SF Art Institute campus listed for sale after bankruptcy
The campus of the San Francisco Art Institute, which went into foreclosure earlier this year, is now listed for sale.
There’s no price disclosed for the more than 1.7-acre property at 800 Chestnut St.
SFAI announced in 2020 that due to financial shortfalls and declining enrollment, it would no longer be accepting new students. The University of San Francisco announced plans to acquire the school in February 2022, but the deal never came to fruition. It then filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April, less than a year after graduating its final class of students.
The most prized asset of SFAI is “The Making of a Fresco, Showing the Building of a City,” a 1931 Diego Rivera mural valued at $50 million, which can be sold along with the property, according to Gregg Kleiner, an attorney for the trustee of the SFAI bankruptcy estate. If the bankruptcy estate doesn’t receive an acceptable offer for both assets together, it will consider selling the mural alone. “Based on available information, the mural was designed to be removable from the real property. If the bankruptcy estate receives a viable offer for the mural only, the Trustee is likely to propose a sale of mural alone, subject to required notice and bankruptcy court approval,” he wrote to SFGATE in an email.
The school reportedly owes $450,000 in unpaid rent at its main campus and $750,000 at its former Fort Mason campus, along with tens of thousands of dollars to various other creditors.
Located in Russian Hill, the campus includes two buildings that together are landmarked by the city and total around 93,000 square feet. The building with the iconic bell tower was built in 1926 and includes a library, classrooms and offices. An additional building contains more galleries, a theater and a rooftop amphitheater.
“We believe this is a very rare and exciting opportunity for someone to acquire a huge chunk of Russian Hill real property that offers phenomenal views and very functional and cool real estate,” said Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director Tom Christian. “Where else can you get a belltower, a courtyard and 93,000 square feet of beautiful space overlooking Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and all just a short walk to the Financial District, North Beach, and Fisherman’s Wharf?”
Another historic Bay Area campus also went on the market earlier this year. Oakland’s Holy Names University found a buyer for its nearly 60-acre hillside campus in just under three months.
Source: SFGATE
