By the end of this month, Chandler will know if there?s private interest in turning an old downtown municipal maintenance building into an urban art complex.
The idea has received Valley-wide attention, and on July 20, a graphic-arts student from Surprise will present her vision for the project?s logo to the city Arts Commission.
The deadline for submitting ARTyard proposals is July 29, and the city has sent about 400 information packets to potential tenants since February.
No formal proposals have come in yet, but downtown redevelopment manager Teri Killgore said applicants usually file on the deadline day.
Meanwhile, students at Collins College in Phoenix, a private graphic-arts and design school, mounted a class competition to create an advertising campaign for the facility. Instructor Ingred Schultz said she asked her class to create an ARTyard identity and had students across the campus vote for the best package.
Brittany Dominy?s portfolio was their choice, and she will present it to the Chandler Arts Commission on July 20.
A 20-year-old freelance graphic designer from Surprise, Dominy said she hopes whoever develops the ARTyard will consider her work as the official logo.
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?I used orange because it?s a bolder color and you never see it that much. I wanted it to be really modern,? she said.
Although Chandler is a long drive from her home northwest of Phoenix, Dominy said she visited the warehouse and believes ?it needs a lot of work.?
However, she said the look of downtown Chandler along Arizona Avenue leading to the facility ?is really, really nice.?
The 32,620-square-foot building on nearly three acres is within walking distance of City Hall and downtown arts and entertainment venues.
It had been used for maintenance equipment and printing but is now outdated for municipal purposes. Most of the city?s equipment and staff moved out last year, Killgore said.
Demand for commercial real estate is weak, and it doesn?t make sense for Chandler to try to sell the property now, officials agreed.
The city would like to attract an architectural artist, monumental sculptor, glassblower or other large-scale fabricator who would encourage public participation and sublease space to a restaurateur, retailer or other commercial tenant that would appeal to a wider audience, according to the proposal request.
Chandler officials envision the site at 249 E. Chicago St. as an urban industrial-arts complex with a large anchor. The request for proposals calls for a single entity to manage and sublease the property. The city would retain 5,000 square feet of the space for municipal purposes and wants a long-term commitment from the tenant.
?The building was not functional for our purposes, but we thought maybe we could get a tenant in there that could generate sales tax and meet the council?s goal of creating an arts district,? Killgore said. ?Our hope is this works and there?s a market for it, that it creates a bigger and better destination in downtown.?
She said companies seeking space to build movie and theater sets have inquired, and the city sent the proposal information to national arts groups.
Although it?s an industrial-type building with heavy-duty utilities, Killgore said the yard?s downtown location, with heavy pedestrian traffic, makes it unsuitable for traditional industrial and warehouse uses.
Eric Faulhaber, the city?s visual-arts coordinator, said there are similar projects in other states, including the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, where a non-profit converted a vacant 1920s bakery into artists? spaces.
Killgore said other Arizona cities have created arts districts, but none has started with vacant municipal buildings.
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