Mayor Mark Farrell, Supervisor Jane Kim, the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) Executive Director Nadia Sesay joined public and private partners today to break ground on a new 100 percent affordable housing development at 1150 Third Street in Mission Bay.

During the ceremony Mayor Farrell dedicated the site to former Mayor Edwin Lee, and proclaimed that upon completion, the building will be named after him.

“Today we are doing right by our veteran residents and lending a hand to struggling low-income families who deserve to call our city home,” said Mayor Mark Farrell. “This project moves us one step closer to bringing chronic veterans homelessness in our city to an end and I can think of no better tribute than to dedicate this new development to Mayor Lee, a man who spent his life uplifting those in need.”

The 1150 Third Street development is a partnership between the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, Swords to Plowshare, a nonprofit veteran service agency, and Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC). Additionally, sf.citi provided philanthropic support to initiate pre-development activities.

“This building will house 62 formerly homeless veterans and 56 low-income families with on-site supportive services,” said Supervisor Kim. “This isn’t by chance or luck - this is the result of vigorous advocacy for increased affordability and strong partnerships between the City and our private and nonprofit allies. I fully commit to continue such partnerships into the future. I would like to applaud Chinatown Community Development Center and Swords to Plowshares for the great work they have done to make this project a reality.”

Slated for completion in November 2019 the development will have 119 affordable rental for formerly homeless veterans and low-income families. The site will also include a large community room, computer lab, teen community space, children’s play space and on-site supportive services for its veteran residents.

“This is an incredible time for San Francisco as Mission Bay continues to be a driving force in creating high functioning, well-designed affordable housing,” said OCII Executive Director Nadia Sesay. “With these new homes our veterans and families will continue to thrive in our city.”

The development is an important next step in the City’s efforts to reduce the number of veterans and families facing homelessness in San Francisco and Mayor Lee’s goal to build and rehabilitate 30,000 housing units in San Francisco by 2020.

“I love our partnership with Swords to Plowshares and it is so heartwarming to have sustainable affordable housing where veterans and families do not have to worry about losing their homes,” said Rev. Norman Fong, Executive Director of CCDC. “What great synergy!”

"We are grateful to the late Mayor Lee who made this plot of land available to Swords to Plowshares and Chinatown Community Development Center," said Michael Blecker, Swords to Plowshares' Executive Director. "Collaborative efforts to ending veteran homelessness have led to a significant reduction in the number of chronically homeless veterans. This project is another critical step to getting our most vulnerable veterans housed."

The Mission Bay Project Area has seen many uses in its past, from warehouses and industrial facilities to the former Southern Pacific Railyard. Today it is one of San Francisco’s newest mixed-use, transit oriented developments, and upon completion will have approximately 6,400 housing units, of which 1800 are affordable. The project at 1150 Third Street in Mission Bay will be OCII’s fourth fully affordable housing project in Mission Bay South, with another 868 affordable units in the pipeline.