Opinion: Arts cultivate business ventures, draw patrons downtown

These professions represent the creative class that is choosing to work and live in center city. They want a stimulating environment with plenty of options. Should I drive, bike or walk to work this morning? Do I go to a sidewalk café for lunch or change into sweats to jog on the greenway? How can I surround myself with peers at other firms or in other industries who challenge me to think in new ways?

The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s report, Creativity and the Economy, states, “The presence of cultural amenities (such as theaters, movies and art galleries) makes these areas more attractive to creative and well-educated people, who are exactly the type of employees that high-growth companies are interested in hiring. … Promotion of creative industries will allow Missouri to both increase employment through the arts and become more attractive to non-arts industries that are interested in re-locating in areas with low operation costs and high cultural amenities.”

Russ Holland, owner of a new business called Sugar Graphics on Park Central West, chose his location based on experience in Atlanta. “Downtown offers a greater sense of stimulation and diversity of exposure,” he said, noting that urban areas are often attractive in the early stages of redevelopment due to affordable lease rates. These businesses then become a magnet for other activities to invest in the area.

Another creative venture, the Roy D. Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center, will host its dedication ceremonies on May 30. Allen Kunkel, Missouri State University associate vice president of economic development, observed the location on Boonville Avenue is close to other university uses but also draws upon the creative energy of downtown. Its proximity to the arts, restaurants and greenway trails make it a very attractive site for nanotechnology and national defense scientists.

Here’s a glance at the growing number of center city creative businesses:

Architects 14

Design firms 10

Galleries 15

Studios 16

Theaters 6 (plus 14 screens under construction)

Business of art

Other creative activities attract people and dollars to downtown.

Jan Hyde, owner of the Hyde Art Gallery, remembers the infancy of the downtown arts scene and the determination it took art gallery owners to grow the First Friday Art Walk. What started as a quarterly and sometimes intermittent event has evolved into one of the main places to be seen each month, drawing more than 1,000 people.

“It’s given a cross-section of people an introduction to downtown, both old and young,” Hyde said. “It’s exciting to live in a community so interested in the arts.” The Art Walk has established center city as the fine arts district in Springfield and throughout southwest Missouri.

In addition to Art Walk, there are many community arts-themed events to draw patrons into center city and potentially entice them to relocate to the area. The month of May features several major activities such as ArtsFiesta!, Artsfest, the C-Street Jam and Paint Out (see chart for more details). With an estimated attendance of more than 30,000 for the four events combined, the financial impact to the center city economy will be significant.

A national nonprofit group, Americans for the Arts, conducted the Arts and Economic Prosperity study that calculated the average amount spent at arts events to be $22.87 per person, including admission, parking, food and souvenirs. Using that number, the economic impact on center city arts events is estimated to be $686,000 for the month of May alone. When other art-related events such as Cider Days and First Night are taken into account, the economic impact is estimated to be $1.14 million.

Make no mistake about it – whether it’s attracting new businesses or patrons, the arts mean business.

Center City Arts Events in May

First Friday May 4 Center City

Art Walk

ArtsFiesta! May 4 Founders Park

Artsfest May 5–6 Walnut Street

C-Street Jam May 12 Commercial Street

Paint Out May 19 Park Central Square

More information is at www.itsalldowntown.com and www.springfieldarts.org.

Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.