How art is bringing a dying shopping center back to life

When Josh Santillan looks at a vacant shopping center, he is not daunted by peeling paint and other signs of neglect.

Santillan, 43, is using paintings and other artwork to transform empty storefronts into spaces where people want to open their businesses.

His nonprofit, Central Arts Bedford, has a home in Bedford Meadows, a shopping center at Harwood and Central that was mostly vacant for years. Central Arts promotes artists and offers classes, trivia nights, concerts and other activities while promoting the concept of putting art in vacant spaces.

When Santillan opened Central Arts two years ago, the Bedford Meadows shopping center was about 20 percent occupied. Now, he said, the center is 90 percent occupied.

“Putting art in vacant spaces gives people a reason for wanting to come here,” he said.

Now, Bedford Meadows boasts mom and pop businesses like Holey Boba & Donuts, Moonlight Cakes and What’s Poppin Texas, which specializes in more than 70 varieties of popcorn and retro candies.

Ruth Burns said she and her business partner Sue Schultz were driving around the Mid-Cities looking for a location to open What’s Poppin Texas.

“When we drove by here at night there was lots of art in all of the windows; it was very inviting,” Burns said. “When you are driving past, you see art. It’s not just a dead space — you see this beauty and you want to stop.”

She likes to see people flocking to the center to attend events at Central Arts and to visit the shops.

Now Santillan is helping to rejuvinate another neglected area, Bedford Center, at 209 Bedford Road. The center is home to another nonprofit, The Awareness Project, which focuses on helping the homeless and others in need with food, clothing and assistance with writing rèsumès.

When Central Arts opened in Bedford Meadows, Santillan, his wife, Hilary, and friends Sergio Santos and Kelli Milani wanted to create a destination for concerts, art shows and classes.

Santillan came to Bedford from El Paso in 2000 and taught art for several years before starting a company to install insulation. He uses money from his business to fund his love of art.

Santillan said he couldn’t have started Central Arts without help from his wife, who handles paperwork and other tasks.

Milani plans the educational classes and Santos brings in artists.

Santillan said his son was involved in the Fort Worth “punk scene” and bands from as far away as New York and Baltimore perform on weekends.

“The cool thing about the concert series is that kids are coming from Denton, Dallas and Fort Worth. They are drawn to Bedford because of the shows,” he said.

During a hot July evening, children and their parents came to Central Arts to learn how to build robots using cardboard boxes and parts from old cars, cell phones and other junk.

Harold Staats and his grandson Matthew sat together, cutting cardboard to build their robot, and they were using parts from an old Mini Cooper for the robot’s eyes.

“I think this is a great learning time for the children,” Harold Staats said.

Staats said he and Matthew like building things in his shop such as model airplanes.

Crystal Pipkins and her daughter Courtney, 14, came from Keller to attend the art classes. Pipkins said her daughter loves art and is learning new skills.

She said it is worth the drive to Bedford to see Courtney learn new skills.

“They teach her so many different facets of art. It’s not just painting, they challenger her mind to be creative.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 11:57 AM.