Today, Mayor London Breed joined community leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Sunnydale Community Hub, a joint development comprised of a childcare center operated by Wu Yee Children’s Services, a Boys & Girls Clubhouse, vibrant community spaces, and a full-service recreation center serving residents of Sunnydale, Visitacion Valley, and surrounding communities.
The Sunnydale neighborhood is home to one of the highest concentrations of young people in San Francisco, as well as one of the highest concentrations of poverty. The Sunnydale Community Hub will provide safe and accessible space to families, children, and youth for sports, recreation, and cultural events, as well as health and wellness programs and activities.
“Every young person in San Francisco, regardless of where they live, should have access to modern recreation and learning spaces close to home”, said Mayor London Breed. “The Sunnydale Community Hub will be vital to the development of children and youth in this neighborhood and is the perfect example of the great things we can accomplish when we make significant investments and work collaboratively to provide our residents with facilities that foster a thriving community.”
The $72 million joint development is made possible by a combination of funding sources including the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), San Francisco’s 2020 Health & Recovery Bond, Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022 Budget Act, federal and state funds secured by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Scott Wiener, and pledges from community donors.
“Today’s groundbreaking is a vital step toward ensuring every San Franciscan has the resources and facilities they need to thrive in the neighborhood they call home,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “The Sunnydale Community Hub will serve as a beacon of the values that our City holds dear – empowering this beautiful community to flourish by forging closer bonds between neighbors, expanding children’s horizons and opening new doors to economic opportunity for all. As a proud Representative of San Francisco, it was my privilege to help secure $1.5 million in federal funding for the Community Hub’s new Herz Recreation Center, and I will continue fighting alongside our City leaders to ensure this bold vision soon becomes a reality for Sunnydale.”
“The Sunnydale Community Hub will provide an amazing space for Sunnydale residents to gather, learn, play and make connections,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “I’m proud to have brought home $5 million in state funding for the Hub. It’s going to be a fantastic addition to the neighborhood, and I can’t wait to see it in action.”
Anchored at the Southeast corner of John McLaren Park at the corner of Sunnydale Avenue and Hahn Street, the Sunnydale Community Hub will include a 35,000 sq. ft. campus of buildings and outdoor spaces that function as a gateway into the neighborhood and a space for community programs and neighbor-to-neighbor connections. The site will be comprised of two main buildings:
- The Community Center, housing a Boys & Girls Clubhouse which will provide academic support, daily education enrichment, character development programs, and physical activity to 135 youth in grades K-12; and the Wu Yee Early Childhood Education Center, a childcare center providing Head Start childcare and education programs to 150 children ages 0-5. The Community Center will also include landscaped play areas, an outdoor courtyard, a café, and space for fitness and cooking classes, events, and community-building activities.
- The Herz Recreation Center, staffed and operated by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, will provide approximately 11,500 sq. ft. of indoor space including a basketball court, bleachers, a multi-purpose room, restrooms, staff offices, and equipment storage.
“This community deserves a state-of-the-art community center, gym, and space to gather for everyone,” said District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. “So proud to finally see this coming into fruition and looking forward to the many opportunities that will be provided. We will continue to fulfill promises in the Sunnydale community and make sure we achieve equity for the neighborhood!”
Sunnydale is one of four former public housing sites that comprise San Francisco’s HOPE SF initiative, the nation’s first large-scale community development and reparations initiative aimed at creating inclusive, mixed-income, and thriving communities without the mass displacement of existing residents. All HOPE SF projects aim to center residents first and change systems and shift power to ensure San Francisco is a racially and economically inclusive city. The Sunnydale HOPE SF project includes the complete revitalization of the existing 50-acre Sunnydale-Velasco Housing Authority site, replacing 775 existing apartments with a mixed-use neighborhood of 1,700 high-quality, energy efficient homes. To date, 222 affordable units have been completed with 75% of them designated as public housing replacement units for Sunnydale residents.
Mercy Housing California and Related Companies are co-leading the Sunnydale transformation and Community Hub projects, which, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), were selected to transform Sunnydale into a vibrant, unified, mixed-income community. Local firm Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA) is also enlisted in the development of the Community Center and Herz Recreation Center, with Swinerton enlisted as the general contractor for the Community Center.
“Together with our outstanding partners, Mercy Housing is proud to create new spaces for families in Sunnydale and Visitation Valley to learn, play, and grow,” said Doug Shoemaker, President of Mercy Housing California. “We are especially grateful to the residents of Sunnydale, whose collective vision for change in their neighborhood has paved the way to this exciting day.”
“Sunnydale families can rejoice now that both a new rec center and community center is coming to this dynamic neighborhood,” said San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “These efforts, combined with a major transformation already underway at Herz Playground, fall directly in line with a larger and sustained commitment to residents in this neighborhood, who deserve state-of-the-art spaces for recreation, sports, and learning.”
For more information about the Sunnydale Community Hub, visit www.buildthehub.org.