The Chicano Humanities & Arts Council says it will move into a new building in Lakewood in April after it was priced out of its location on Santa Fe. via IvanRodriguezTV
A board member with the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council tells Denver7 the owner of the building they were in on Santa Fe offered to sell them the building for $500,000. The group didn’t have the money to purchase it, so they waited until 2018. By then, they say the price had shot up to $1.5 million, forcing them to look for a new home.
Rivera was the executive director of CHAC at the time. Out of options, CHAC had to find a new home. The group settled near the corner 2nd Avenue and Santa Fe.After investing their own money into the building, CHAC was beginning to settle in until the pandemic created another curveball and made their $4,000 rent hard to swallow.
The group began conversations with their landlord, who wouldn’t decrease rent. Eventually, they had no choice but to close their doors and move out. Months later, they opened up in small art galleries in Northglenn and other areas across the metro. Recently, they signed a new lease for a building in Lakewood’s art district.“I think they're trying to make everything all new and hip and, you know, putting in condos and apartments everywhere and pricing out these small little arts organizations, when the art organization is what made it cool to begin with,” said Gurule.