Squeezed out of their deteriorating studio by rent hike, struggling SJ artists shy of options

AN EXORBITANT RENT increase is about to break apart a longtime artist enclave in downtown San Jose.

Roughly six dozens artists at Citadel Art Studios at the corner of Martha and Fifth streets were sent into a scramble in November when their landlord, R&C Brown, announced rent hikes of 100 percent or more in some instances, starting February 2023, tenants said. Artists organized to fight the new rates and managed to reduce the increases for some tenants, but many said they would have to downsize or lose their space altogether. One artist estimated roughly 30 percent of tenants are leaving.