $750,000.

“When something is market-driven, we don’t need to provide freebies,” Moreno said.

Building plans for the live-work space have not been finalized. One possibility, officials said, is to build a dozen housing units above an art gallery.