There are a few art colleges in San Francisco (some with better reputations than others), but California College of the Arts has always been one of the most venerated. Tomorrow the Planning Commission will hear a presentation on an Institutional Master Plan for CCA's Potrero Hill campus. CCA's history goes way back to 1907, when it was founded out of the Arts and Crafts Movement and maintains a curriculum of fine art, architecture, design and writing. The small school has campuses in Oakland and San Francisco and is home to about 1,900 students, with its SF campus founded in 1986. The existing campus is bound between De Haro Street, 15th, 8th, Irwin, 7th, and Hooper Streets, but is looking to expand for more student housing, class spaces, presentation and exhibition space, and more. There's also a vacant lot next door that they want to use as open space and for events, like end-of-year exhibits and fashion shows that are currently held under a giant tent causing 8th Street to be closed for a week. Currently all student housing owned by the College is located in Oakland and the SF campus does not have any student housing. CCA is working with developers to lease housing, but hopes to own its properties in the future. Sup. Cohen is working on some "Art & Design Educational Special Use District" legislation for the area which would basically help streamline permitting CCA educational institutional uses. The Planning Commission will also review the SUD tomorrow to provide some recommendations to the Board of Supes.
· CCA Institutional Master Plan (pdf) [SF Planning]
· Facilities Master Plan: Trustees Set Enthusiastic Tone for Lot Development [CCA]
· Previous Coverage of CCA [Curbed SF]