The Windgate Foundation has made a grant of $650,000 to Artspace, the nonprofit real estate developer, for the predevelopment stage of a live/work space for visual and performing artists. Artspace has been working with people in the arts community in Little Rock and North Little Rock to assess the needs and desires of working artists.
An additional gift for predevelopment has been made by John and Robyn Horn. Robyn Horn, a sculptor, is on the board of the Windgate Foundation.
The grant will support “site selection, project conception, architectural design, financial modeling and an application to obtain competitive Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and other sources of public/private funding and financing, and other activities that lead to the project’s construction,” an announcement from the foundation said.
The grant is being made now to help Artspace meet a 2021 deadline to submit a LIHTC application to the Arkansas Development and Finance Authority.
The Windgate Foundation is also providing $300,000 for a 12-month Artspace training program, “Immersion,” that helps nonprofits plan for space needs. Thirty members of Little Rock/North Little Rock arts groups will apply to take part in the program.
Artspace hopes to build live/work space in Bentonville near the new Momentary museum of contemporary art.