{"id":32622,"date":"2024-04-02T12:46:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T19:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32622"},"modified":"2024-04-02T12:46:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T19:46:05","slug":"why-one-of-s-f-s-biggest-housing-projects-could-shrink-by-hundreds-of-affordable-apartments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/02\/why-one-of-s-f-s-biggest-housing-projects-could-shrink-by-hundreds-of-affordable-apartments\/","title":{"rendered":"Why one of S.F.\u2019s biggest housing projects could shrink by hundreds of affordable apartments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/\"><\/a>By\u00a0  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/roland-li\/\">Roland Li<\/a> April 1, 2024 (SFChronicle.com)<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/feed?app_id=137086563877087&amp;link=https%3A%2F%2Fsfchronicle.com%2Fsf%2Farticle%2Fhousing-project-sfmta-19374340.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dfacebook.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;name=Why%20one%20of%20S.F.%E2%80%99s%20biggest%20housing%20projects%20could%20shrink%20by%20hundreds%20of%20affordable%20apartments&amp;description=There%20are%20still%20significant%20funding%20hurdles%20for%20the%20project%2C%20and%20more%20than%2075%25%20of%20the...&amp;picture=https%3A%2F%2Fs.hdnux.com%2Fphotos%2F01%2F36%2F66%2F61%2F24865880%2F3%2FrawImage.jpg&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fsfchronicle.com%2Fsf%2Farticle%2Fhousing-project-sfmta-19374340.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3DUTMSOURCE%26utm_medium%3DUTMMEDIUM\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsfchronicle.com%2Fsf%2Farticle%2Fhousing-project-sfmta-19374340.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dt.co%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;text=Why%20one%20of%20S.F.%E2%80%99s%20biggest%20housing%20projects%20could%20shrink%20by%20hundreds%20of%20affordable%20apartments&amp;via=sfchronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Your%20friend%20has%20shared%20a%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle%20link%20with%20you%3A&amp;body=Why%20one%20of%20S.F.%E2%80%99s%20biggest%20housing%20projects%20could%20shrink%20by%20hundreds%20of%20affordable%20apartments%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fsfchronicle.com%2Fsf%2Farticle%2Fhousing-project-sfmta-19374340.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dshare-by-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%0A%0AThere%20are%20still%20significant%20funding%20hurdles%20for%20the%20project%2C%20and%20more%20than%2075%25%20of%20the...%0A%0AThis%20message%20was%20sent%20via%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been six years since the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency began working on an ambitious plan to build&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/Massive-S-F-housing-development-at-Muni-bus-yard-17541893.php\" class=\"\">hundreds of affordable apartments<\/a>&nbsp;alongside a replacement for its aging Potrero Yard bus facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Construction on the new transit facility is slated to start early next year. But there are still significant funding hurdles for what is the biggest active project in the Mission&nbsp;\u2014 and more than 75% of the proposed housing is at risk of never being built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>S.F. Bay Area property map<\/strong>:\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/projects\/2022\/sf-bay-area-property-map\/\">Here&#8217;s who owns every building in the region<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>SFMTA and its partner, developer Potrero Neighborhood Collective, have two alternatives for the site: a larger plan with\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayareahousingcrisis\/\">465 affordable homes<\/a>\u00a0and, if there\u2019s a funding shortfall, one with only 104. Housing would be built atop transit storage and repair facilities. Earlier concepts envisioned as many as 900 homes on the 4.4 acre site at 2500 Mariposa St., but market-rate apartments were later dropped from that plan.<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/local-politics\/article\/s-f-advances-plan-to-build-more-than-500-homes-16030452.php\"><\/a><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/local-politics\/article\/s-f-advances-plan-to-build-more-than-500-homes-16030452.php\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe MTA is doing everything possible in its own power to make the project fully feasible as proposed. We\u2019re doing a project that has never been done or conceived,\u201d said Jonathan Rewers, SFMTA\u2019s chief strategy officer. \u201cNo one has ever integrated commercial bus yard architecture with housing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Frisc, a local news website,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefrisc.com\/sfs-in-danger-of-throwing-hundreds-of-new-affordable-homes-under-the-bus-7e17a108a062\" class=\"\">first reported on the potential downsizing.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An estimated $525 million is required just to replace the century-old transit facility. The budget for the housing portion hasn\u2019t been determined, but a single San Francisco apartment\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/sf\/article\/affordable-housing-sf-funding-audit-problems-17878614.php\">can cost upwards of $800,000<\/a>\u00a0to build\u00a0\u2014 including design, approvals, materials and labor costs\u00a0\u2014 meaning the entire project budget could potentially approach $1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The project\u2019s hurdles are familiar: Stubbornly high construction costs, years of reviews and, in recent years, rising interest rates have all made building housing in the city notoriously difficult. Only a handful of major projects have started work since the pandemic began, underscoring the city\u2019s difficulties in meeting a state-mandated goal to approve&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/projects\/2023\/san-francisco-housing\/\" class=\"\">82,000 new housing units,<\/a>&nbsp;over half of them affordable, by 2031.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe thing we can\u2019t manage is the market,\u201d Rewers said. \u201cWe can\u2019t control the construction market. We definitely can\u2019t control interest rates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Securing money for the SFMTA project will require a slew of different funding sources and is expected to take years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mayor\u2019s Office of Housing has committed $35 million for design work. Other potential funding sources include the 2018 Regional Measure 3 bridge toll increase meant to pay for transit projects and potential bonds planned for the ballot in 2024 and 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developer Potrero Neighborhood Collective is paying other pre-development costs, and will only be reimbursed if the project is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of that arrangement, \u201cthe risk is on the developer. We\u2019ve removed the risk normally associated with this project,\u201d said Bonnie Jean Von Krogh, SFMTA\u2019s public affairs manager for building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The developer referred a request for comment to SFMTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Complicating matters is the legal requirement that the SFMTA cannot spend transit money for a housing project that doesn\u2019t generate money for transit. Much of the funding for affordable housing will have to come through a mix of state affordable housing grants, bonds and tax credits. That\u2019s expected to require multiple rounds of bids and take multiple years, starting in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Construction on the bus yard is slated to begin in early 2025 and finish by 2027. Housing construction could start no earlier than 2025 and no later than 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHousing finance lags infrastructure finance,\u201d Rewers said. \u201cWe\u2019re paying for the superstructure necessary to support housing in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, work continues on design and building drawings, and building permits must be secured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is definitely one of the most complex projects the agency has ever taken on,\u201d Brewers said. \u201cWe\u2019re on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reach Roland Li: roland.li@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rolandlisf<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>April 1, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/roland-li\/\">Roland Li<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/rolandlisf\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SFChronicle\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is the author of \u201cGood Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports,&#8221; a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He can be reached at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:roland.li@sfchronicle.com\">roland.li@sfchronicle.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By\u00a0 Roland Li April 1, 2024 (SFChronicle.com) It\u2019s been six years since the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency began working on an ambitious plan to build&nbsp;hundreds of affordable apartments&nbsp;alongside a replacement for its aging Potrero Yard bus facility. Construction on the new transit facility is slated to start early next&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/02\/why-one-of-s-f-s-biggest-housing-projects-could-shrink-by-hundreds-of-affordable-apartments\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32623,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32622\/revisions\/32623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}