Victoria Watcher posted topic 722 Johnson Street arts building

lpoutine,

Victoria Watcher has just posted a new topic entitled "722 Johnson Street arts building" in forum "Arts, Culture and Entertainment".

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Arts groups eye building on Johnson as part of 'arts district'The groups want to buy the $10.5 million five-storey building. The owners are offering to help make it happen In a city where arts space is steadily being lost to redevelopment and with a high square-footage cost anywhere near downtown, a group of Victoria arts organizations has banded together to buck the trend.
A group made up of X-Changes Gallery, the Victoria Arts Council, Vancouver Island School of Art, CineVic and Errant Art Space is in discussions with the owners of 722 Johnson St. to buy the newly renovated building and establish an arts hub they hope will provide affordable space.
The five-storey building has been listed for sale for $10.5 million.
Spokeswoman Heidi Bergstrom of X-Changes Gallery said they have been looking for this kind of situation for a few years, after concluding that by pooling their lease payments, they could cover a mortgage payment.
Together, the groups pay about $300,000 in rent annually.
They say B.C. arts-funding levels simply can't keep up with rising rents — between 2013 and 2023, commercial rents in the province surged by 270%, while operating funding from the B.C. Arts Council increased by only 25%.
The difficulty has been getting enough money together for a down payment and to qualify for financing, while continuing to pay rent.
But they may have found the right building owners in Ian Laing and Tim Quocksister to make that happen.
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