Mayor Mark Farrell, Supervisor Malia Cohen, Mercy-Related, and community members broke ground today on the phased redevelopment of the Sunnydale public housing sites, part of the City’s HOPE SF neighborhood transformation initiative that is being implemented by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Once completed, the re-envisioned Sunnydale community will be a mixed-income, service-enriched community, affordable to more than 1,500 low-income and middle-class families, and developed according to the non-displacement principles of the City’s HOPE SF initiative. HOPE SF represents a comprehensive commitment to replace and transform San Francisco’s public housing communities into vibrant, mixed-income communities without displacement of existing residents. In addition to Sunnydale, HOPE SF includes the redevelopment of Potrero Hill, Alice Griffith and Hunters View communities, each well under way.

“The commitment to the families of Sunnydale shows that San Francisco is delivering on our promise to ensure all of our residents, especially our low-income families, share in the prosperity of our City,” said Mayor Farrell. “After years of hard work by Mayor Lee, community partners and city leaders, today we take a significant step in providing affordable, inclusive, and high quality homes to existing families in Sunnydale. This is an historic rebuild of vibrant mixed-income communities without displacement of residents.”

Backed by significant local funding, including the $310 million affordable housing bond passed by voters in 2015, HOPE SF gives residents first priority in placement of new units and replaces 1:1 each former public housing unit, ensuring the stability of long-term communities.

“Today, we stand tall for the generations of Sunnydale residents who have waited on unfulfilled promises for decades,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen. “Beautiful, safe, inclusive homes for our most underserved communities have transformative long-term impacts on all children, families and neighborhoods. This is an incredible and promising moment for the future of our City.”

“Generations and generations of families have waited for this day, telling me: ‘it’s not going to happen,” said long-time Sunnydale resident community leader Ruth Jackson. “But today we have given our families hope where little existed, and life where there was constant strife.”

Today’s ground-breaking in Sunnydale marks the commencement of the development of new roadways, sidewalks, transit connections, and utilities in a regular street grid pattern that will reconnect the communities with their surrounding neighborhoods for the first time.  Additionally, Sunnydale will include significant new space for retail and supportive social services, as well as a state-of-the-art community and recreation center.

“From our perspective, partnering with residents to transform Sunnydale is first and foremost an investment in people,” says Doug Shoemaker, President of Mercy Housing California. “Beyond just developing new homes, we see one of our principal roles as helping the City and residents of Sunnydale achieve fundamental aspirations—educate our children, keep our families safe, and share in the economic prosperity that surrounds Sunnydale.”  

“Sunnydale HOPE SF continues our longstanding commitment to mixed income housing and the creation of a true neighborhood, with services and amenities for all,” said Related California CEO William Witte.

HOPE SF is a community-driven partnership with residents and city agencies leading the transformation of the City’s most distressed public housing communities. The San Francisco Housing Authority is an anchor partner supporting the development and resident engagement processes.

“This is no longer the ‘swamps’ of Sunnydale or ‘that part of the Valley’. This is our community, our San Francisco. Today we move forward and stand united as residents, community leaders, developers, and city partners in repairing a historic wrong of public policy,” said Theo Miller, HOPE SF Director.