Tenderloin affordable hou­sing breaks ground

San Francisco city officials on Tuesday broke ground on new affordable housing that will include a 113-unit, mixed-use building in the Tenderloin for low-income residents.

The former parking lot at 222 Taylor Street will now help put families in the Tenderloin into affordable using units, said Supervisor Jane Kim:

“What is really special about this project is the fact that over 60 percent of the units will be two and three-bedroom apartments, and we know there is a dearth of family housing here in San Francisco.”

Kim said that it is a “moral dilemma” that one of the fastest growing populations in homeless camps in The City and across the U.S. are working families.

The eight-story building may also include a ground level grocery store, along with services for tenants and a place to store bicycles.

Donald Falk, chief executive director of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, said the project has taken years to finally get to the breaking ground phase.

Falk said the organization, which provides affordable housing and services for low-income San Francisco residents, had an agreement to purchase the property 10 years ago, but the recession and the closure of redevelopment agencies put the project on hold.

The organization though was able to put together a financing plan with the help of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., Capital One, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said Mayor Ed Lee.

Lee added:

“We still have a housing crises that we’re trying to help with building rehab, preservation of affordable units.”

In 2014, Lee laid out his plan to build and rehabilitate 30,000 housing units by the year 2020 for The City’s low- and middle-income residents.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.