Item #3 Austin Texas Musicians - Downtown Creative Hub Proposal — original pdf

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DOWNTOWN CREATIVE HUB PROPOSAL BACKGROUND While Austin has long branded itself as the “Live Music Capital Of The World”, Austin Texas Musicians has learned from its base of 6000+ working Central Texas musicians that they, by and large, are less and less interested in playing downtown due to a variety of challenges, including: • Safety • Parking • Performance Pay Rates • Green Room Space BACKGROUND With less and less musicians performing in the downtown core, Austin’s vital tourism economy is in danger of collapse. Rather that keeping pace with rapid downtown growth, our cultural economy stands to disappear, leaving a downtown core that serves only new residents and businesses, while losing the vital tourism dollars that drive sustainability and future growth. Additionally, 2023 news reports show that downtown offices spaces are becoming increasingly vacant, underlining need for services that bring new revenue sources to downtown Austin. Musicians must be able to work downtown in a way that is safe and economically feasible. A THREE-TIERED SOLUTION Austin Texas Musicians nonprofit proposes the following three-tiered solution that will serve to bring music back to downtown austin: 1. Redevelop existing downtown spaces to serve as a “Green Room” Creative Hub 2. Create parking solutions in partnership with Travis County D.A. Garza and Judge Brown 3. Bolster existing “Gig Buddy” program with Council action and budget for Block-by-Block liability insurance and increased overnight staff BACKGROUND Austin’s former City Hall municipal building, located at 8th & Colorado, is currently being reviewed by Rally Austin as a potential Creative Hub. With 60,000 sq. ft. of space across three floors and a basement, Austin is now presented with a rare opportunity to support our Cultural Arts ecosystem. CREATIVE HUB • At 60,000 sq. ft., three stories and a full basement with garage and hydraulic load-in, the old City Hall building at 8th & Colorado holds immense potential as a Creative Hub for music, theater and dance. • ATXM toured the space in the summer of 2023 upon the invitation of Rally Austin. • We then polled group members to determine best uses of such a space for our music community: CREATIVE HUB: POTENTIAL USES • Overwhelmingly, group members pointed to need for a “Green Room” space of sorts… a safe place where they can go before and after downtown gigs to prep for performance, send booking emails, or work on marketing. • Arts nonprofit offices to centralize resources and create synergy across disciplines and needs • Lockout space for backline (gear storage) • Green screen room for music videos • Performance space for ticketed events • Public-facing entryway featuring South Austin Museum of Popular Culture display, etc. BACKGROUND While the Municipal building is a long-term project, a quicker solution may lie in the underutilized potential of Central Presbyterian Church, located at 8th and Brazos. At the invitation of Rally Austin, ATXM visited the site in november 2024 and determined that the campus, while takes up nearly an entire city block, holds potential solutions for a “Green Room” space, performance space in the sanctuary, and a possible affordable Co-Op housing solution. BUDGET: “GREEN ROOM” CREATIVE HUB AT CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN “GREEN ROOM” RENTAL:(PER DAY) $300 per night SECURITY (PER DAY) $200 per evening JANITORIAL (PER DAY) $250 per week PARKING: POTENTIAL USES • Two County-owned parking garages very close to the old City Hall Municipal building sit vacant from 6p-6a every day • Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has expressed desire to help • dedicate these garages to our needs Ideally, these garages would be free for musicians, venue staff, and other downtown service employees who work evening hours GIG BUDDY: POTENTIAL USES • Our “Gig Buddy” program, created in 2022 through partnership with Downtown Austin Alliance and Block-By-Block, offers free safe escort, cartage and setup for musicians performing in the downtown core. • Gig Buddy is currently on hold due to lack of liability insurance for Block-By-Block’s Downtown Ambassadors and need for increased overnight staff – seemingly simple issues to solve with our robust city budget. HOW IT WORKS 1. Musicians park at our newly-dedicated county garages and walk over to the Creative Hub “Green Room” or wait for shuttle 2. Block-By-Block shuttle service picks up from the hub and circulates musicians to and from venues 3. Creative Hub “Green Room”serves as a central community space for musicians and other artists, thereby bolstering a newly revitalized music & arts ecosystem in Austin’s downtown core A GROUNDBREAKING MASTER PLAN While this plan will cost time, money, collaboration and hard work by City staff, nonprofit and financial partners, successful implementation would be unprecedented and will offer the rest of the world a sterling example of why Austin continues to be the “Live Music Capital Of The World”. We welcome Commission, Council, City and County leaders, nonprofit and investment partners to help us bring this robust vision to life. Pat Buchta, ATXM Chief Executive Officer Pat@Austintexasmusicians.org Margaret Rogers, ATXM Program Manager Margaret@Austintexasmusicians.org