San Fran turns former public housing sites into permanent affordable housing

California Construction News staff writer

A grand opening was held last week at 363 Noe Street, the last of five former public housing sites rehabilitated by non-profit developer Mission Housing Development Corporation (MHDC).

The Scattered Sites project is a commitment to preserving affordable housing in neighborhoods where supply has been scarce. The five sites are in four neighborhoods:

• 2206-2268 Great Highway located in Outer Sunset (16 units)
• 4101 Noriega Street located in Outer Sunset (8 units)
• 200 Randolph/409 Head Street located in Ingleside (16 units)
• 363 Noe Street located in the Castro (21 units)
• 1357-1371 Eddy Street located in the Fillmore (8 units)

San Francisco set a goal to create over 82,000 new homes in the next eight years, calling for additional funding for affordable housing production and preservation like the investments in these homes. The rehabilitation and preservation of 363 Noe and the other public housing units serving senior and disabled, low-income residents is being called “a small but significant step” in achieving housing goals.

“There’s a lot that goes into developments of this caliber. The importance of preserving affordable housing is often overlooked, but it’s a key component of Mission Housing’s values, MHDC executive director Sam Moss said in a statement. “Restoring 69 units across five different sites is the kind of common-sense preservation that makes Mission Housing Development Corporation proud to a part of San Francisco’s affordable housing community.”

The $84 million Scattered Sites project includes rehab of 66 affordable homes and three management units with support from a variety of state and local sources, including more than $7.4 million from MOHCD and $32 million in tax credits through the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC).