- San Francisco
- SoMa
447 Minna – Dempster Building
At 447 Minna, we welcome a range of arts and cultural practices spanning from visual arts to performing arts, contemporary…
We AreCast
(Clockwise from top) Art: Tan Sirinumas.
Art: Maya Fuji.
Photos: (R) Artist Mattie Loyce, photo by Mayra Sanchez (L) Ivy Monteiro, photo by Robbie Sweeny
CAST — the Community Arts Stabilization Trust — is a community-centered real estate organization for artists and cultural workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Our Partnerships
In deep partnership with local communities, we model new ways to secure and steward affordable, inclusive spaces for creative and cultural expression.
- Read more about 447 Minna – Dempster Building
- Read more about CounterPulse
- San Francisco
- The Tenderloin
CounterPulse
CounterPulse, a staple in San Francisco’s art scene for over 30 years, has long been a catalyst for experimental and…
- Read more about Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse
- San Francisco
- Excelsior
Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse
The Geneva Car Barn and Powerhouse is a collaboration with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department to renovate a historic…
Photos by Mogli Maureal
(Top) Artists Cece Carpio & Pancho Pescador
(Bottom) Haight Street Art Center
What We Do
We are building a new real estate paradigm in the Bay Area — a better system that recognizes the essential role of arts and culture in communities and creates a long-term engine for ensuring artists and cultural workers can stay anchored where they create.
We enter communities with care, build relationships with people to understand the diversity of each community, and share knowledge to strengthen the capacity of people to help them find agency in whatever path they choose, be it ownership or a long-term lease.
Our creative and community-centered perspective on real estate, coupled with our community development and real estate expertise, enables us to build a bridge between arts and culture and real estate.
Not every arts group wants to own or is in a position to manage a building. We provide a stable “container” so artists and cultural organizations can focus on what matters most–bringing their valuable programs to the community. Access affordable space at 447 Minna for short-term rentals like rehearsals, screenings, art exhibitions, workshops, or popups that help grow your business.
Carolyn Johnson
CEO
Black Cultural Zone
CAST is an essential partner because they center arts and culture, and the resources and expertise that they bring will make sure that we don’t lose that focus. We could not do this project without CAST.
Tom DeCaigny
Executive Director, Create CA
Former Director of Cultural Affairs, City of San Francisco, 2012-2020
CAST is a great partner with the public sector…what CAST offers is a vehicle for holding a private asset in trust, something that the government has a really hard time doing and certainly can’t do in a nimble fashion. CAST’s real beauty is its potential to scale, thinking to the future.
Trevor Parham
Founder & CEO
Oakstop
CAST has been critical in helping Oakstop purchase our original building in downtown Oakland. Their partnership has included access to patient capital, support with financial modeling, guidance through the development process, and even connections to other partners and clients. Their model offers a needed approach that should be replicated throughout California and to other cities across the country.
Photo: Musician Nikbo
Art: Cherisse Alcantara
Ready to get involved with CAST?
Explore our partnership, co-creation, and volunteer opportunities.
News & Events
- Real Estate Solutions
City of Oakland Approves Development Agreements for Black Cultural Zone’s Liberation Park Project
The City of Oakland has announced the completion of the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) and Lease Disposition and Development…
- Activation & Rentals
Art, Community, and Liberation: A Recap of the Creative Container Residency
CAST’s Creative Container exhibition opening highlighted the spirit of community, innovation, and social transformation that is alive and well in the Bay Area
- Community Engagement
Community Arts Stabilization Trust Announces New CEO, Ken Ikeda
Ken Ikeda to start full-time as CEO of CAST December 1, 2023 For Immediate Release: November 15, 2023San Francisco, California…
- Real Estate Solutions
SF Standard: Why Oakland’s Struggling Office Market Was Good News for This Black-Owned Business
With $2.5 million in financing help from CAST and lending support from Community Vision, Oakstop was able to purchase its flagship building at 1721 Broadway for $8 million.
