A growing number of San Francisco galleries will close or relocate due to escalating rents and competition from the growing technology sector. In one downtown building alone, 77 Geary Street, three galleries are being forced out in favor of a techie neighbor, MuleSoft. The internet services company, which has offices on four continents, has reportedly offered to pay double the current rent. Local publications and the affected business owners are mourning the demise of a once vibrant arts center.
Reviews on a Yelp listing for 77 Geary Galleries indicate that as recently as 2008, the building was home to six different galleries. In the years since, Togonon and Marx & Zavattero have shuttered due to rent increases. The latest round of evictions includes George Krevsky Gallery, the Rena Bransten Gallery, and Patricia Sweetow Gallery, leaving Adler&Co. as the building’s lone remaining gallery tenant. In a phone conversation with artnet News, a representative from Adler&Co. confirmed that the gallery has a long-term lease and will remain in at 77 Geary for years to come.
Tensions over the growing influence of tech-start ups in San Francisco are running high, with controversy recently arising over corporate shuttles using public bus stops. The growing exodus of artists and bohemians to the more affordable East Bay has caused some to wonder if the city is “losing its soul.”