Fewer cars and more housing for SF?

Mixed-use development at 200 Folsom St.

In the SF Examiner:

Fewer cars, more housing

by Allyson Aleksey

San Francisco is getting more than $150 million to build 1,200 new homes with an eye on accessibility to public transit.

Mayor London Breed announced the $163.6 million windfall on Wednesday, which comes from various state agencies, including the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 

The money is dispersed through two separate programs: the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, which funds housing projects within a high walkability index near bike lanes and transit, and the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program, which promotes transforming urban open spaces like parking lots into housing.

Together, the two programs fund projects that prioritize public transportation. Both BART and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, two of the largest agencies serving commuters in The City, lauded the extra funding as an investment in mass transit.

While the agencies were thrown a lifeline this summer, both continue to fall short of pre-pandemic ridership levels. At the same time, traffic congestion on the Bay Bridge and highways continues to plague morning commutes.

“The best way for us to address regional traffic problems is to build more housing so more people who work in San Francisco can live in San Francisco,” SFMTA Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin said in a statement.

BART General Manager Bob Powers added that “the (grant) program is a package of strategic investments that will increase reliability and prepare BART for the future.”

City data shows mixed progress since last December’s ruling, with measurable proof of worsening homelessness hard to find.

The Affordable Housing and Sustainability Communities program would direct nearly $119 million to three projects building 435 affordable housing units, while $45 million from the Infill Infrastructure Grant would fund support three ongoing projects — Potrero HOPE SF, Sunnydale HOPE SF and India Basin — that are all in various stages of development. 

The City expects all projects to be completed by 2027, save for the Potrero project, which would be completed in 2029.

A $41 million project aims to improve housing stock near San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center — which is serviced by Greyhound, Muni, AC Transit and located not far from BART’s Montgomery Station — by converting vacant downtown commercial properties into 184 new affordable homes.

The City also plans to create 92 affordable homes at 850 Turk St., currently occupied by a single-story commercial parking lot adjacent to a Shell gas station. 

Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved the “Cars to Casa” ordinance, which expedites new housing to replace gas stations and parking lots. 

Nearly $32 million in state funding will help expedite the construction of housing there, and the site will also include extensive common spaces, laundry facilities, a bike storage room, outdoor spaces and play structures.

The most expensive project is Balboa Reservoir Building A, totaling $45.7 million, which will convert an existing parking lot into 159 affordable homes as well as a public park and child care center. The Balboa Reservoir project is a 17-acre parcel adjacent to City College that would prioritize housing for CCSF staff, according to the developer’s mission statement.

Qualifying household income for these units would range from $39,000 to $104,000 for an individual, and between $55,000 and $149,000 for a family of four.

San Francisco must build 82,000 new units to reach its 2031 housing goals, but The City has struggled to meet permitting benchmarks. Breed said in a statement that these grants would help advance The City’s goals of building those new units within the eight-year time frame.

Rob's comment:

Sounds good---on paper: More "affordable" housing for San Francisco! ("Affordable" should always be in quotes when talking about housing in this city, which has a chronic gentrification problem.)

“The best way for us to address regional traffic problems is to build more housing so more people who work in San Francisco can live in San Francisco,” SFMTA Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin said in a statement.

Tumlin doesn't worry about making traffic congestion in the city worse, since he can always ride his bike. So can Mayor Breed, though this picture was just a political photo op.

See also Notice of appeal of bogus emergency anti-car projects and Heather Knight sells city's bogus emergency.