San Francisco will move forward with a proposal to build affordable housing on city-owned property a few feet from City Hall, according to Mayor London Breed.
If all goes according to plan, Mercy Housing and the Kelsey, a San Jose-based developer that specializes in housing “inclusive for people with and without disabilities,” will create 102 units at 240 Van Ness and on neighboring Grove Street lots.
The Kelsey was among three developers who proposed uses for the city land. The developer’s mission statement notes that disabled people are at particular risk for homelessness or of being forced to live in “isolated institutional settings” due to housing insecurity.
Founder Micaela Connery said Monday that among adults with development disabilities, fewer than 12 percent own or rent their own home. Her company “has been engaging San Francisco residents for the last two years on the very real need for housing” for disabled residents.
Of the 102 proposed homes, 21 units would be specifically tagged for disabled tenants, with those units priced for people making as little as 13 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
The city currently classifies AMI as $86,200 for one person or $123,150 for a household of four; those figures are likely to rise by the time the Kelsey project finishes.
In all, 52 of the total homes would be priced at 100 to 120 percent of the median, and these moderate-income units might end up being the most valuable for the city’s housing goals.
According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco should aim to permit 5,460 such homes by 2023, but the city persistently has trouble finding developers who want to build in this bracket.
The SF Board of Supervisors will have to okay the development on city property. Supervisor Matt Haney—elsewhere butting heads with Breed over affordable housing plans—has sponsored a resolution that would clear the way.
The present timeline calls for construction to begin in late 2022 with a completion date of 2025.
Loading comments...