The Red Gate needs a new space.
Sign the petition below!
Last October, the Red Gate was evicted from its location at 152-156 West Hastings Street after the building's owner sold it to a developer. This was the final result of a process which began with the City of Vancouver building department ordering the building to be vacated citing fire safety concerns. Despite a massive public outcry and show of support, which allowed us to gain a 60-day extension during which the cited safety issues were resolved, a condition was placed on continued occupancy which stipulated that the owner undertake a full Development and Permit Application by the end of the extension period. Rather than submit this application, he chose to sell the building. It is currently being offered for rent at 8 times the amount that we had been paying, making it prime example of the "renoviction" process that has resulted in the loss of much of the affordable cultural space that once existed in the Downtown Eastside.
We have spent the last five months looking for another space, and have found a very large number of empty commercial/industrial zoned buildings throughout the city, but at lease rates far beyond our means. Two months ago we answered a craigslist ad offering space for rent at 281 Industrial Avenue in a building that was then being used for film production and prop storage. After coming to an agreement with the proprietors to sub-let a portion of this space, we learned that the City of Vancouver, which owns the building in question, had terminated their rental agreement. Since that time we have been trying to discover what the City has planned for this building, and have made multiple offers to rent or lease the entire space on behalf of the many artists, musicians, film-makers, and photographers who are a part of our community. Despite the fact that City Council recently passed a resolution to direct City Staff to consider renting city-owned properties to artists and arts groups, we have yet to receive a response to our proposal. We are not asking for subsidies or financial support of any kind, simply to assume the lease at the same rate being paid by the previous tenants, and are willing to assume responsibility for any safety-related upgrades that the building may require to suit our proposed uses.
We, the undersigned, wish to express our support to the Red Gate collective in their efforts to secure this location, as an independent, inclusive, affordable, artist-run cultural production facility. The lack of affordable studio space in Vancouver has become a crisis, and we feel that this is a necessary and appropriate step which the city can take to help alleviate this.
