ARCH Announces Loans for Small Businesses, Artists, and Cultural Organizations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2014

Washington, DC– ARCH Development Corporation (ADC)is pleased to announce two new programs that will continue its work to create a home for small businesses, artists, arts and cultural organizations to fulfill its commitment to the revitalization and sustainable economic development of Historic Anacostia.

The Kresge Foundation Loan Fund for Artists, Art Organizations, and Hive Creative Industry Businesses will offer a total of seven different types of loans all designed to jumpstart artistic and entrepreneurial endeavors in Wards 7 and 8, and specifically Historic Anacostia.

Another project ADC is starting this spring is offering renovated Artist Studios for rent at 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE. This will bring five affordable commercial rental spaces, outfitted for any type of visual artist, to the core of Historic Anacostia. ADC will offer a meeting on both projects on March 12 at 6:30 pm at Honfleur Gallery. Please RSVP if planning to attend (email email hidden; JavaScript is required).

The Kresge Foundation Loan Fund for Artists, Art Organizations, and HIVE Creative Industry Businesses provides loans for two specific groups: artists and arts organizations in Wards 7 and 8, and creative entrepreneurs in Anacostia.

Artists who live in Ward 7 or 8, arts organizations whose primary offices are in Ward 7 or 8, and arts organizations based west of the Anacostia River but planning an exhibition or performance in Anacostia are eligible to apply for the following loans: Bridge Loan for Artists and Arts Organizations, Benefit Loan, Performance Loan, and Anacostia Location Loans. Terms and total monies available for each grant vary, Please refer to the application for full details (available on www.archdevelopment.org). There will be a $35 fee for all loan applications for businesses and $25 fee for individual artists. The deadlines are rolling and applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Creative entrepreneurs who already work out of The HIVE 2.0 or Anacostia Arts Center, in addition to businesses that wish to move their primary location to Anacostia, are available to apply for the following loans: Bridge Loans, Anacostia Location Loans, and Business Improvement Loans. Terms and the total monies available for each grant vary, please refer to the application for full details (available on www.archdevelopment.org). There will be a $50 fee for all loan applications. For businesses, the target area is defined as the area within the following boundaries: 1100 to 2000 blocks of Good Hope on the north; St. Elizabeth’s Hospital on the south; the Anacostia River on the west, and 20th Street SE on the East. This includes the Anacostia Historic District and the newly established Anacostia Business Improvement District. The deadlines are rolling and applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

The other new offering coming from ADC this spring will be the five artist studios for rent at 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Six-month and one-year commercial leases will be offered beginning April 1, 2014, and showings can be made starting March 15, 2014. The spaces range in size from 60 square feet to 180 square feet, and will be rented for between $175-350 per month.

The facility is designed for visual artists; each studio has built-in storage space and there is a shared slop sink. Utilities are included in the price of rent and tenants will have 24-hour access. The building is located less than a half a mile from Anacostia Metro Station (green line) and a mile and a half from Eastern Market Metro Station (orange and blue lines). It is also under a quarter mile from ADC’s other projects Anacostia Arts Center, Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions Gallery, and The HIVE 2.0. Inquiries regarding renting studio space may be made by emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required.

ARCH Development Corporation is grateful for the continued support of The Kresge Foundation, whose belief in our mission has made these unique programs possible.

Founded in 1991, ARCH Development Corporation (ADC) is, at its core, a small neighborhood-based organization with its entire focus on the economic regeneration of the Historic Community of Anacostia in Washington, DC, using arts, cultural and the creative economy. ADC believes that properly organized facilities and development programs designed to attract artists, performing arts groups, theater companies and small businesses can serve as the engine for neighborhood economic development. ADC projects include Honfleur Gallery, Vivid Solutions Gallery, Anacostia Arts Center, The Hive 2.0, and LUMEN8Anacostia.