Alexandria is considering setting aside as much as $500,000 in taxpayer funding each year for public art and may ask developers to contribute hundreds of thousands more.
The city’s private developers balked at being charged as much as 50 cents for every square foot they build to pay for art, prompting City Council to delay a vote on the new public art policy until this fall. City officials will continue to meet with developers and the public as it proceeds.
“We look forward to seeing the new proposal and working with the city to come up with something that everyone can agree to,” said Eric Dobson, the director of government relations for the Northern Virginia chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. “We’re supportive of public art, but we weren’t supportive of the numbers they were talking about per square foot.”
Alexandria’s staff has been working for two years on a public art policy that would install statues, sculptures and murals around town.
Under the staff’s proposal, the city would contribute $50,000 to a public arts fund next year, increasing its contribution by $50,000 each year for the next 10 years. By 2022, staff says, the city could be setting aside as much as $500,000 a year in taxpayer funds for art.
Developers could also be required to contribute to a public art fund. The city now negotiates with developers for public art on a case-by-case basis. The new policy would allow the city to require contributions of developers in areas the city deemed in need of public art, including redeveloping neighborhoods like Beauregard and Braddock Road.
The current proposal would require anyone building up to 600,000 square feet in those areas to pay 50 cents per square foot or pay for a piece of public art in the area. Developers of larger projects would negotiate a contribution.
The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association and others questioned the added expense on developers, especially since they already contribute to other causes, including affordable housing.
“I understand [the developers’] point of view — it’s another cost to development,” said Jim Spengler, Alexandria’s director of recreation, parks and cultural activities.
Still, he said more than 500 cities across the country maintain public art funds. Locally, Arlington charges developers $75,000 per site plan for art. Montgomery County allows developers to contribute voluntarily. Developers in the District typically pay $50,000.
“We’ve crafted a good plan for the community that probably could be tweaked a little bit more,” Spengler said. “We’re just eager to get started.”
