Academy of Art near deal on saving Flower Mart

Relenting to City Hall pressure, the Academy of Art University appears ready to pull out of a controversial plan to buy the San Francisco Flower Mart, potentially an 11th-hour reprieve in a deal critics felt would have destroyed the local landmark.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin's office met with representatives of the university late Monday and reached a "conceptual agreement," under which the Academy of Art will walk away from the transaction if the city modifies certain zoning constraints that had limited what the school could do at its properties elsewhere in the neighborhood.

"We've just saved hundreds of jobs, both locally as well as regionally, and preserved a thriving San Francisco institution," Peskin said.

The Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development also received clear signals from the Academy of Art that it intends to reverse course, after it works out legal details with the current property owners, Managing Deputy Director Jennifer Matz said.

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