Artscape stakeholders now have their first real idea of what the future of the non-profit developer will look like as it enters receivership.

Chief Operating Officer Kelly Rintoul wrote in her latest letter to the community that Artscape-owned units would be included in the receivership, giving the new owner the legal ability to sell them, but the properties Artscape manages would be excluded.

Further details would be shared once a court date is set to finalize the receivership, she added.

Rintoul specified four of Artscape’s 14 properties that would be included: Daniels Launchpad, Triangle Lofts, Youngplace, and Artscape Lofts @ 210 Simcoe. This aligns with a letter she sent in September, which said Youngplace and Triangle Lofts were “expected to be of interest to the receiver.”

Rintoul also shared details for units Artscape operates without managing, but cautioned plans are still being finalized. All rental units will be transferred to Artscape’s non-profit housing wing, which will contract WoodGreen Community Services for the management services that Artscape provided pre-receivership. All community cultural hubs will be transferred to a new non-profit called ArtHubs Toronto. 

The condo board at Artscape Youngplace will decide next week whether to transfer ownership and management services to ArtHubs.

WHAT IS ARTHUBS?

This is the first communication from Rintoul regarding ArtHubs. She said ArtHubs had “arranged for a financing solution, along with funds provided by the City of Toronto and private philanthropy, to ensure necessary working capital” for a year and that details of “the strategic partnerships will be announced at a later date.” 

Artscape vice president of community engagement Subagini Sivapatham later confirmed ArtHubs would not be incorporated under Artscape.

According to publicly available corporate filings, ArtHubs’ creation began as early as Aug. 25. Artscape’s CEO, COO and CFO are acting as interim ArtHubs directors. The Globe and Mail has reported that they will be replaced in the coming weeks.

In a statement, the City of Toronto said it would participate in the hiring of new directors. The City confirmed it had granted Artscape $250,000 in September to continue operations and was “currently looking into additional funding to complement a larger sum of privately-raised philanthropic donations” for ArtsHub.

Until the receivership plan is confirmed, ArtHubs and Artscape’s non-profit wing will be divvying up the tenant subleases and management contracts Artscape currently has. 

Confirmation is expected “between early November and the relevant court date,” said Rintoul.

“I am personally feeling a bit confused about this ArtHubs entity,” said Jessa Agilo, a condo-owner in Artscape Triangle Lofts and CEO of Toronto cultural organization ArtsPond. She cited a lack of clarity around its goals, funding, and future leadership structure as the source of her confusion.

Supporting the development of new artistic spaces would allow for “creative approaches, ideas, models, and leaders to be incubated in the community outside of Artscape,” she said

HOW WE GOT HERE

The long-time non-profit housing developer had been a mainstay of Toronto’s cultural scene until receivership plans were announced in September. It had tried to sell a newly built $22.5 million development on the Toronto waterfront to recoup its $36 million debt but found no buyers. 

Artscape’s primary lender ⁠— widely believed to be Toronto Dominion Bank ⁠— extended its timeline to execute a receivership because the City of Toronto intervened and provided emergency funding. Negotiations between the lender, Artscape and the City have been ongoing ever since.

Artscape staff had been running a union drive after layoffs this spring when the receivership news dropped. In September, they released an open letter to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow demanding a seat at the negotiation table, priority for any re-hiring, and severance pay they had yet to receive. More than 740 artists and cultural workers signed the letter.

A former employee, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, said it was disappointing that employees were not given a chance to weigh in on the creation of ArtHubs. 

“[Clearly] there was money to help them but not us.”

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