Artists hope to save lofts
A group of artists and musicians
will get a second shot at keeping a South Derkeley building
that has been housing local artists for 26 years.
The "building of art," at 2750 Adeline
St., which is in need of $250,000 worth of retrofitting, was
recently sold, and a group of antists living and working there
evicred. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to temporarily
waive thousands of dollars in fees if the artists are able
to buy the building, and temporarily waive the retrofitting
timeline on the site.
Ultimately, the city hopes to persuade
the new owner to sell back the building, which wouid no longer
be able to be used for housing if it remains in his possession,
according to Berkeley's housing ordinance.
"The city wilf help work with (the residents)
to get the retrofitting done," said Councilman Kriss Worthington,
who made the proposal. "We want to protect Berkeley artists."
The 1906 warehouse was converted into an
artists' loft in the 1970s, and has been home to a publisher
of comic books and a vintage toy store, among other things.
The occupants say they may be able to buy the building back,
for $500,000.
Four of the people are still living there,
while several others have left. The new owner, Sasha Shamszad,
purchased the building a year ago, then alerted the residents
they would have to leave last September,
Shamszad is also an artist of sorts. He
first opened Ziba Photographics of San Francisco and Berkeley
in 1973 as a custom lab that also came to serve photo hobbyists,
Artist Natasha Shawver, who has spent 19
years in ihe building, emphasized that the residents want
to work with the new owner, not vilify him. She said she was
overwhelmed by the support she received, Tuesday night at
City Council. "It was almost like a love fest, I was shocked,"
she said,
All of rhe roughly eight residents have
live/work situations at the site. Shawver has been paying
$1,000 a month for a spacious studio, and says she's made
up for a lack of maintenance at the site by doing cleaning
and fix-up work on the building over the years.
The former owner told her that once the
building was renovated she would no longer be able to afford
to buy it. But the residents there say they will be able to
foot the $500,000 cost just not the other expenses.
Worthington said eventually the building
would have to be retrofitted.
