When the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center announced last month that it will shut its doors, the news struck a death knell for one of the city's most prominent multicultural arts organizations.

But now another arts group with strong multiculti roots may move into the IFCC's historic space on Interstate Ave. Portland Tribune has the story of Ethos Music Center's press conference this weekend announcing it would apply to occupy the Interstate Firehouse. From Ethos' press release (pdf):

Located within one mile of each other, the IFCC and Ethos
share a similar geographic focus and are both dedicated to bringing the arts to
underserved and underrepresented populations. Based on these factors and many more,
Ethos believes that there is an unmatched opportunity for Ethos to effectively and
efficiently operate the IFCC building for the benefit of the North Portland community
and beyond.

Unlike IFCC, which closed due to an "unsustainable" budget gap, Ethos says it actually had a $153,000 budget surplus last year. The city will review proposals for who should move into the historic building (IFCC received free rent, which, I assume, will be extended to the next resident) and other groups eyeing the building include Trillium Charter School, the Boys and Girls Club, PHAME Academy and Self Enhancement Inc.