Robert H. Kuehn Jr. is president of Keen Development Corp. of Cambridge, a developer of affordable housing.

Multifamily housing comes in various shapes, sizes, heights and densities. One of the most interesting configurations is the urban loft, often occupied by artists for live/work space. To find this space, artists become the quintessential urban pioneers, venturing into sections of our cities which are derelict or otherwise distressed. This search is a matter of enlightened self-interest-artists need volumes of space, cheap. The collateral benefit is that artists also serve to preserve the older buildings they repatriate, often historic structures that otherwise might be demolished for parking lots or other interim uses.

Artist homesteading tends to be an incremental process with the first few intrepid artists establishing a beachhead in some old warehouse and then others join them as the word spreads that great space can be had for affordable rents. Ironically, artists sometimes also become the victims of their own success, attracting attention to their new neighborhood, which previously was all but abandoned. This circumstance opens the door for development to serve non-artists who follow in their wake. At first, the artists and the newcomers can co-exist, but the risk remains that the balance will tip and the artists will be forced out by the escalating economics. Think of Soho in New York, which was once a thriving artist enclave, but is now just another trendy shopping area full of chain stores.

This same scenario could play itself out in the Fort Point section of Boston. About 25 years ago, artists started to “infiltrate” the neighborhood, attracted by 19th Century warehouses sitting empty but ideally suited to live/work space. Over time, an estimated 500 artists and a half dozen cultural organizations moved into the area, occupying nearly 700,000 square feet of space and creating the largest arts community in New England. But now the end game has started with development pressures mounting in the South Boston Seaport District of which Fort Point is a part. What with plans in progress for Fan Pier, Pier Four, the Convention Center and maybe even the Red Sox, the District is about to be transformed. At this juncture, the artists only control two live/work loft structures they converted at 249A Street and 300 Summer Street.

Artists lease about 350,000 square feet from the Boston Wharf Co. (which owns most of the existing buildings); these leases are expiring over the next two years and as yet, there is no agreement to extend. Without such extensions or new commitments for space in the neighborhood, the arts community could soon be displaced.

But there are some positive moves afoot. Beacon Capital purchased the Midway Street complex from Boston Wharf, but has offered to make available three buildings to the artists (comprising about 200,000 square feet). And the Gillette Co. purchased the “casting basin” from Boston Wharf and has had very preliminary discussions with the artists about another two buildings on Necco Court (comprising an additional 100,000 square feet). Neither transaction is a done deal — the sales price for this prime real estate is inevitably an issue. However, the artists are most appreciative of Beacon’s and Gillette’s good will in opening the dialogue. With the BRA’s on-going support, the acquisition and conversion of these buildings could address over half of the replacement space needed to avoid displacing this vital arts community from Fort Point.

So why should we be concerned about the artists in Fort Point? Certainly there is a sense of fair play: Several hundred artists are at risk of displacement and deserve our help in staying in the neighborhood they helped pioneer and preserve. But even if such equities are ignored, the artists should be protected as a matter of the city’s self interest. Study after study has documented that the arts are a strong economic engine. For example, a recent study by the New England Council, a regional business association, demonstrates that the arts are good for business by virtue of the enormous economic power of the “creative economy” (defined as those enterprises and individuals directly or indirectly involved in the creation of cultural products).

Creativity is being called the natural resource of the new economy and therefore one of Boston’s competitive advantages. Cities need vibrant, creative communities to attract the kind of businesses who will fill up the office buildings that developers want to develop in the Seaport District. Creative communities also improve the quality of life, helping to attract and retain residents and workforce. And just think about the new Convention Center and its environs – clearly Boston is more likely to attract bookings if surrounded by a lively mix of restaurants, galleries, and artists-in-residence compared to being located in another in-town office park. Boston’s reputation as a world-class city and its draw as a place to live, work and play is clearly enhanced by the arts.