Long known as a walkable trendy downtown area with emphasis on the creative works of a large variety of artists, now planning for a February 2011 opening, the 5500 sq ft Arts Garage is being built on the grounds of the Old School Square 531-space parking garage at 180 NE 1st Street. An artists community already long exists in Delray Beach, e.g. musicians who perform along Pineapple Grove Way, marketing and public relations computer savvy students who help the artists, actors who are performing in local productions and painters who work on their canvases.
In 2006, the Creative City Collaborative resulted from a $50,000 study detailing the importance of the arts as an economic engine and agent of revitalization, and is just awakening from dormancy. It is a nonprofit organization whose executive director and staff and the finishing of the interior space are funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency. Live and musical performances, foreign and documentary films, classes and workshops are being planned. There will be musical theatre classes for children. A schedule of events and classes will be announced soon.
The Collaborative was created by the City Commission to foster the arts, and will occupy this city-owned building. Bays will be created for workshops, exhibit space and a performing arts stage. It is being planned as an “open place with open doors.” This will be a pilot project for a warehouse owned by CRA on NE 3rd Street which the Collaborative plans to turn into an arts incubator.
