In 2005, FPCC partnered with Bob Kuehn to convert three empty buildings in Fort Point into Midway Artist Studios, one of Boston’s most significant affordable work-live buildings for artists. This conversion preserved one of only three remaining buildings in Fort Point that are exclusive to the arts. The neighborhood is an example of the impacts of gentrification on an arts community where once nearly 700 working artists occupied 600,000 sq. ft of studio space.

Unfortunately, Bob Kuehn passed away a few years after the building was opened. In 2014, the tenants organized to purchase the building from the Kuehn estate, making it a permanent rental artist-controlled building consisting of 89 spaces, a gallery, and Midway Lab for performance, and administrative office spaces for Boston arts organizations.

From the initial purchase through six years of direct financial support, pro-bono services, development services, fundraising, and staff and board support, the A&BC and outside consultants were able to secure critical pre-development resources, including state and federal historic tax credits. A&BC sold the building to CHW and, at the time of the sale, transferred more than $5M worth of equity with the building. This success enabled CHW to purchase the building from A&BC at below market rate and helped provide the time and resources needed to maintain the momentum for CHW to complete the development process.

The renovated buildings serve more than 370 artists in 250 studios and 50 live/work spaces. In 2022, A&BC purchased the building for $20M with the support of Karl Frey. This partnership between an existing building owner and the A&BC provides a strong case study of the potential of the Creative Campus program. Western Avenue is currently operating at 100% capacity with a waiting list and serves as a model project for the Creative Campus.