Brannan Street business owners are flipping the f%$k out— and rightly so, many would concede— over the Academy of Art University's proposed purchase of Flower Mart, an anchor to many other neighborhood flower businesses. The Academy has offered $15 million cash for the building, part of which it has been using as a sculpture studio. On December 30th, tenants were issued an eviction notice set for February 28th, 2 months earlier than initially proposed; many say that loss of the business would decimate the city's flower center, which has resided there since 1931. Worry not (or less, at least) those opposed to the Academy's colonization of the entire city expansion plans: zoning laws are changing. The sculpture studio is no more due a recent 45-day moratorium on institutional use of the Western SoMa region; city supes are expected to lock down the area for an additional 2 years. The Academy was unaware, it claims, that Flower Mart's current owners issued the notices— tenants and other business owners in the area say that the building's sale will decimate area business. Please note: the Academy has been slapped with 44 violations of the code/permit variety as it has bought up and converted buildings across the city. And these flower folks? You'll pry those stems from their cold, dead hands.
· Academy of Art opponents air complaints against Flower Mart deal [SF Business Times]
· Building Control: Academy of Art University Under Fire [Curbed SF]
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