Mayor London N. Breed, Supervisor Hillary Ronen and community leaders today celebrated the groundbreaking of Casa de la Misión at 3001 24th Street. Once complete, the new building will provide 44 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless seniors.
“We need more housing of all types in San Francisco, especially for our most vulnerable residents,” said Mayor Breed. “I’m committed to creating more housing in San Francisco so that our seniors can exit homelessness and find a permanent home. With funding from our Affordable Housing Bond, which voters approved in November, we’ll be able to open even more senior housing like Casa de la Misión throughout the City.”
The existing building at 3001 24th Street will be demolished and replaced with four stories of senior housing. The housing will be located over two commercial spaces along 24th Street. MNC’s Mission Girls Youth Program was located in the existing building, but has since relocated their program to another site in advance of construction. MNC proposes to launch a hospitality workforce development program for marginalized young adults in the ground floor retail spaces.
“I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new year than by breaking ground on affordable housing in the heart of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District!” said District 9 Supervisor, Hillary Ronen. “I applaud Mission Neighborhood Centers for recognizing that seniors are struggling to stay in this community, for responding in such a concrete way by building housing on this property they’ve owned for many years, and for their persistence in making this long-planned dream come true.”
“The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is incredibly excited to celebrate the ground-breaking of the sixth MOHCD-supported affordable housing development in the Mission in less than two years, and want to congratulate MNC and Mercy Housing on their incredible work bringing the project to this milestone,” said Dan Adams, Acting Director of MOHCD. “In 2020, we look forward to continuing to build, renovate, and preserve high-quality affordable housing in the Mission and throughout San Francisco.”
Mercy Housing California and Mission Neighborhood Centers are partnering on this development and have enlisted HKIT architects and YA studios to bring their vision to life.
“Mercy Housing California is honored to be working with all of our project partners to develop vitally needed new affordable rental housing in San Francisco and the Mission District which, in a little over one year’s time from now, will be home to formerly homeless seniors 62 years of age and older,” said Doug Shoemaker, President of Mercy Housing California. “We are especially grateful for the significant and generous commitment from the Bettye Poetz Ferguson Foundation, which is providing $5 million of the project’s $30 million total project cost.”
Once built, la Casa de la Misión will feature a resident lobby, management offices, a meeting room, and community room, all located on the ground floor for resident use. The remaining ground floor area is dedicated to a landscaped courtyard. The fifth floor will feature an outdoor roof terrace as well as a resident laundry room.
“Senior citizens in our community—the Mission—have been disproportionally affected by high-levels of displacement over the last few decades. True to our settlement house roots, MNC continues to remain responsive to the needs of the communities we serve. MNC’s vision of community empowerment and commitment to the preservation of community values, at risk due to rampant gentrification, has compelled us to practice self-determination and invest wisely in areas of need,” said Sam Ruiz, CEO of Mission Neighborhood Centers. “This practice has enabled us to fight displacement and continue to serve the most vulnerable in our communities. At this critical time, we are overjoyed to be part of the solution. Casa de la Misión is a long-awaited vision, coming to fruition thanks to the hard work of our staff and committed community partners. It has been two decades in the making and it has been my honor to have led this process.”
All residential units will be supported through a City-funded Local Operating Subsidy Program (LOSP) contract, and homeless applicants will be referred to the site through the City’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s Coordinated Entry System.
Erick Arguello, Founder and President of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District expressed, “we are very pleased this 100 percent affordable housing for seniors is breaking ground in the heart of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District. It’s been a long time coming and is very much needed.”
Casa de la Misión has an expected move-in date of mid-2021.
The 2019 $600 million Affordable Housing Bond included $150 million for the creation of new affordable senior housing rental opportunities, through new construction and acquisition, and will fund projects like this one. There are a number of affordable housing developments for seniors planned throughout San Francisco.