artist living/working space near East St. Louis (Benton: apartments, leasing)

[michael neary]

My wife and I are working artists looking for affordable (900/mo or less) living and working space near the east side. She will be commuting to Illinois on I-70. We are looking for something not too finished/gentrified but safe. We like what we've seen of Old North neighborhood on the web--especially the sense of community and proximity to the farmers market. We are moving August 2011 so we hope to have enough time to find the right place. Suggestions anyone?

[moorlander]

There are more downtown but here's a start

Art lofts 1527 wash ave
Leather Trades Lofts 1600 Locust Ave

The grassroots efforts in Old North St. Louis are really something special too.

[michael neary]

Thanks for the leads!

[stlcitygirl]

I suggest the following areas: Old North, Downtown, Benton Park, Benton Park West, McKinley Heights, Fox Park, Tower Grove, Shaw. Right now the "scene" is Cherokee street. It's on the up and up, still has a long way to go. It depends on what you are used to in terms of safety.

[Brickmama]

Look at the Leather Trades Lofts that should be ready by October. They are rental units with income requirements for the art community.

Leather trades artist lofts. now leasing 86 affordable lofts designed... - st. louis apartments for rent classifieds - backpage.com

[trythisON]

I am an artist and my wife also works East of the city. For easy access to the East metro you can hardly beat Old North St Louis. I-70 pops right through the neighborhood and you can hop onto MLK or the poplar street bridge (I-55) if you really like to sit in traffic. The MLK bridge is the only way I cross unless I am in the South part of town and usually I bypass the exit ramp and exit downtown to use MLK anyway because of the horrible backup for the 55 bridge.

Old North is in the city, we have city issues, but we are not in a deadly crime zone like some would love to make you believe. Yes, there are some crimes, like I said, we are in the city. Our statistics are along the lines of Tower Grove area and the like. Single women walk dogs here day and night, they take children out in strollers, kids run all over the place playing and are actually friendly. ( I expected tough, mean inner city kids because of all the TV news hype. WRONGO!)
We do have a very close knit neighborhood community. I have at many close friends in the neighborhood and have a much more diverse group of people I talk to on a regular basis. Walking 6 blocks to visit a friend's house can take an hour because you run into so many people. I'm not kidding, I drive that 6 blocks if I need to get there quick. Otherwise I just end up chatting for half my day.

I would be happy to introduce you to some of our nieghbors, give you a tour of the area and show you my studio/ home.
Just send a private message or respond to the post with some way to get in touch.

Oh, $900 would be hard to pay here, I suppose you could find something that high if you looked.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by michael neary

My wife and I are working artists looking for affordable (900/mo or less) living and working space near the east side. She will be commuting to Illinois on I-70. We are looking for something not too finished/gentrified but safe. We like what we've seen of Old North neighborhood on the web--especially the sense of community and proximity to the farmers market. We are moving August 2011 so we hope to have enough time to find the right place. Suggestions anyone?

I can't help you w/ this but have helped friends in Chicago locate live/work artist spaces. One thing that may be helpful for those that can help answer your question are the forms of art you typically produce and the sq. footage you think you'll need to live/work comfortably.

I can't speak for STL, but in Chicago there are a number of places that are suitable for painters (as an example) that wouldn't be suitable for those who create large installations/sculptures that may require wider doors, good access to freight elevators for transport, or a building/fellow tenants that are okay with you welding/storing gas cannisters in the space, noise from heavy tools, etc.