Phoenix neighborhood wins "placemaking" grant

June 13, 2012

The Downtown Phoenix arts district, Roosevelt Row, has received a $150,000 development grant. The money will go toward so-called arts based placemaking. 

Tuesday, Roosevelt Row announced it won a grant from a group called ArtPlace, a collaboration between major foundations, banks, and the federal government. The money will fund three major things: temporary studio space made out of old shipping containers, an outdoor neighborhood dinner event, and streetscaping.

Cindy Dach is Director of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation. She said the city is already working on streetscaping, but the grant will fund designers to come up with an overarching plan and allow for more neighborhood input.

"For example, there’s been a petition and a lot of outcry for bike lanes on Roosevelt," Dach said. "So the community involvement is actually making a huge impact, and people are really looking to this district -- it’s an area where the citizens have made a difference, and now there’s support where we can work side by side with the city to make things happen.”

Roosevelt Row’s proposal was one of 47 across the country accepted, out of more than 2,000 applications.