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Home My Public Portal AboutCultural District Matching Funds - DCDPCity of Watertown, MA ARPA Project Proposal Submitted by: Elizabeth Helfer Submitted on: May 15, 2023 Request Number: ARPA-3 Project Name: Cultural District Matching Funds Proposal Type: City Department Department of Community Development & Planning Recommended Project Manager: Liz Helfer, Public Arts & Culture Planner Project Summary: As the city moves towards a Cultural District designation, propelled by several cultural organizations and the Public Arts & Culture arm of the Department of Community Development & Planning, the city is invited to invest in this key strategy to revitalize Watertown Square and the Main Street corridor. A Cultural District is a state designation that highlights areas with “a density of cultural facilities, activities, and assets. It is an easy to navigate, [and a] compact area that acts as a hub of cultural, artistic, and economic activity and oﬀers a place-based identity [for] collaborative community initiatives.” A city match from ARPA funds would address several startup costs associated with a Cultural District designation. These include a standalone website with strong calendar integration, wayﬁnding signage speciﬁc to the district and satellite partners, and support of cultural programs occurring withing the district. Amount of ARPA Funds Requested: $30,000 Minimum Funds Needed: $10,000 Matching funds available? Yes Massachusetts Cultural Council 30,000 Highly Likely Other funds available? Yes Private contributions 5,000 Unsure Project Narrative: I will use the form to enter narrative Narrative description of the project: As the city moves towards a Cultural District designaon, propelled by several cultural organizaons and the Public Arts & Culture arm of the Department of CommunityDevelopment & Planning, the city is invited to invest in this key strategy to revitalize Watertown Square and the Main Street corridor. A Cultural District is a state designaonthat highlights areas with “a density of cultural facilies, acvies, and assets. It is an easy to navigate, [and a] compact area that acts as a hub of cultural, arsc, andeconomic acvity and oﬀers a place-based identy [for] collaborave community iniaves.” A Cultural District creates a desnaon and a Cultural District Partnership, which is the governing body of a Cultural District, comprised of leading cultural enes in andaround the district (it’s important to note that the proposed district will emphasize Partnerships and key enes outside of the district boundaries in Watertown). A CulturalDistrict drives economic growth through a markeng plan that aracts arsts and cultural enterprises as well as other businesses and jobs, establishes the district as a touristdesnaon, and preserves or reuses historic buildings. A Cultural District also brings in state funding. The Cultural District planning commiee believe that a Cultural Districtwill help revitalize the Watertown Square and Main St corridor; this is one step towards a comprehensive plan to improve the area. The Cultural District Partnership includes: Watertown Cultural Council Maria Mayobre Watertown Business Coalition Doug Orifice Mosesian Center for the Arts Darren Farrington Watertown Free Public Library Caitlin Browne Armenian Museum Jason Sohigian Watertown Public Schools Rick Saunders Perkins School for the Blind Perrin McCormick Project SAVE Armenian Photographic Archive Arto Vaun New Rep Theatre Angelica Potter Seth Deitch, Arst Seth Deitch Mount Auburn Cemetery Julie-Anne Whitney Department of Community Development & Planning Liz Helfer Armenian Cultural & Educational Center Stepan Chiloyan Resident (Artist)Jack Dargon A city match from ARPA funds would address several startup costs associated with a Cultural District designaon. These include a standalone website with strong calendarintegraon, wayﬁnding signage speciﬁc to the district and satellite partners, and support of cultural programs occurring withing the district. Detailed Project Budget: Item Cost Number Total Who Timeline Website with ArtsopolisCalendar $12,000 1 $12,000 Cultural District Partnership Start ASAP Complete Summer 2024 District Gateway Signage $1,000 10 $10,000 DCDP & Cultural District Partnership Start Summer 2024, Complete Summer 2024 Cultural Program Support (2 yrs) $4000 2 $8000 Cultural District Partnership Start ASAP, Complete Summer 2025 An annual $15,000 allocaon for the Cultural District is likely from the Massachuses Cultural Council, following Cultural District designaon in early 2024. Those funds wouldprovide addional support to cultural programs in the district, as well as other sign formats: lamp post banners, sandwich board displays, etc. It will also go towardsaddional promoonal eﬀorts like paid ads and implementaon of the full Cultural District markeng plan that is currently under development. Timeline for the project: Timeline for expenditure is included in the budget. Resources required in addition to the ARPA funding: N/A Metrics for success of the project: Evaluation metrics for the success of the Cultural District are under development by the Cultural District Partnership but will include job statistics, visitation numbers for cultural programs, visitation numbers for participating businesses, website visitation, and social media statistics. Outputs / outcomes: There are two key outcomes from city ﬁnancial support of the Cultural District: a galvanized arts community that is strengthened by city involvement, and the increased visitation and sales for organizations and businesses involved in the district. What will be the overall beneﬁt? Residents will see numerous wellness beneﬁts from increased access to cultural events and improvements to public amenities. Those working with businesses or as businesses (i.e., artists) will see ﬁnancial improvement due to increased opportunity to show and sell their work and services. The project serves all Watertown residents and supports the wellness of our most impacted residents by engaging them in the arts, known to improve health outcomes. The beneﬁts of a Cultural District are long-term, with Cultural District renewal needed every ten years with interim evaluation annually. Watertown residents will beneﬁt from bolstered civic pride, looking to their own city for arts and culture. They will also beneﬁt directly from the programs supported by the cultural district and those who own businesses or have jobs here will see the district as an economic driver; events and promotion will drive visitation and encourage businesses to stay.