News Releases
The latest news and announcements from Mayor London N. Breed

Mayor Lee & Supervisors Introduce Financing Milestone to Revitalize & Rebuild City’s Public Housing

RAD Partnership Phase 1 Applications Expedite Transformation of 15 Public Housing Sites for City’s Residents

Mayor Edwin M. Lee with nine sponsoring members of the Board of Supervisors introduced a package of resolutions for financing Phase 1 of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) partnership with U.S Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA). The RAD partnership is one of the first-in-the-nation that will allow San Francisco to leverage approximately $180 million in investor equity and other new resources to rehabilitate up to 4,584 public housing units. The resolutions, co-sponsored by nine Supervisors for public housing sites in their nine Supervisorial districts, authorize applications for tax exempt multifamily bond financing for each of the 15 troubled public housing sites that comprise Phase 1 of the program.

“We are fast tracking major improvements to public housing so that we not only raise basic living conditions for public housing residents today, but that we also secure the long term viability of these homes for tomorrow,” said Mayor Lee. “Today’s resolutions are a critical first step to get us to the starting line, which is the start of construction at the end of this year. I thank the nine Supervisors who co-sponsored these resolutions and recognize and support the need to kick start the rehabilitation work of public housing sites in their neighborhoods. Together, we will ensure that San Francisco public housing will be safe, clean and in good condition for families most in need.”

“I am thrilled that San Francisco’s public housing is finally being viewed as part of the City’s valuable affordable housing stock,” said President London Breed. “With this partnership to rehab public housing, the City will have homes that are livable and safe for families and seniors in the near future.”

The RAD program is a new program unveiled by HUD in 2012, and is the financial backbone that supports Mayor Lee’s 2013 Re-Envisioning Public Housing plan. In San Francisco, the RAD program will allow new community-based nonprofit owners, with the assistance of SFHA and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), to access resources such as debt financing and low income housing tax credits to complete this significant rehabilitation program and preserve the long-term viability of the units.  

The package of resolutions introduced are a milestone and fulfill a requirement to signal the intent and authorization to apply in July to the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) for an allocation of the so-called 4 percent tax credit through the issuance of residential mortgage revenue bonds for each of the fifteen Phase 1 project sites.  Phase 1 focuses on 1,425 units in nine Supervisorial districts.

The schedule for the transformation plan is a follows:
Phase 1 Construction closing and construction commencement: November 2015
Phase 2 Financing applications: December 2015
Phase 2 Construction closing and construction commencement: July 2016
Phase 1 Completion: August 2016 – April 2017
Phase 2 Completion: December 2017

In addition to improvements, all buildings will have tenant engagement services and access to neighborhood resources. The plan will also provide for rigorous tenant protections and a right to return for residents who may need to move temporarily while their units are rehabbed. The City is providing more than $50 million, in addition to the City funds dedicated to the HOPESF work. On its own, it would take the SFHA more than 50 years to provide the kind of capital improvements that will now occur within three years.