San Francisco, CA — Today, Mayor London N. Breed announced San Francisco has been awarded more than $70.9 million in funding from the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) to support the development of climate-friendly affordable housing, transit improvements, and essential City infrastructure. These dollars come from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program which aims to advance the near-term construction of affordable housing and greener, more walkable communities.
“Every day we are working to make this City more affordable and livable for all of our residents,” said Mayor London Breed. “This state funding will provide critical support for transit and infrastructure and help to create more homes for people here as we work towards meeting our ambitious housing goals. I want to thank our state partners for this support and their partnership in delivering more affordable housing to cities like San Francisco.”
Increasing housing affordable to lower-income and vulnerable residents is a key priority in the City’s Housing Element which calls for additional funding for affordable housing production and preservation, as well as Mayor Breed’s Housing for All Executive Directive that sets out the steps the City will take to meet the bold goal of allowing for 82,000 new homes to be built over the next eight years. Today’s funding announcement emphasizes the importance of regional and state collaboration in order to reach our housing and climate goals.
In total, this funding will support the development of 174 new homes across two 100% affordable housing projects while supporting critical transit and infrastructure improvements.
160 Freelon Street - $41.2 million
160 Freelon is an 85-unit 100% affordable development located in the Central South of Market neighborhood, one block from the 4th & Brannan Muni station. The development will largely serve families, with over 50% of units being two or three-bedroom units, 22 units set aside for formerly homeless households, and five units for HIV-positive households. 160 Freelon will promote community development with bilingual tenant counseling to prevent displacement and support career development opportunities for youth and adults, as well as resident services focusing on financial literacy for the neighborhood’s existing and future low-income residents.
This project will also address equity and climate change through transit-oriented improvements, including two miles of permanent two-way bike lanes and five new bus bulb-outs.
Sunnydale Block 7 - $29.7 million
Sunnydale Block 7 is in the third phase of the revitalization of San Francisco’s largest public housing community. Sunnydale Block 7 will provide 89 units of permanently affordable housing and create the first-ever accessible connection to McLaren Park, the second largest park in San Francisco.
Additional transit improvements will include a new safe and accessible sidewalk that reconnects this once isolated neighborhood to the pedestrian grid, as well as traffic signal improvements and bus boarding bulb-outs along Visitacion Avenue to optimize transit across the Sunnydale community.
“In order for San Francisco to reach its housing goals, we must continue to build a robust and reliable transit system to accommodate our City’s growth,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA Director of Transportation. “These two grants are a step forward in our Agency’s response to equity and climate change through transit-oriented improvements.”
The AHSC Program is administered by SGC and implemented by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. It is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that supports various projects including affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, and environmental restoration.
“We cannot solve the homelessness crisis without creating new affordable homes. Today, we’re reinvesting more than three-quarters of a billion dollars generated through cap-and-trade funding to build thriving and affordable communities for California families,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “By creating livable communities with sustainable transportation options, we can meet both our state’s climate targets and our goal of providing affordable housing for every Californian.”
###