As prices rise, units fill, and waiting lists for subsidized housing get longer or freeze entirely, many low-income residents in San Francisco have been forced to leave the increasingly unaffordable city. But for San Francisco public housing residents, there’s hope that private investment might transform the affordable units that do exist from dilapidated and derelict housing into communities they are happy to call home.
The development at 345 Arguello Blvd. was taken over by the non-profit developer Mercy Housing in 2015. Before, it was home to bedbugs, roaches and bad plumbing. Now, private funds have metamorphosed the old building into a shiny new one, with colorful walls and a modern facade.
Viola Ryan, one long-time resident, remembers what it was like living at 345 Arguello before Mercy Housing took over. Her old room was terrible, Ryan recalled in 2016. “We were living almost in the gutter. … We didn’t have heat and sometimes hot water. We couldn’t get nobody to fix anything for us.” Now, with new appliances and more accountable landlords, Viola is more comfortable.
Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine
