The 22-block "arts zone," which has yet to be delineated by signs or officially named, also will serve as a catalyst for economic growth, making Toledo a more desirable place for businesses and young professionals, proponents said.

The art district is in a southeast portion of downtown and covers parts of the warehouse district on St. Clair Street. It is bounded by Huron Street, I-75 and the Amtrak station, and the Maumee River and the planned Middlegrounds Metropark.

The arts zone is part of the Live Work Create Toledo development initiative, a partnership involving the city and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. The initiative got under way this year, and has set a goal of attracting 30 artists and five creative or art-themed businesses to Toledo annually. It also aims to help bring 40 new artist working and living studios or galleries to the downtown area within five years.

Mr. Finkbeiner said the city will provide $50,000 in community development funds for the program to match the $100,000 the arts commission raised in private-sector donations. "We want to replicate what other cities like Columbus, with their Short North neighborhood, have accomplished in attracting artists to their cities, and enhancing the beauty of their cities as well as their economies," he said.

The news conference was in a gallery on Jefferson Avenue inside the former Secor Hotel, which now houses studio spaces for about 20 artists. The building is one of four artist collectives within the new arts zone, along with the Olive Street studios, a network of studios on Morris Street, and a building at 136 North Huron. More than 40 artists are working within the new district, said Marc Folk, executive director of the arts commission.

Toledo Mayor Jack Ford is seeking job creation through art. Ford presented a $25,000 loan to Orobs Fine Arts, a shop on the 1800 block of N. Reynolds Rd. that opened in November. Ford says the art business can help boost Toledo's economy.

I like this idea, and I think it's great the Mayor has an interest in improving the Arts in Toledo. But there will be those who will have a valid point in questioning how this will be funded, and wondering about money for road repair, police protection, neighborhood cleanup, etc.

Some of Toledo’s best-known regional arts and community assets - from black-tie traditions to avant-garde artists - are working in a new medium: red ink. At least four of the area’s major venues have posted a string of deficit years: the Toledo Opera, the Arts Commission, COSI, and Citifest. All this worries Mayor Jack Ford, an arts devotee and the man who offered in his inauguration speech the notion of Toledo as an "elegant city." Two years later, he may be looking to taxpayers for some help. In short, a levy. In the coming month, he said, he plans to appoint a committee that will review the pros and cons of a levy and other funding devices.