2015 Affordable Housing General Obligation Bond

In November 2015, over 74% of San Francisco voters approved Proposition A, a $310 million General Obligation Bond for affordable housing, to finance the construction, acquisition, improvement, rehabilitation, preservation and repair of affordable housing for low and middle income households.

What the Bond Does

The bond will address pressing housing needs by:

  • Investing in neighborhoods;
  • Developing and acquiring housing for a broad population, from families to seniors; transitional-aged youth to single working adults; and veterans to disabled households; and,
  • Meeting housing needs through a range of activities, including new multi-family construction, acquisition of existing apartment buildings, SRO rehabilitations, down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and other efforts that will effectively increase the affordable housing supply.

The 2015 Bond proposal allocates:

$100M for Low Income Affordable Housing
$50M for Low Income Affordable Housing in Mission District
$80M for Public Housing (HOPE SF)
$80M for Middle Income programs, including Down Payment Assistance Loans (DALP)
                           
TOTAL: $310M

First Issuance

On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, the City competitively sold $75.13 million in aggregate principal amount (plus net premium of $327,556) of City and County of San Francisco General Taxable Obligation Bonds (Affordable Housing, 2015), Series 2016F (the “Bonds”). The Bonds will constitute the first series of bonds to be issued from the aggregate authorized amount of $310 million.

The Bonds are rated AA+/Aa1/AA+ by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings, respectively.  S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings maintain a rating outlook of "Stable" on the City's long term debt obligations. 

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. was the successful bidder at a true interest cost (TIC) of 2.73%. The final bond maturity is June 15, 2036.

Proposed Uses:

$40,600,000 for Public Housing
$24,000,000 for Low-Income Housing
$6,000,000 for Mission Neighborhood
$3,803,014 for Middle Income Housing-DALP and the Teacher Next Door Program
$74,403,014 subtotal, project funds
 
$148,806 for CSA Audit Fee
$578,180 for Cost of Issuance
 
$75,130,000 TOTAL

Second Issuance

On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, the City competitively sold $142.1 million of Series 2018D Taxable General Obligation Bonds (Affordable Housing, 2015).

The Bonds are rated Aaa/AA+/AA+ by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch Ratings, respectively.  Moody’s and Fitch maintain a rating outlook of "Stable" and S&P maintains a rating outlook of “Positive” on the City's long-term debt obligations. The Bonds are amortized over 20 years, with a final maturity of June 15, 2038. The City received 6 bids the Taxable Series 2018D Bonds. Wells Fargo Bank, National Association was the winning bidder at a TIC of 3.783%. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC provided the cover bid at 3.817%.

The transaction closed on May 23, 2018. 

$400,000 for Public Housing
$67,595,000 for Low-Income Housing
$42,635,000 for Mission Neighborhood
$29,856,986 for Middle Income Housing-DALP and the Teacher Next Door Program
$140,486,986 subtotal, project funds
 
$280,974 for CSA Audit Fee
$246,538 for Cost of Issuance
$142,145 for Oversight Committee
$985,292 for Underwriter's Discount
$3,065 for Additional Proceeds (add into costs of issuance)
 
$142,145,000 TOTAL

Third Issuance (Final)

On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the City competitively sold $92.7 million of Series 2019C Taxable General Obligation Bonds (Social Bonds - Affordable Housing, 2015). The Bonds are rated AAA/Aaa/AA+ by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings, respectively.  S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings maintain a rating outlook of "Stable" on the City's long-term debt obligations.  

The City received 8 bids for the Series 2019BC Bonds. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was the successful bidder at a true interest cost (TIC) of 2.304%. The cover bid was from Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

The transaction closed on October 17, 2019.

$38,088,366 for Public Housing
$7,316,887 for Low-Income Housing
$803,201 for Mission Neighborhood
$45,528,394 for Middle Income Housing-DALP and the Teacher Next Door Program
$91,736,848 subtotal, project funds
 
$183,474 for CSA Audit Fee
$504,895 for Cost of Issuance
$92,725 for Oversight Committee
$207,058 for Underwriter's Discount
 
$92,725,000 TOTAL

Last updated September 6, 2024