Austin’s identity has always been fueled by its music, arts, and culture. Yet the success and growth of the city drove an existential challenge for the creative community: rising real estate costs threatened to displace the very venues, artists, and cultural institutions that made Austin vibrant.
Out of this challenge came a rallying cry from community leaders, artists, and advocates for lasting solutions. That call led directly to the creation of Rally Austin, and shortly thereafter, the establishment of the Austin Cultural Trust.
The Austin Cultural Trust was created to turn years of advocacy into durable action: securing creative space, stabilizing iconic venues, and keeping small creative and cultural businesses local. Since the launch of this program, the Trust has dedicated $17.6M to six projects valued at $37.5M, securing 53,570 square feet of affordable creative and cultural space, generating an estimated $75–$94M in impact.
Agencies such as World Cultural Cities Forum and UNESCO have been tracking the loss of creative and cultural spaces, while also convening around the issue through the Creative Cities Network. In these forums, representatives from around the world can share best practices for policies, programming and resources that help to combat the loss of space in local markets.
The premier model studied since its inception more than a decade ago is the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) of San Francisco. CAST has invested $16.5M to steward a $69.3M portfolio across six spaces, delivering 83,267 square feet of affordable creative space by blending public, private, philanthropic funds and New Markets Tax Credits. The portfolio of projects show how mission-driven real estate locks in long-term affordability in high-cost markets.
As it relates to the acquisition of real estate to provide affordable spaces, there are a variety of other models and efforts. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust serves as a philanthropic and city-backed model that revitalized 14+ blocks into an arts district, pairing preservation with tourism and small business growth. Philadelphia’s Kensington Corridor Trust is a community-owned commercial real estate trust that acquired 30 properties valued at $7M in five years, powered by $15M+ in community and grant capital.
The takeaway: Peer cities prove that patient, blended capital and mission-driven ownership are the difference between displacement and staying power.
If there’s another lesson to glean from peer cities, it’s this: the difference between losing creative space and securing it for the future lies in how deals are structured. Patient capital, blended funding sources, and a willingness to adapt to unique circumstances make long-term preservation possible.
The Austin Cultural Trust was never meant to be a “canned” grant distribution program. It is intended to be a competitive transactional force, which is why Rally is uniquely positioned to have been the creator and manager of this work for Austin. As a nimble community investment corporation, Rally is empowered to evaluate any and all potential deals and respond with what best secures affordable, sustainable space for the specific need at hand.
Every deal looks different. And that’s by design. Let’s look at some examples of deals that have been secured in Austin and the types of deals from CAST that Rally would like to secure for Austin soon:
Through the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), this project assembled a $13.2M total cost package by blending $6.2M in direct investment with $3.9M in public/private/philanthropic funds and $3.1M in New Market Tax Credits. The result was 10,200 square feet of creative space secured through a layered, blended capital stack that unlocked resources beyond what any single funder could provide.
Here, CAST partnered with the city and nonprofits to activate a 6-acre, city-owned property. A modest $1M investment unlocked a $24M redevelopment, producing 28,200 sf of affordable rehearsal, class, and performance space. This demonstrates how public assets can be leveraged with philanthropic and community partnerships to deliver outsized impact.
Closer to home, Rally structured a deal that provided Iconic Venue Funding ($1.6M) and ongoing support in exchange for a 20-year lease agreement. This approach ensured one of Austin’s most legendary music venues could remain viable while preserving its cultural role for decades.
In another case, Rally’s support enabled Empire, a cornerstone of Austin’s live music ecosystem, to purchase its property rather than risk displacement. By securing ownership, Empire now enjoys long-term stability and control of its future, showing how buying, not just leasing, can be the right path when market conditions and organizational readiness align.
Rally Austin is the first multi-purpose local government corporation requested by the community and created by Austin City Council in October 2020, with a professional, flexible mandate to move at the speed of business.
As we look ahead, Rally’s vision for the Austin Cultural Trust is clear: secure more space, support more venues, and scale our impact for generations to come. Inspired by peer-city models but tailored to Austin’s identity, our approach combines property acquisition, capital improvements, long-term leases, and technical support to keep culture rooted here. Every dollar invested in cultural infrastructure has the potential to generate four to five dollars in return for our community and, more importantly, to preserve the places and people that define Austin.
Now is the time to build on this momentum. We invite you to learn more about our vision for the future of the Cultural Trust, the resources needed to deliver it, and how you can play a role in ensuring Austin remains a city where creativity thrives. Together, we can “Keep Austin Ours” by protecting culture, growing opportunity, and investing in the spaces that make Austin, Austin.
