Add Brian Wannamaker to the list of Portland developers who add to the art community here, and now the Tribune has covered his new Falcon Art Community project.

The list of conscientious players here is long and very important; Al Solheim, Jim Winkler, Ken Unkeles, Brad Malsin, Randy Rapaport, David Gold and a while back Homer Williams was involved in the Pearl Arts Foundation, which brought us the Kenny Scharf Tiki totems and William Wegman dog bowl. These developers are partially why Portland is so unlike San Diego and Phoenix. Still, I believe it is essential that the city find a way to further incentivise development of live/work and exhibition spaces.

Ive mentioned this many times before but in Vancouver BC the CAG (Contemporary Art Gallery) found a new home beneath a new condo tower because the developer received allowances for incorporating that crucial nonprofit as the anchor tenant (using VBC's Amenity Bonus Program). It's the difference between a Starbucks and serious exhibition spaces. Portland's politicians (Tom Potter, Sam Adams etc...) should similarly attempt to harness all this real estate development as a multiplier of cultural growth through similar incentives. Call it new development cultural rent control that wont require using the ill fitting new market tax incentives like the Desoto and Armory buildings did. Besides it is difficult to see how a Federal program can be as custom tailored to such a specific local need. Adding another tool in Portland' culture building arsenal could be crucial in the city's drive to catalyze the city's generally under-developed (a.k.a. eternally scrappy) cultural institutions.