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Developer to offer up to 10 rent-free artist residencies at new Rainey Street tower
Summary
LV Collective and partners described an Artist in Residence (AIR) program for Paseo, a mixed-use tower on Rainey Street opening fall 2025. The program will offer up to 10 rent-free units for at least one year to local artists; applications close June 1 and finalists are expected to be announced in early July.
A private developer told the Austin Music Commission on May 5 that a new Rainey Street tower will include an Artist in Residence program to house local creatives rent-free for at least one year.
Alex Perkins, president of multifamily at LV Collective, said Paseo — a hotel-and-residential tower expected to open in fall 2025 — will set aside up to 10 units as part of the program. “We provide a rent free apartment for 1 year,” Perkins said, describing the company’s aim to relieve artists of housing costs so they can focus on their craft.
Perkins said Paseo will include roughly 557 units in total and that the artist units will have the same access to amenities as other residents. The company said the average unit across the building is about 780 square feet. Program participants are expected to host community events and deliver one major artistic contribution — for example, a mural, exhibition, performance or class — and submit a final portfolio and reflection at the residency’s end.
Applications are open now and close June 1; a panel including community figures and creative-industry leaders will screen submissions. Panelists listed by developers include Jim Ritz (Paramount and State theaters), Michael Hsu (Michael Hsu Office and Architecture), Ben Siegel (Bangerz; Rainey Street Business Coalition), Jackie Lee Young (photographer/creative director), chef Matt Peters and artist Heath Speakman. The developer said they received 97 applications for a comparable Phoenix program and selected seven participants there; two remained as residents after the program ended.
Perkins said there is not currently a dedicated performance stage or fully outfitted artist co-op inside Paseo, but a basement space remains unprogrammed and “may manifest itself into some sort of recording studio or venue of some kind.” The developer said they are open to collaborating with the commission and local partners to showcase residents and build program partnerships.
Why it matters: rent-free housing can give local artists time and resources to create and to engage with neighborhoods facing rapid development and rising housing costs.
