DOWNTOWN SET TO LOSE 1ST GALLERY RISING RENTS DRIVE OUT ARTISTS.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

NEWHALL - The first art gallery in the Downtown Newhall arts district is closing its doors, a victim of rising rents and property acquisitions that kicked into high gear once the city's specific plan for redeveloping the deteriorating business core was approved.

The Santa Clarita Artists Association is moving at the end of December when its landlord, the Old Towne Star antique store, closes its doors for good.

The gallery's demise began when the building at 24335 San Fernando Road was purportedly sold and proprietors of the antique store from whom the artists sublet anticipated a hike in their month-to-month rent.

Roberta Borchardt and her sister, Karen Storr, opened Old Towne Star in September 2004, putting their life savings into the venture.

``We got wind of everyone selling,'' Borchardt said. ``The building was in escrow when we went to our accountant to look at our finances to see if we could afford any new rents, because we heard they would be going up.''

The sale fell out of escrow, but the news from the accountant wasn't good. Close up, the accountant said, and cut your losses.

``We were barely making the rent,'' Borchardt said. ``Even though we were advertising and had a lot of sales and special events, we just never got the traffic. It's hard to sell in this area and I know it takes awhile to get things started, but our accountant showed us there was never an upward climb.''

For the artists, it's deja vu as the sculptors, painters and photographers will be restricted to gallery space given to them by the Canyon Theatre Guild and Barnes & Noble. Scott Bruckner, president of the SCV Artists Association, said he talked with the building owner about staying, but the financial commitment was just too much for the 175-member group.

``He told me that they were looking for $2,300, plus a share of the property tax, which would be a 45 percent increase to what we'd been paying. With the limited amount of money in our treasury, we knew we couldn't afford it.''

The 40 Old Towne Star vendors who bring in items ranging from handmade jewelry to hard-to-find antiques and vintage clothing are ``sick about it,'' Borchardt said.

``They liked doing business here,'' she said. ``The fact that they're sad shows they feel lost, too.''

The sisters are turning their expertise in retail and antiquing into consulting for estate handlers once the store is closed. Old Towne Star's doors will close to the public Dec. 23, when vendors will pack up and move on. The artists are planning their last big sale for Dec. 18.

``It was a big risk to open the gallery,'' Bruckner said. ``The reason we took the risk was because the city had plans for an arts district downtown and we fit right in.''

``As a nonprofit without big sources of income other than hanging fees, coming up with $1,600 and the utilities was tight enough,'' Sandy Fisher, the group's vice president, said. ``Fundraising activities helped, but since we're kind of new, we didn't have any big ones. Unless we get $15,000 in the next day or two, it's going to be virtually impossible to carry on.''

The group also has some grants pending to provide arts instruction for children. Bruckner said the Newhall area is the area's most underserved location in terms of visual arts education.

Pat Craig, a longtime member of the association and the first artist to sell a piece after the gallery opened in July, lamented its closing.

``The gallery brought some cohesion to the group,'' she said. ``We were more of a club before, but in the gallery, members got to know each other and were inspired by each other's work. It bound us like nothing else had bound us before.''

The closure of the antique store and gallery follows the sale of the adjoining property, the former location of F.U.N. Inc. Also planning to leave the area is Mercado Jalisco, a Mexican market on San Fernando Road.

The city's redevelopment coordinator, Andree Walper, said art galleries traditionally have a hard time surviving, citing the arts district in North Hollywood having problems keeping galleries open.

``The theaters seem to do fine,'' she said. ``It's all in the marketing.''

``I guess we were a little naive,'' Fisher said. ``We thought the redevelopment plan was going to be something great for us. We never realized it was going to be our ouster.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com