Align Real Estate Plans Affordable Housing in San Francisco

Another injection of affordable housing is coming for San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.

Align Real Estate filed preliminary permits for a fully affordable residential building at 1023 Mission Street in SoMa, SF Yimby reported. If approved, the local developer’s plan would create more than 200 rental units with ground-floor retail in a crucial shopping corridor of the city.

The 20-story building would rise 216 feet and span 221,000 square feet on a site near the Civic Center BART station. The residential portion will account for 194,000 square feet.

Construction is estimated to cost $105 million, though that doesn’t include all development costs. The property last sold in 2019 for $15.2 million, the outlet said. An anticipated start date for construction has not been established.

The developer is tapping California’s fast-track approval law and the state’s density bonus law in bringing the project to life.

The project would feature 42 studio apartments, 90 one-bedrooms, 86 two-bedrooms and two three-bedroom units. The design from Perry Architects will consist of glass fiber-reinforced concrete and cement plaster with a four-story podium and floor-to-ceiling windows on each floor. A fifth-floor courtyard with turf, trees, seating and small dining tables will overlook Minna Street.

More than 20,000 apartment units in San Francisco are in limbo as projects have either faced years of delays or collapsed entirely. Apartment starts have stalled in recent years as developers face inflation, city fees, a shortage of construction materials and tariffs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Last year, 1,453 housing units were completed, down from the more than 5,000 delivered in 2020.

The city of San Francisco is mandated by the state to plan for 82,069 housing units by 2031 as part of its Housing Element. — Chris Malone Méndez