San Rafael arts hub seeks repair funds following storms

Elisabeth Setten has, of late, been working from home.

As the latest storms barreled through Marin, Setten discovered water leaking into her office at the Art Works Downtown building in San Rafael. It’s one of dozens of leaks plaguing the 145-year-old building at 1337 Fourth St.

“This really old building has been amazingly carved up to serve a lot of purposes, but the atmospheric rain we’ve had in the past year has been an unprecedented situation in regard to water intrusion problems,” said Setten, the nonprofit’s executive director for about 10 years.

The building is home to 17 affordable residences, 32 artist studios, four commercial spaces and more than 20 tenants, including children. It is a community center for art and anchors the city’s 2nd Friday Art Walk event.

Built in 1878 as Gordon’s Opera House, the structure has stucco walls and is set on a brick foundation. Because of its age and wear, small water streams have made pernicious inroads from the outside.

And it’s not isolated to just one part of the building. Leaks have been located in the studios, the housing, the administrative area and the creative storefront businesses.

The cost of the repairs is still being evaluated, but is estimated to be well over $100,000.

Stan Gibbs, the organization’s program manager, said the building’s old construction is valued by the community, but it is more susceptible to the elements.

“We’re thrilled to see our land getting the hydration it needs, but unfortunately, the recent rain intrusion created significant disruptions to our organization’s ability to manage operations and offer public programing,” Gibbs said. “We are grateful for the understanding and support from our artist tenants and the public during this challenging time.”

The nonprofit, established in 1996, owns the building and is able to continue offering services based on donations and earned income, Setten said.

Setten estimated that about 10,000 people participated in exhibitions, talks and community events between March and December of last year.

The nonprofit has a budget of about $707,000, and the largest chunk goes toward paying the mortgage. Setten said the organization has about $100,000 a year in discretionary funding related to the arts.

Setten’s biggest concern is that the nonprofit might have to dip into the arts fund to help pay for the repairs. A donation program has been set up to raise $75,000 by July 1, the start of the next fiscal year. Donations can be transmitted online at bit.ly/40dldcL.

“It’s so important that the community recognizes that their donations are very needed,” Setten said. “They’re local, they’re effective and they really make a difference.”

Last week, the organization spent $30,000 to waterproof the electrical room after water intrusion from recent storms was discovered.

“We are still trying to wrap our heads around what the next step will be,” Setten said.

Terry Lofrano, a board member and an architect, called the fixes facing the building “extraordinary.”

“It’s an old, old grand lady that we’re trying to take care of here,” Lofrano said. “Little by little we’ve been hacking away at things that need to be repaired, but when there’s an excessive amount of water, it compounds the severity of the problem.”

Lofrano said the waterproofing in the electrical room required a rubber-like coating to protect the building and a diversionary system to an area that pumps out water. It is an enormous project, he said, and likely a task to do the same fix to the entire front of the building.

Stephanie Jucker, a resident and ArtWorks artist for the last 12 years, said she and others have had to cover up their works in plastic during storms.

Her pieces, which she characterizes as “magical realism” –– “sometimes I think, unrealism,” she said –– include paintings, wall sculpture and mobiles. The water intrusion has affected her studio as well as her apartment.

“We’ve always had leaks in the studios. Things are always needing upkeep and fixing,” she said. “We don’t want our work damaged. We want people who work here to be comfortable and not running around with buckets worried about leaks. We can focus on the arts programming rather than the building issues.”