Please join 221A for a public walkthrough of Howe Street Studios. As part of the Call for Artists to occupy the facility, this walkthrough will provide a chance to visit the studios, learn more about the facility, its operation, and amenities, ahead of the application due date.
Call For Artists
Application Due Date: September 15, 2019
Notification of Results: mid-October 2019
Sublease Start Date: November 1, 2019
Application Form: 1265 Howe Street Artist Studio Application Form
Floor Plan: 1265 Howe Street Floor Plan
See Also: Frequently Asked Questions
221A is seeking applicants from eligible Artists or Artist Collectives for the rental of up to sixteen (16) individual production studios located at 1265 Howe Street in Vancouver, Canada. 221A’s vision for the 1265 Howe Street Artist Studios is to support the re-emergence of material culture in Vancouver’s downtown core with a focus on artists and designers who have traditionally been disadvantaged from access to public resources. A five-person peer assessment committee of recognized artists and curators will assess applicants on the basis of economic need, material suitability, as well as the quality and contribution of the artistic work in the field.
The facility is a purpose-built 10,800 square foot building uniquely located within the downtown peninsula. The facility includes a large frontage, a kitchenette, four bathrooms, a large elevator, rear alley access loading bay, and security alarm system. Each studio includes large stainless steel sinks with sediment traps and a mechanical system that allows for fume-hood installation; two studios can accept kilns and two are sound-sealed for music/sound production.
Each artist studio is to be rented on three-year terms by way of commercial sublease agreements. Rental rates are currently estimated to be an average of $11.78/ft²/ann inclusive of common areas or $19.5/ft²/ann based on unit sizes alone ($1.63/ft²/mon). For example, a 216ft² unit is anticipated to be subleased at an average rental rate of $352 per month. This does not take into account the quality of the unit. For example, units with lower ceilings versus those with higher ceilings will result in some variation of rental rates. On an annual basis, all costs associated with the facility will be reconciled with total rents received. Any balance remaining will be debited or credited to subtenants accordingly. Further, the reconciliation will be used to inform the adjustment to rates for forthcoming rental schedules. All interested applicants should be aware that the units are for commercial use as per the BC Commercial Tenancy Act.
Applicants Facing Barriers
221A has set aside limited funding and staff support to assist applicants facing barriers that make a written application unfeasible. For more information on alternative methods for application please email hello@221a.ca and a staff member will be in touch.
Project Support
21A gratefully acknowledges the City of Vancouver for its long-term subsidization of the 1265 Howe Street Artist Studios. The facility is located at the base of a condominium tower in downtown Vancouver and was created as a Community Amenity Contribution (“CAC”): a negotiation process whereby developers receive increased density from Vancouver City Council in exchange for providing community assets. The project is the first where 221A has worked directly with the City of Vancouver long-term allocation of state subsidies—making the Society an active agent for both the delivering of community benefits and the concomitant critical examination of CAC’s as urban land tools that operate with the assumption that the benefits will offset the deleterious effects of land value speculation.
