Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts: An Artful Groundbreaking

On July 16, 2003, Seattle's historic Pioneer Square area was the festive location for a truly artful groundbreaking. The event was filled with live music, dance and theatre, and a community mural project in process. Artists and all guests participated in the giant 10' x 30' mural painting project, that will be cut up in pieces and sold to raise much needed funds for artist facilities at Tashiro Kaplan.

Cathryn Vandenbrink, of Artspace Projects, Inc., welcomed the crowd of approximately 200 guests, provided a brief history of the project, and then introduced Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Executive Ron Sims, and HUD Regional Director John Meyers. After brief comments by each, the program continued with the following speakers: Peter Berliner, representing the Allen Foundation for the Arts; Tom Lattimore, of Impact Capital; Jim Kelley, Executive Director of the Cultural Development Authority of King County; Su Job, Pioneer Square artist and gallery owner; Karen Miller, with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission; and Kelley Lindquist, president of Artspace Projects, Inc.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development partnered with the developer, Artspace Projects, Inc., and the Pioneer Square Community Association, as well as a significant number of state, local, and private funding sources, to make Tashiro Kaplan Artists Lofts a reality.

Under the provisions of Section 220 of the National Housing Act, HUD insured a mortgage note in the amount of $5,150,000; a significant portion of the overall $16 million price tag for Tashiro Kaplan.

Section 220 is HUD's Mortgage Insurance Program for Urban Renewal Areas. The program was a good fit for Tashiro Kaplan, because it allows a significantly larger amount of commercial space than many of HUD's other mortgage insurance programs.

Tashiro Kaplan will provide much needed housing for low income families, and for low income households with working artists who require work and studio space. Restricted rents for income eligible residents could be as much as 30% lower than market.

The scope of work includes nearly gutting the Kaplan Building, and adding three new floors. The six story building will house 15 garage parking spaces, 50 live/work lofts, and street level commercial space. It's interesting to note that the Kaplan Building was originally designed to support an additional five to eight stories that were never built.

HUD expects Tashiro Kaplan to be a catalyst in the neighborhood, spurring increased mixed use development, especially with affordable housing components, in and around Pioneer Square, and downtown Seattle.

June 2004 update