Bell Jr. High school reopens as artist and family housing
30th April 2018 · 0 Comments
By Kelly Parker
Contributing Writer
‘‘If these walls could talk,” joked Artspace local project manager Joe Butler, as he addressed the crowd of Treme neighbors and culture bearers, along with philanthropic, financial and community partners at the new Bell Artspace Campus.
On April 19, under a beautiful sky and amid a warm spring breeze, crowds gathered to get a firsthand look at the refurbished walls of now 79 units of affordable housing and work space for artists and their families as well as community cultural space, during the official opening of the new campus.
The four-acre block is the site of the former 6th Ward staple Andrew J. Bell Jr. High School. The Treme school, noted for its stellar music program, never reopened after Hurricane Katrina. Now, a new generation of musicians and artists call it home, thanks to Artspace, the Minneapolis-based nonprofit developer that advocates, creates and operates affordable housing for artists across the nation. 
The campus living quarters include studio, one- and two-bedroom “live-work” apartments, targeting low- and moderate-income artists, cultural workers and arts-driven nonprofits. Cost of rent ranges from $260-$727 per month.
The project is funded through a combination of tax credits, philanthropic dollars and city subsidies.
Attendees took part in a tour of the residence, various exhibitions, showcasing works by the Artspace community, live music, food trucks, Mardi Gras Indians and a second line.
The event included benefactors and development partners such as the Ford Foundation, Providence Community Housing and Capital One Community Finance, along with poets Sunni Patterson, Kelly Harris and Frederick Hollywood Delahoussaye. Cultural counterparts such as Carole Bebele of Ashé, John Hankins of the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild and Stephanie McKee of Junebug Productions were also on hand to show gratitude and support.
The Sisters of St. Joseph were also in attendance to witness the refurbishment of the four-story brick structure on Ursulines Ave., which served as the original St. Joseph Academy school for girls, from 1906-1961.
“The Bell Artspace Campus has been a project long in the making. Providence Community Housing’s founding Board Chair, Fr. Michael Jacques, was pastor of St. Peter Claver Parish and always viewed the Bell campus as an anchor location for the community,” Terri North, president and CEO of Providence Community Housing, told The Louisiana Weekly.
“Providence approached Artspace to join efforts to bring affordable live-work housing for artists and culture-bearers to Treme at Bell, and as part of the overall development of the Faubourg Lafitte community, Providence was able to invest funds in the project to help it become financially feasible while producing affordable homes for the Tremé community. Seeing these beautiful, historic, and sacred buildings restored as homes for artists and those of modest means is a powerful symbol of what community is all about,” North said.
The sense of community was palpable and impressed Artspace Communications Director Tio Aiken.
“We often see those connections between communities and sites where we’re developing, but there was a deeper connection here,” Aiken said, “A sense of ownership with it.”
The meaning and connection is deeper to local project manager, Joe Butler. As a native New Orleanian, Butler said understands the importance of providing affordable housing for the city’s artists. He has also surveyed housing data and talked with people in the neighborhood to understand who needs affordable housing most. “New Orleans is special because we have so many people in the informal economy as culture bearers and musicians,” he said. “They represent the largest sector we’re trying to serve.”
Despite the post-Katrina neglect, Butler thought Bell would make great housing space.
“It’s got all the core elements for great artist housing,” he said. “Huge ceilings, wonderful windows, great light. You can feel the history of this environment – it’s iconic. Most people will tell you this is sacred ground. You can feel the history.”
The celebrated band room, which was the start for many of the city’s best-known musicians, has been restored as well.
“The Bell campus, and its band in particular, has always been fundamental to what makes New Orleans feel and sound like New Orleans,” Butler said. “This building has great historic value as well as cultural value. So when the two meet, it’s a great opportunity for Artspace to preserve a community’s infrastructure. We are very happy to return this room back to use,” Butler said. “This is hallowed ground.”
The 2000 sq. ft. studio will be used for music and dance education. The room is a place renowned photographer Gus Bennett remembers well.
“I was in the band; a drum major,” Bennett told The Louisiana Weekly. “That was the sound that used to fill this neighborhood, daily… early in the morning and right after school during the school year. It was a staple of sound. I’m glad they didn’t tear it down.”
Bennett lives in the area, and while pleased with the progress witnessed from attending the opening event, he’s concerned about long term affects.
“On the outside, it looks good, but I ask myself what becomes of the neighborhood and the people who now live here, some of which own homes and in a couple of years, may not be able to afford it because of this investment. I have a connection to that space. I love the growth, I love the makeover. I love that they acquired a space that was gone, because Katrina did it in. But I ask, at whose expense? What will be the price we will pay?”
The crisis of affordable housing, like in many parts of the country, has hit New Orleans, and artists and musicians have been affected perhaps like no other group.
In 2016, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced a five-year housing plan, pledging to build or preserve 7,500 affordable housing units, including “workforce housing” units for “service workers, artists and culture bearers, who may require a deeper housing subsidy.” Developers who rely on tax credits are only required to keep the units at below-market rates for 15 years. After that, they are free to increase rents.
As a result, low-income residents of the American Can apartments in Mid-City faced eviction in 2016.
Artspace pioneered the use of low-income housing and historic tax credits for the provisions of artist space. By blending these and other financing sources, the nonprofit has successfully developed artist live/work and non-residential arts buildings in more than 20 states across the country.
“We have a commitment to keep our projects affordable,” Tio Aiken stated. “If we’re building something, we’d keep it affordable. “
As a Bell alum and a Tremé resident, Gus Bennett supports the venture of progress, but will keep a watchful eye.
“What is happening at Bell right now is beautiful, but the question becomes what happens five years from now?” he asks.
The Bell project is one of two phases, and there is already a resident waiting list in place for the second phase of the project, according to Tio Aiken.
“A lot of people who came to the grand opening were interested in learning about how to apply for housing in the future.”
For more information on Bell Artspace, visit www.artspace.org.
This article originally published in the April 30, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
