Artspace - Building Better Communities Through The Arts 

Seattle's Pioneer Square has long been a neighborhood of artists and arts-related businesses. But in the 1990s, market forces began driving artists out of the neighborhood at an alarming rate. Hoping to preserve Pioneer Square's status as an arts district, the City of Seattle invited Artspace to transform two turn-of-the-century buildings, the Tashiro and the Kaplan, into facilities for artists.

The $16.5 million Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts added 104,000 square feet of permanently affordable space for the arts to Pioneer Square. The live/work units consist of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments containing from 800 to 2,000 square feet, with plentiful light and flexible floor plans. The commercial space houses several galleries, a coffee shop, and the county's cultural agency.

The Tashiro Kaplan will permanently preserve these two historic buildings for artists and arts-friendly organizations, thereby helping to maintain Pioneer Square's distinctive character.

The Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts has won a number of awards since it opened. Recent awards include:

Cathryn Vandenbrink wins 2008 Mayor's Arts Award. Watch the video.

2005 Excellence in Construction Award for Historic Restoration from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Washington.

Vision 2020 Award from the Puget Sound Regional Council.

2005 Award of Excellence Grand Prize, Mixed Use Commercial/Residential from the National Commercial Builders Council/National Association of Home Builders.

Best of 2004: Architectural Design Award from Northwest Construction Magazine.

Outstanding Project of the Year Exterior Commerical from the Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau