International Design Contest: Hotel Chisca

This post is my entry, my suggestion, and could be Memphis' answer (or part thereof):

Transform the beautiful, historic Hotel Chisca into subsidized artist apartments and hostel, and let the artists DIY (Design It Yourself).

This is not your standard rehab. The only contracted work done will be infrastructural -- modernizing the plumbing and HVAC, making sure any structural and safety problems are corrected. The rest is done by the artist residents. The public areas -- hallways, lobbies, etc... -- will be designed by the artists (over the undersight of a resident democratically elected committee). The interiors of the apartments will also be tabula rasa, with no new amenities except for the bare minimum -- stove and refrigerator. By keeping its wrinkles, the Chisca will make an asymetrically perfect match for that other great South Main bookend -- Earnestine and Hazel's.

A percentage of the building will be reserved as hostel for artists touring through Memphis. The weird motel area on the side might be a good place for the hostel, as long as everyone comes and goes through the same entrances. The mix of local and non-local is very important. Perhaps the hostel could be renovated by residents in exchange for further subsidies.

The only non-subsidized parts of the complex will be the Red Hot and Blue Skyway, on the roof, and The Ghetto Palms Bar, on Main Street where the pool was (will be?). This bar will be shaded by boxed Ailanthus -- the Trees of Heaven -- transplanted from the open graves of Memphis' tragic demolitions.

The development would have to be owned and operated by a non-profit foundation, because the temptation would be too great for a private developer to boot the artists once they've enlivened the area.

A question: how would someone identify themselves or be identified as an artist?

Anyway, here's an example, the Hotel Virreyes in Mexico City.

It would make South Main Arts District more its namesake and less a beautiful real estate scheme. And it would give our low-cost, high-energy creativity a home. Anyone who witnessed the Memphis Zombie Walk knows the power of that creativity.