While the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is making headlines for allegedly being nearly priced out of its home, the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture has accused the college of bad faith in negotiating a new rental agreement. The college offers 53 classes to approximately 400 students at Fort Mason, a former Army post on San Francisco Bay whose lower portion now operates as a nonprofit primarily renting — and partially subsidizing those rents — to arts nonprofits.
The current rental agreement between CCSF and Fort Mason, dating to 2014, expires at the end of June. Recently the college informed students that its drawing, painting and ceramics classes may have to move to one of its other campuses because Fort Mason wanted to hike the rent by 300 percent.
Fort Mason sees it differently.
“I think we’re a little perplexed at what’s going on,” said Fort Mason Director of External Affairs Nick Kinsey. “The new lease will actually save City College over $575,000 over the term of the lease, including almost $20,000 in year one, putting to bed the fictional rent increase CCSF has alleged.
“We sent them a lease proposal in November [2016],” Kinsey added. “And then we really didn’t hear anything from them in the next four months.”