Combined-Use Growth Rises in San Francisco’s Mission District| Housing Finance Journal

© Bruce Damonte
La Fénix at 1950 offers 157 homes, including 40 units for formerly homeless families, in the Mission District of San Francisco.

New affordable housing for families has emerged in the Mission District of San Francisco.

La Fénix was founded in 1950 by the non-profit BRIDGE Housing and Mission Housing Development Corp. developed and converted a former site of the San Francisco Unified School District into 157 apartments and community ground floor space.

In the face of a housing crisis in the Bay Area at all income levels – especially for extremely low-income households – development in this vibrant Latin-born neighborhood offers the affordable housing needed, including 40 units for formerly homeless families.

San Francisco has seen a technology boom in the past decade, which has contributed to higher housing costs and gentrification, according to Smitha Seshadri, executive vice president of BRIDGE Housing.

“The Mission District became one of those places where rents became unaffordable for many working families and they were evicted,” she says. “And to see that we have some family homeless shelters in this building is going to be really impressive.”

La Fénix was completed in November 1950 and includes 155 units affordable for households earning between 45% and 60% of the region’s median income (AMI); two units are reserved for property management. The 40 units reserved for formerly homeless families account for less than 30% of the AMI, with the city providing grants through its local operating subsidy program.

“The most important thing is that we have 155 families,” says Sam Moss, General Manager of Mission Housing. “But it’s always very important to show that it’s not just about the people who live there, but really about the whole neighborhood.”

Moss says the ground floor will be activated for the community, with an art gallery and free studios for low-income artists, a youth-run bike repair shop, and space to run head start and early head start programs.

The crowning glory of the building, Seshadri adds, is the rooftop garden with open spaces, play equipment, and city skyline views that families can enjoy. The roof is also open to the public.

“We built the roof of a 10,000 square meter meeting room for church groups in the mission,” says Moss.

The non-profit developers were selected as part of a municipal tender to convert the vacant lot of the former Phoenix Continuation High School and a parking lot into affordable housing. The urban infill development is adjacent to the transit so no parking was required, which helped it with competitive funding from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program – part of the state’s cap-and-trade auction program – Emissions of carbon emissions managed by – performing well by the Strategic Growth Council and implemented by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Other funding partners for the $ 100 million development include Wells Fargo, a low-income investor and construction lender, California Community Reinvestment Corp. as permanent lender, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, BNY Mellon, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

Swinerton Builders acted as general contractor, with David Baker Architects and Cervantes Design Associates as architects. On-site support services are provided by Mission Housing and Lutheran Social Services.

“Families have to take a deep breath – not just win the lottery to get a unit,” says Moss. “With Mission Housing as the landlord, you know that you are safe and will not be evicted.”