Nonprofit arts group movin’ on up to Lofts

Monday, March 20, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

After weeks of negotiations, the Contemporary Arts Collective, a local nonprofit arts group, signed its final document with LaPour Partners on Thursday and will move into the Holsum Lofts this spring.

Jacie Maynard, president of the board of directors, said the group expects to get its certificate of occupancy on May 1. But the Arts Collective will honor its program schedule and hold its last exhibit at the Arts Factory in May where the group has been a fixture for several years.

The departure from the Arts Factory on West Charleston Boulevard, the original center of the Las Vegas Arts District, will give the collective, which has 700 members and supporters, more room, including the opportunity to have a members' gallery and a gallery for regional and national work.

"Space was the issue," Maynard said. "Space is very important to us. To live up to the expectation of our mission, is very important to our organization."

The Holsum Lofts space is about 2,000 square feet, double that of the collective's current location. It also joins a mix of galleries and boutiques already established in the refurbished bread factory on West Charleston.

The collective will be in a corner space next to Las Vegas Paper Doll stationery boutique on the west side of the building.

"There are those that are concerned that we're moving out of the official boundary of the Arts District, but we're moving into the gateway of the Arts District," said Brian "Paco" Alvarez in response to murmurs in the arts community that the organization might be making a bad move.

The Arts Collective's ultimate goal is to have its own building. Representatives of the group expect that the move to the new location will help fundraising efforts. Some of the gallery owners say Holsum draws an older crowd that is sincere about looking at art and spending money.

"There's a lot of potential with the space," Maynard said. "We're going to have to go into a fundraising mode immediately in order to make necessary improvements to that space."

But they'll have help from LaPour on the rent. LaPour has agreed to give the collective a monthly donation after the group pays its rent.

LaPour said rent will be about $1.40 per square foot before his donation. The group is contracted to a three-year lease from LaPour Partners.

The grand opening is scheduled for July 28.

LaPour, who is known to hand-pick tenants to keep the lofts within the mission of an artist building, turned down two other offers in order to lease the space to the Arts Collective.

"It's more about synergy," LaPour said. "We wanted to maintain a commitment to downtown arts and artists."

The group, which has 700 members, might also bring more foot traffic to the area. LaPour said that his position on the collective's advisory board won't influence exhibits.

"When we put the CAC in that space, we didn't put restrictions whatsoever on what they could do," he said. "That's the best way to get the authentic art."