SF Seeks Developer to Build 450 Affordable Homes

The City of San Francisco has moved forward with plans to build up to 450 affordable homes near a Mission BART station.

The city seeks a developer to build the affordable apartments at 1979 Mission Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported. A request for qualifications, first reported by Mission Local, went out last week.

The complex would replace part of BART Plaza and a shuttered Walgreens in an area earmarked for a temporary village of tiny homes for homeless residents.

The project, dubbed “Marvel in the Mission,” resulted from a years-long battle to block a 331-unit complex of mostly market-rate apartments. The project by Maximus Real Estate Partners, dubbed “Monster in the Mission,” was never built.

Ultimately, the property was given to the city for low-income housing.

The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development now says the site can handle another 120 homes, bringing the total to 451 apartments. The added units will result from local and state density bonuses for developers of all-affordable housing.

Plans for the 1.3-acre site call for up to three separately operated apartment buildings. Would-be developers must respond to the request for qualifications by Sept. 3.

The city envisions one- to three-bedroom units for low-income families earning a maximum of 80 percent of area median income, or $115,300 for a family of four. It also suggests building studios for formerly homeless residents, while setting aside apartments for people with HIV.

If built, the project would be the second-largest affordable housing complex in the Mission District, behind the 510-unit Potrero Yard project, according to Mission Local.

The project, years away from completion, will include an interim homeless village. The city is putting the final touches on planning and permitting for 70 tiny cabins at 1979 Mission Street.

Its genesis was a decision by locally based Maximus to retreat from its controversial project by selling the site in 2020 to Miami-based Crescent Heights. Crescent then donated it to the city in exchange for permission to build a taller, 1,012-unit tower at 10 South Van Ness Avenue.

— Dana Bartholomew