pda to save arts + cultural spaces in seattle

photo by Joe Iano

Last month, Mayor Jenny Durkan signed the Cultural Space Agency Public Development Authority charter, the first to be launched by Seattle since 1982. It is the first to be proposed, ever, that is directly controlled by the community it will serve, aiming to create direct and literal community wealth.

A Public Development Authority (PDA) is a quasi-public mechanism allowed in the State of Washington to accomplish public goals. This ambitious idea will be a game-changer for the ability to maintain and add to the city’s cultural spaces. Margo Vansynghel, a reporter for Crosscut, reflects on how “the end goal is to make sure that cultural organizations can actually own the buildings and spaces they occupy as the ultimate protection against displacement.” Read the full article here.

The Cultural Space Agency PDA is one of the ideas to come from Framework’s collaboration with the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture. The multi-year, multi-pronged Staying Power Project set out to support space for arts and culture in a city where displacement has been exponential and communities of color have been disproportionately hurt. Starting with The CAP Report: 30 Ideas to Create, Activate and Preserve Space for Arts & Culture, local developers, arts organizations, designers and building officials helped break down why cultural spaces were not being included in new development and propose how barriers in creating art space could be removed. The follow-up study Structure for Stability explored the creation of an independent real estate entity that partners with community organizations to hold and preserve affordable arts and cultural space.

Staying Power received the Award of Merit for Research & Innovation at the 2020 AIA Seattle Honor Awards. See the awards page and project highlights here. Additionally, The CAP Report received this past year’s Sustainability Award from the APA/PAW Annual Excellence in Planning Awards (full list of winners here).

Congrats to @seaofficeofarts and the whole project team!

For additional coverage of the PDA announcement, check out articles from The Stranger and Seattle Times.