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The latest news and announcements from Mayor London N. Breed

MAYOR LONDON BREED ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT TO MAKE NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MORE AFFORDABLE TO VERY LOW-INCOME SENIORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

MAYOR LONDON BREED ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT TO MAKE NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MORE AFFORDABLE TO VERY LOW-INCOME SENIORS
Mayor commits funding to make more units affordable to low-income seniors

San Francisco, CA—Mayor London N. Breed today announced an investment of $1.5 million to make an affordable housing development in the City’s Northeast Waterfront more affordable to very low-income seniors.

The 88 Broadway project is a 125-unit family building serving very low-, low-, and middle-income families and the 735 Davis project is a 53-unit building serving formerly homeless, low-income and middle-income seniors. However, the original affordability plan didn’t serve another serious need—housing for seniors earning only 30% of area median income (AMI), which is around $24,000 per year. This additional funding will cut rents in half for 13 units of senior housing, lowering the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment from $1,421 to $710.

“When we talk about affordable housing we need to take into account that what is affordable to San Franciscans is often very different depending on the neighborhood they live in,” said Mayor London Breed. “In this case, more than half of seniors living in District 3 make 30% or less of the area median income. With this investment, we can serve very low-income seniors who would otherwise be unable to afford what would still be considered ‘affordable’ housing to others with higher incomes.”

88 Broadway Street and 735 Davis Street are located on adjacent, publicly owned parking lots. The family building is located on Port-owned land and the senior building is located on Public Works-owned land that was transferred to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) as surplus. MOHCD is contributing approximately $50 million total to develop the affordable housing at these two sites. The developer was selected in April 2016 and is a joint venture between BRIDGE Housing Corporation and the John Stewart Company.

“I’m grateful for this collaborative effort with BRIDGE Housing, the John Stewart Company, the Port of San Francisco, and the Department of Public Works to make this unique and deeply affordable project possible,” said Kate Hartley, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Both projects include active ground floor commercial uses, including a childcare facility, café and restaurant. The sites will be connected by a “mid-block” pedestrian passageway that will be open to the public. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2019.

“We're proud to be partnering on these developments, which are a rare opportunity to bring a much-needed range of affordability to the neighborhood,” said BRIDGE Housing President and CEO Cynthia Parker. “The City's additional commitment will help some of our most vulnerable community members, effectively preventing homelessness and, for the seniors, enhancing their ability to thrive independently."

“The John Stewart Company is thrilled to be part of this important project,” said John Stewart, Founder and Chairman of the John Stewart Company. “When we learned that District 3 has a higher number of low-income seniors than other San Francisco districts, we worked with the Mayor’s Office to ensure that more very low-income seniors could be accommodated. With a mix that now better reflects the needs of the community, from the very lowest incomes to the missing middle, we are excited to be working towards a 2019 construction start.”