Raleigh's old Stone's Warehouse building could be the future home to talented Triangle-area artists who often struggle to make ends meet. The city council has approved a 99-year lease with the state Historical Preservation Foundation for project. Landmark Asset Services is a Winston-Salem firm that specializes in such rehabs. The group has teamed up with developer Vann Joines - who says the 7-and-a-half million dollar Raleigh Arts Village will encourage people - from woodworkers to storytellers -to be an economic driver for the community.
"Unfortunately, there's really no place where people can live and create art in close proximity to the galleries," says Jones, "So if we are able to bring all that together in close proximity to where these galleries are, I think this allows downtown Raleigh to be re-branded as a center of creativity in the southeast."
The project depends on whether or not low-income tax credits are granted by the North Carolina Housing and Finance Agency. To qualify for the housing, applicants would have to make less than 60-percent of the area median income. That's about 37-thousand dollars a year.