Studio 17, a collective of more than 70 artists working in the Redlick Building at 17th and Mission streets, will be forced to vacate the premises in June after failing to secure a lease renewal from its landlord. Artists who have worked in the building for years and hosted numerous open houses are faced with finding new spaces or packing up their belongings.

Studio 17 isn’t the only artist studio facing eviction in San Francisco. Smaller artist collectives including Workspace Limited and SOMA Artists Studios may share the same fate.

The Redlick Building was purchased by Rick Holman, managing partner of Asher Insights Inc., in 2013, and he assured tenants in an open letter that there were no intentions “to tear down the building ... or otherwise change its fundamental character or use.”

According to Robert Donald, master leaseholder of the Studio 17 spaces, the artists have tried several times to contact Holman about negotiating the terms for their lease renewal, but have not been successful.

“Without any plans for relocation, having to vacate our existing spaces to make way for the owner’s mandated retrofit leaves us with little hope of maintaining our community,” said Donald. “I question whether Mr. Holman is using it as a convenient excuse for our displacement.”

Studio 17 occupies 20,000 square feet on the fourth floor of the Redlick Building, which Holman says is due for a seismic upgrade. Donald says that he is unsure whether this will require artists to vacate the space until the upgrades are complete and that the artists have not received a definitive answer.

Donald issued a zoning violation claim against Holman that is under investigation by the Planning Department. In 2013, Holman made upgrades to the building and the nonprofit Homeless Children’s Network was priced out.

The nonprofit was later replaced by PlanGrid, a construction app company that works with architects to replace paper blueprints.

Holman disputed claims about negotiations and said that upgrades must be completed to make the building safe.

“The problem with these claims is that we are directly leasing to artists, not renewing Robert Donald’s master lease through his business Studio 17 Artists LLC,” said Holman. “I have not made any statements to Robert Donald about a rate for renewing his master lease.”

Holman says the plan is to directly lease the space to artists at substantially below-market rates. According to Gina Simi, the Planning Department’s communications manager, the investigation is continuing.

The artists have taken steps to combat their displacement, and on April 15, they issued a press release detailing their concerns and calls for public support. They also participated in the Mission Artists United’s Spring Open Studios, in what artist and Studio 17 member Truong Tran referred to as “possibly the last opportunity” for the public to visit the artists’ collective spaces.

The artists are hoping for the issues to be resolved before it’s time to pack up. They plan to meet with Holman and his lawyers this week.

Tran believes moving would speak to the larger issue of artists and culture being pushed out of the city.

“I have concerns about where he plans to relocate us,” said Tran. “If it is in the basement or on the second floor, most of us would have to move out.

“This is displacement. Apps do not change the world. Artists and their work do that. ”

Spencer Whitney is assistant editor on the opinion pages. E-mail: swhitney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SpenceWhitney