(San Francisco, CA): The San Francisco Housing Development Corporation (SFHDC) and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) announce the acquisition and start of construction on a 12-unit property at 168 Sickles Avenue in the Outer Mission neighborhood of San Francisco.
As part of the Small Sites Program funded by the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development (MOHCD), the project will renovate and seismically upgrade the property while providing residents with rental financing structures to make the units permanently affordable. The property is a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments in which current residents have lived for an average of 13 years.
“This project demonstrates the City’s willingness to innovate and establish housing affordability at all levels, big and small,” says David Sobel, CEO of SFHDC. “It also represents the willingness of affordable housing developers to form meaningful partnerships for the benefit of the communities we serve.”
The 168 Sickles property is the second acquisition of the SFHDC/MEDA partnership, with a 7-unit property at 520 Shrader Street in Haight-Ashbury having been acquired in August 2019 and fully renovated and converted to permanently affordable housing status in April 2020.
“The Small Sites Program will continue to provide SFHDC and MEDA a strategy to preserve housing stability for communities of color to ensure that San Francisco remains a place where they can afford to live, shop and work,” adds Sobel.
To close on the sites quickly and efficiently, MEDA and SFHDC utilized low-cost, purpose-designed bridge loans from the non-profit Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), which has financed 20 Small Sites projects throughout San Francisco since 2017.
“MEDA is proud to have 35 Small Sites properties in its portfolio,” said Karoleen Feng, Director of Community Real Estate of MEDA. “We are excited to partner with SFHDC and HAF on this latest project, as the Small Sites program is a targeted approach to preservation of affordable housing across San Francisco.”
In addition to crediting the City for launching and sustaining the Small Sites Program, SFHDC, MEDA, and HAF thanked their philanthropic supporters, and in particular JP Morgan Chase, for helping them to scale to serve more residents. Since 2019, JPMorgan Chase has invested more than $10 million across the three organizations to accelerate housing production, preservation, and capacity building efforts.
“We’re proud to collaborate with industry leaders like SFHDC, MEDA, and HAF to accelerate capacity building and affordable housing creation and preservation opportunities across community organizations,” said Amy Wallace, Vice President, Global Philanthropy, Chase. “The 168 Sickles development, supported by the City’s Small Sites Program, will address the ongoing need for more affordable housing options in the Bay Area.”
San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who represents District 11 where the property is located, also celebrated the loan closing and the public-private partnership that made it possible. “The acquisition by SFHDC is the second small site acquisition in our District. These acquisitions help to stabilize housing for working families in our neighborhood. These units of affordable housing preserve residences for families, teachers and essential workers who are the essence of our community.”
About SFHDC:
Founded in 1988 by African American community leaders, SFHDC has helped produce or preserve over 1,300 units of affordable housing, empowered more than 15,000 clients in housing and financial capability, assisted hundreds of families purchasing their first homes, and provided meaningful on-site services to several thousand low- and very low-income residents. Approximately 85% of clients across all programs and services are people of color.
About MEDA:
Rooted in San Francisco’s Mission District, MEDA is advancing a national equity movement by building Latino prosperity, community ownership and civic power. We envision generations of Latino families choosing where to call home, thriving economically, succeeding in learning opportunities, and leading policy and social change toward a more equitable society.
Contact:
Chris Hansen
Communications Director, SFHDC
chris@sfhdc.org
Christopher Gil
Associate Director of Mktg. & Communications, MEDA
cgil@medasf.org
