Lake Worth, Florida Proposes Live Work Zone

Source: Arts Wire CURRENT at Arts Wire

LAKE WORTH, FL -- On the periphery of an already revitalized downtown area, city officials are proposing an artists' district which would allow property owners to live and operate retail galleries out of the same structure, according to the SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL.

The Business Journal reports that the proposal is for a commercial-residential overlay for 20 square blocks of pioneer bungalows on the downtown periphery.

Since the mid 80's, with the help of state aid, traffic has been cut down and new street lights, brick crosswalks, widened sidewalks have been installed -- resulting in a pedestrian-friendly environment which has not only reduced the accident rate by 50 percent but also has increased business to Lake Worth's formerly decaying downtown center. "Antique dealers, which had been the town's life force before the improvements, began to thrive, setting off a domino effect of new businesses, including art galleries, sidewalk cafes and inns," the Business Journal writes.

Bruce Webber, owner of Bruce Webber Gallery and the Art Shop told the Business Journal that relatively inexpensive property -- $30,000 to $35,000 for a 25-foot street front lot -- would be ideal for the city's hundreds of artists. "When the rents are low, the artists come and ride it to the peak," Webber said. "But eventually, they get squeezed out. That's why you buy a little house here in the historical art district and fix it up. You have control. They can't raise the rents on you."

However, the Business Journal also reports that in Delray Beach, which in 1993 created the Old School Square Historic District, a similar mixed use zone, although the commercial-residential designation attracted all kinds of businesses, it only attracted a few artists.

Source:

Jodi Rodgers
"Lake Worth sees art as business hook"
SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL -- Broward Edition
http://www.amcity.com:80/southflorida/stories/1999/03/15/story3.html
March 15, 1999

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