More than 20 artists have already moved out of their studios on Cottage Street in Easthampton amid an impending rent hike.
That's according to tenants who have been organizing against the rent increases. They say that over half of the artists at Cottage Street Studios are experiencing an over 50% increase in their rent, forcing them to make the tough decision of either packing up their studios to move somewhere else or taking the financial hit of much higher rents. And according to those artists, at least 20 of them have decided to leave the building ahead of a Sept. 1 deadline to either sign the new lease or give notice to leave.
The former mill building is owned by the nonprofit Riverside Industries, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Riverside has said that it has had to increase rents in the building to fund its mission. Markus Jones, the organization’s senior director of development and strategic operations, said that Riverside has been running a more than $300,000 financial deficit on the building, which was gifted to the organization in 1976.
“It is a situation that was unsuitable for Riverside to continue, managing the building that way,” he said. “Through our strategic planning we made a decision to change our relationship with the building.”
Riverside Industries announced in April a $15 per square foot rent rate, increasing tenants’ rent at a rate ranging from 25% to 125%, according to the organized tenants. And while those residents say it has been common to see smaller rent increases over the years, the latest rent hikes from Riverside has forced many artists to move elsewhere.
Jones said that the organization made a decision about two years ago to boost rents, and that 33 tenants are already paying between $12 and $15 per square foot. What the organization is doing, he said, is proposing an “equalized rental rate” so that everyone is paying the same.
“That does mean that people who have been in the building for a long period of time, who have a historically low rental rate, are being asked to increase it pretty dramatically,” he said. “But we think it creates equity amongst the tenants, it’s a reasonable price based on the market and it is a price point that would allow Riverside to have a much more sustainable building operation and reduce the amount of money that Riverside, the nonprofit, has to pay to keep the building running.”
Cottage Street Studios is home to nearly 100 tenants, 80 of whom are artists and creative small business owners in the community, according to the artists. That includes Margaret Larson, a 16-year tenant at Cottage Street Studios who said she and her husband rent out about 3,800 square feet on the first floor of the building for their woodworking business and a golf simulator. Larson said that their rent would have increased to about $50,000 a year had they stayed.
“I honestly don't know any small businesses that can manage that, particularly in the middle of a fiscal year,” Larson said. “So we got that news. We talked, we tried to talk to Riverside to see if there was something we could do. And basically, we've been stonewalled at every turn. They will not talk to us.”
Larson also questioned Riverside’s explanation that the organization is losing money on the building, saying the nonprofit’s tax filings suggest the organization has healthy bank balances. She said Riverside will now lose many studio tenants and won’t be able to quickly fill those vacant studios.
Jones said that Riverside didn’t make the decision to raise rents lightly.
“Personally, I truly empathize with those folks,” he said. “I hear them, I understand the position that they’re in. But here at Riverside we have a mission, and our mission is to empower adults with disabilities. And we are truly focused on delivering that mission and we have to do what’s in the best interest of Riverside.”
Tenants have also said that the new leases are drastically different and more complex than previous ones. The lease includes new restrictions, including a new level of required insurance, and two clauses that the organizers have described as a “gag order” in direct response to the advocacy campaign. The clause states that “any interference in Riverside’s operations, intentional effort to damage Riverside’s reputation or disrupt advantageous business relationships, including donors, business partners, or members of the Board of Directors, will result in a breach of the lease.” The lease also allows Riverside to change the rules of the lease at any time for any reason with no explanation, according to organizers.
Andrea Zax, a custom wedding gown and costume designer, has been at Cottage Street Studios for nine years. But soon, she plans on moving out of her studio because of the rent hikes.
“I don't want to sign this lease they've given us, which is just horrible,” Zax said. “A 21-page lease with all these rules and restrictions to make their lives simple. Nothing in our favor, really. You know, it's all about making sure we pay our rent, making sure we do this and that and don't break any of these rules, which they can make new ones at any time.”
Jones said that he disagrees that the language is a “gag order.” He said the language in the lease agreement was a reaction to organizing by tenants and the Boston-based nonprofit Art Stays Here, who he said have contacted Riverside donors, volunteers and others in an attempt to get Riverside to change course. That, he said, imperils the nonprofit and its programs.
Larson and her husband, along with six other artists from the first floor they share, plan to relocate their businesses to another studio location in Easthampton. Artists like Zax, however, aren’t sure what their next step is. Others who have decided to stay in the building declined to speak to NEPM.
Zax said that the situation is similar to processes playing out in other cities like Boston, where artists that breathed life into their buildings are forced out.
“They’re moving the arts out of Easthampton, making it more possible for other places to start charging more,” she said. “The artists come in, they make the place more desirable, people come with restaurants and stores, and then the artists get pushed out.”
“The almighty dollar is driving the bus,” she said. “And who cares about art and creative people?”
