This story was originally published in Affordable Housing Finance.
A team of nonprofit developers has broken ground on a 127-unit development that will serve low-income households, homeless transitional-age youth, and parenting youth in San Francisco.
Casa Adelante is the latest project by the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC).
“We need more projects like Casa Adelante in San Francisco in order to create the affordable housing our residents need,” said Mayor London Breed.
On the same day, Breed announced plans for a ballot measure to streamline affordable housing developments throughout the city and build it faster.
“With the addition of a $300 million affordable housing bond, this plan will significantly help our low- and middle-income residents afford to continue to live and work in the city,” she said.
The nonprofits were selected to develop Casa Adelante by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD).
In 2011, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the transfer and purchase of land that includes the site by MOHCD from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC). At the same time, the board approved the purchase of an adjacent PUC site for the development of the In Chan Kaajal Park, which opened in 2017.
“I’m excited that some of the units will house transitional-age youth on the verge of adulthood, who are at risk of falling through the cracks into homelessness, and it is wonderful that Casa Adelante—2060 Folsom will be able to include space for child care and other community organizations on site,” said the Rev. Norman Fong, executive director of Chinatown CDC.
For MEDA, the project is the second to close on its financing of the five affordable housing developments in its pipeline, according to Karoleen Feng, MEDA’s director of community real estate.
Officials said the property will provide residents and the public birth-to-career resources, ranging from a preschool to after-school programs and activities for youth and young adults. Proposed service providers with on-site offices will include PODER, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, and Mission Graduates, while Larkin Street Youth Services and Chinatown CDC will also provide family-strengthening services. PODER, Mission Graduates, and Good Samaritan Resource Center will build out their service spaces, offices, and a childcare center at the site, and their programs will be open to residents and the surrounding neighborhood.
The development team assembled multiple sources of funding for the approximately $88 million project, including $35.2 million in low-income housing tax credit equity from U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp.
Financing also included $32.7 million from MOHCD; $8.9 million in tax-exempt permanent financing from Barings; and $9.3 million in affordable housing and sustainable communities financing through the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Strategic Growth Council.
This story was originally published in Affordable Housing Finance.
