Mistlin Gallery closes its doors in downtown Modesto. What role did the county play?

Faced with a rent increase, a longtime staple for the arts in downtown Modesto, Mistlin Gallery, has closed.

The Stanislaus Arts Council decided to relocate its gallery to a smaller space a few blocks away on J Street, according to Executive Director Dominique Johnson.

The new gallery, at 1315 J St., is expected to open later this summer.

“I’m hoping for late July, potentially early August,” Johnson, who took over as executive director Jan. 1, said in a phone interview.

The former Mistlin Gallery space, at 1015 J St., is owned by the county, she said. It closed to the public May 3.

The county raised the rent there from $5,600 a month to $6,200 plus $2,362.80 in service fees, for a total of $8,562.80 per month, Johnson said in an email. That increase had been incremental annually since February 2021.

The total rent paid last year was $67,200. “I have not found anything that states the organization was paying any type of service fees previously, during the last 20 years at 1015 J Street,” she said in the email. The total rent plus service fees for 2024 would have been $102,753.60.

“If we committed to the new lease rate after five years, the nonprofit would have had to raise $513,768 to cover the cost of rent in the 1015 J Street location,” Johnson’s email said. “We simply cannot afford to pay this much for rent alone. ...”

So the SAC decided to move to the new location, owned by the Gagos family, where its monthly rent will be $2,399, with a 3% increase after three years, she said in the email. The new lease is for five years.

An email from Patrice Dietrich, assistant executive officer for Stanislaus County, said the $5,600 rent was for 2020 and increased to $5,800 in 2021, $6,000 in 2022 and $6,200 in 2023.

“Stanislaus County purchased the first-floor retail space from Civic Partners in October of 2018 for $4.5 million,” Dietrich’s email said. All the suites were leased to private tenants and the county has been working on new leases or amendments.

“Each tenant has been asked to pay their fair share of common area maintenance (CAM) expenses,” the email said. “These are charges assessed by the 10th Street Place Joint Powers Agency for maintenance, security in the 10th Street Place Plaza, utilities, etc.”

Other tenants of the building “have an average 3% annual base rent escalation cost. In addition, all tenants are asked to pay their share of common area maintenance charges, which for Fiscal Year 2024 were $0.44 per square foot,” according to Dietrich’s email.

Johnson said a county attorney told the SAC in a Zoom meeting that they would not be able to re-up the lease after five years.

Dietrich replied in an follow-up email: “After checking with staff, our understanding of all discussions with Mistlin representatives would have confirmed that the County generally establishes lease terms up to five years, and extensions beyond five years would require negotiation. We haven’t had a tenant request a lease longer than five years and we have never not renewed a lease with an existing Tenant, should they want to remain at 10th Street Place.”

Renovations & donations needed, collaborations planned

Johnson said renovations need to be done on the new space before it can open, adding that it will be a slow process.

“We made the decision to look for a new place to relocate to, and that took quite a while,” she said.

The arts council is seeking public donations and sponsorships to pay for a needed $45,000 for renovations and $12,000 for electrical work, according to Johnson. She said interested parties can contact her at djohnson@stanislausarts.org.

The new space is about 4,000 square feet smaller than the 5,370-square-foot former Mistlin Gallery.

While the gallery will be smaller, Johnson said it’s an opportunity to start collaborations with businesses and other organizations to host exhibits by the arts council.

“We think it will help reach areas in our county that don’t have gallery space,” she said. “Kind of creating this movement throughout the county of a partnership, a collaboration of being able to exhibit artwork.”

Previously called the Central California Art Association, the organization had been volunteer run before its board hired Johnson.

Now, the SAC’s main source of funding comes from grants through the California Arts Council, she said in the email. The SAC is a local partner of the California Arts Council.

Its main source of funding for the last two decades came from Tony Mistlin, she said. He died in 2021 and his estate chose to discontinue funding the SAC after 2023.

While the new gallery has not yet been named, Johnson said there will be naming opportunities if someone in the community or an organization is interested in sponsoring the new space.

Rent will be paid by the SAC with funding from operations grants by the California Arts Council, revenue from exhibits and art sales and funds donated for operations, according to Johnson.

The SAC plans to continue the various classes it’s held over the years, moving some to other venues through partnerships. For example, it just started an improvisation class that will be held at Prospect Theater Project, Johnson said. The council expects to hold its drop-in figure drawing classes at the new gallery space.

The new gallery will continue to be part of the Third Thursday Art Walk when it opens. It also will continue to hold its “Young at Art” children’s art show annually in March, not only at the gallery but throughout the county, via partnerships, according to Johnson.

The arts council is holding a Celebration of the Arts fundraising event from 6 to 9 p.m. May 23 at Greens on Tenth, 953 10th St., Modesto. People can learn more about the SAC there. Tickets are $85 per person and include appetizers, beverages and entertainment.

Tickets can be reserved at www.stanislausarts.org/event/celebration-of-the-arts.

“We’re just very excited because we know that moving to a smaller space may sound like we’re downsizing,” Johnson said, “but it’s actually an opportunity for us to use our financial resources into the community (aside) from paying rent.”