SFGate reports that the Academy of Art University has reached a settlement of the lawsuit by the City for unlawful conversion of housing units. According to SFGate, the Academy has agreed that it will do the following:
•Pay the city $20 million in fines and fees over five years — $7 million of which would go into a city fund to buy rent-controlled apartment buildings and maintain them as low-cost housing.
•Provide and maintain at least 160 units of low-income housing for senior citizens on two adjacent sites that the academy owns on Nob Hill near Chinatown. Some of the units would be new construction. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development estimates the deal will be worth $40 million to the city over the 66-year life of the agreement.
•Shut down school operations at three sites the academy owns, at 2295 Taylor St. on Russian Hill, at 2340 Stockton St. near Fisherman’s Wharf, and at 700 Montgomery St. in the Financial District.
•Limit future enrollment to the amount of housing that the academy has on hand.