Experience

Arts + Community Change (now Arts & Democracy) convened a series of roundtable discussions in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Saint Paul over a two-year period to explore the needs and strengths of naturally occurring cultural districts in the U.S. CCB documented these discussions and developed recommendations in a 90-page report related to…

A 30-year-old artist enclave in downtown Saint Paul home to upwards of 400 artists and multiple live/work buildings, faced certain change. Construction of a new light rail line as well as re-activation of a long dormant regional railroad depot was underway. CCB worked with Cuningham Group, the citizens task force and neighborhood artists to develop…

This historic river town of 2,200 people enjoyed a 20+ year relationship with the nonprofit Festival Theatre that occupied the historic city-owned auditorium. CCB worked to align community vision for the future of the nearing-100-year-old structure and to prepare the community for the significant effort ahead to raise funds for its restoration. read more

As a growing downtown residential neighborhood long known for citizen activism and as a center of the LGBT community, Loring Park sought to become a more walkable and diverse area. Through a master planning process led by Peter Musty LLC, CCB brought a significant cultural dimension to the plan and integrated artists and creative activities…

A historic mixed industrial and residential area between Saint Paul and Minneapolis, St. Anthony Park was a hub of rail, auto and trucking transportation. Low-cost space served as workspace to several hundred artists and small creative enterprises, as well as numerous heavy industries. Light rail construction boded a shift in the decades-long balance of low-cost…

CCB was engaged as part of a team to help assess the concept of building a new theme-based residential and mixed-use community in central Florida focused around creativity. Convened at EPCOT for two days, the team explored the mix of uses, potential residents and opportunities for creative interactions with visitors.

A strategic economic development plan for Boyne City resulted from a partnership with Boyne City Main Street and a wide variety of civic and cultural groups. The community arrived at a plan to reinvent the area’s sense of collaboration and image. The plan drew together the talents of artists and craftspeople, with regional food producers…

CCB worked with the community of Calumet, engaging its remarkable arts and historic assets to revitalize a sense of a shared identity rooted in its industrial past. Development of a National Historic Park and an integrated economic development strategy pivoted on generating a renewed sense of unity and local pride – to tell the moving…

Dreezsen & Associates and CCB delivered a city-wide economic development plan to leverage cultural and others assets for downtown revitalization and economic development. The plan served to build new partnerships, expand the capacity of the city’s creative sector, promote a new identity, and enhance the area’s significant cultural assets.

Working with the Cities of Lansing and East Lansing, Michigan State University, and the State of Michigan, CCB facilitated a cultural economic development plan designed to create synergy between the assets of these two distinctive municipalities, this major research University, and state agency resources. Emphasizing a local culture of invention brought together the creative, scientific,…