A two-year standoff between UC San Diego and the campus co-operative Ché Cafe has been resolved with the university signing new leases with the iconic gathering spot and other collectives.

The new eight-year lease agreements with the Ché Cafe Collective, Groundwork Books, the Food Co-op and the General Store Co-op were announced Friday. All of the collectives had been under month-to-month agreements since 2015, and the Ché Cafe had been operating without a lease for the past two years.

The cafe had faced an eviction order two years ago after losing its lease, but students and other supporters occupied the building for more than 100 days that year, and the eviction never happened. Instead, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla agreed to stay the eviction and began meetings with representatives of the collective, which operates the cafe.

As part of the agreement, the four co-ops will be charged rent of only one dollar a year and receive free utilities. A UC San Diego News Center story posted Friday said the university would make “a significant investment in life and safety and other renovations on the Ché Cafe facility in the coming months.”

Although the cafe has not had a lease since 2015, shows have been regularly performed at the colorfully painted, iconic building that has been on campus for 36 years and had hosted performances by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Death Cab for Cutie and many others.

The most recent post on the collective’s website was in April and stated that the cafe was still in operation, but would not have programs at the site until mid-July or early August because of construction.

The UC San Diego News Center story quoted Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan González as saying the new lease agreements show the university’s support for campus co-ops and the experiences they provide students.

“The co-ops provide an enhanced cultural interaction with a diverse student population, bringing new opportunities and engagement that our students would not otherwise encounter. We want our co-ops to thrive and be successful,” he said.

The cafe’s lease problems began in 2014, when a study of the 1940s-era structure found it needed about $700,000 in repairs and other work, including a sprinkler system to suppress fires.

The University Centers Advisory Board that year voted to not fund the repairs, which led to the venue losing its lease.

Supporters of the cafe, including 1981 UC San Diego graduate Monty Kroopkin, argued that the cost estimate of the repairs was overblown.

Kroopkin said the cost in the report was an estimate for the life of the building, not expenses that needed to be done immediately. He also said that while the report noted the cost of installing sprinklers, it also said they were not needed because the single-story building had multiple exits.

UC San Diego public information officer Christine Clark said the upgrades will include a new sprinkler system, but she did not have information about how much the improvements would cost.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

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