In response to the article published in The duty Friday entitled “Rents explode in a state-funded artist studio building”, we believe it is appropriate to provide more information to truly do justice to Ateliers 3333, a unique project located in the Villeray– Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.
The building belongs to ART3, a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure affordable rents for more than 150 artists.
From the outset, the Ateliers 3333 project was made possible thanks to the involvement of three partners: the Angus Heritage Society, an NPO dedicated to urban revitalization, the artist Marc Séguin and Huotco, a real estate developer. It is these partners who provide financing for the project with the injection of three million dollars in capital and loans for eight million. The government of Quebec and the City of Montreal supported the project with financial support of five million.
To fully understand the increase in the cost of rent which is at the heart of the concerns of the artists cited in the article published Friday, it should be noted that all the tenants of Ateliers 3333 were paying rent of $12.75 per square foot in 2023. Rent includes all operating costs of the building (energy, insurance and maintenance), as well as property taxes (municipal and school).
The lion’s share of the rent increase for 2024, almost $3 per square foot, comes from factors beyond the control of the Ateliers 3333 partners, namely the increase in interest rates and taxes. The increase in interest rates alone (from less than 3% to 6.5%) causes additional costs of more than $250,000, and taxes have tripled (from $80,000 to $250,000 ).
With such a headwind hitting everyone, ART3 did not hesitate for a moment in addressing the situation directly and openly with the tenants. The financial situation was communicated to the artists of 3333 in November 2023. Small group meetings with all the artists were organized in order to present the operating budget in 2024 and to demonstrate the need to adjust rents upwards to be able to balance financial results.
The ART3 organization is continuing its work to try to mitigate the impact of these increases through flexibility measures for the renewal of leases and steps to obtain additional subsidies. As was mentioned at the beginning of this letter, the primary mission of Ateliers 3333 remains that of ensuring in the long term the maintenance of affordable rents for artists. This mission is supported in particular by sound management of the building and its operations.
We carry this Ateliers 3333 project with pride and we are hopeful of ensuring its sustainability.