MEDA and TNDC Launch 1990 Folsom Street Development with Prop A Funds

NewsChristopher Gil
Senior Content Marketing Manager
Mission Economic Development Agency
(415) 282-3334 ext. 152
cgil@medasf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2016 

MEDA and TNDC Launch 1990 Folsom Street Development with Prop A Funds
A 143-unit, mixed-use affordable housing and arts project to further stabilize Mission

San Francisco, Calif. — The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has announced that the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Center (TNDC) have been provided financing from Proposition A so that the community-based organizations can co-develop and manage a site for 100 percent affordable housing at 1990 Folsom Street. Prop A, a $310 million housing bond which passed with almost three-quarters of votes cast last November, allocated $50 million specifically to develop affordable housing in the Mission.

Acquiring and receiving funds for 1990 Folsom marks one more step in the Mission Action Plan 2020, which aims to stabilize the neighborhood in five years. MEDA has been searching for sites — with willing sellers — for affordable-housing developments in the Mission, knowing of the paucity of such remaining lots. The purchase was also made possible with the assistance of Century Housing Corporation, a leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that delivers innovative financial products to foster the development of critical housing projects throughout California.

The 1990 Folsom site, bounded by 16th and Shotwell streets, has approximately 8,000 square feet of unused Production, Distribution and Repair (PDR) space. This new development will increase PDR square footage by 30 percent, with MEDA and TNDC partnering with Art Space Development Corporation to operate this PDR space at affordable lease rates. The two-pronged goal is to ensure that the space is accessible to working artists in perpetuity, while also extending the experience of the Latino Cultural District to the northeastern, industrial portion of the community.

Critical acquisition financing came from the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Fund, a unique financing mechanism spearheaded by Mission residents Spike Kahn and Jean Chadbourne as a means to stop displacement, including that of artists. Kahn is the founder of the nonprofit arts center, Pacific Felt Factory, while Chadbourne created the Growlery, a free live-work space in the Haight. The need for such spaces was shown when the San Fran Francisco Arts Commission did a survey of 600 artists in summer 2015, with over 70 percent of respondents saying they had been or were being displaced from their workplace, home or both, with the remaining 30 percent expressing concern of potential displacement in the future.

The Prop A funds will be used to develop the site into 143 units of housing complemented by community services, arts space and an onsite child-development center. Of 1990 Folsom’s 143 units, 29 will be earmarked for formerly homeless families, with the remainder of apartments made affordable to households earning between 50 to 60 percent of San Francisco’s Area Median Income (AMI). The plans call for 67 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedrooms, the unit size that is much in demand for families with children; this will help stem the displacement for such vulnerable Mission residents. There will also be 23 studios and 42 one-bedrooms, plus a manager’s unit. The innovative design will be from Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, renowned in the affordable-housing space.

Incorporating onsite neighborhood services is an integral part of the design. The child-development center will be jointly operated by Good Samaritan Family Resource Center and Mission Neighborhood Centers — a duo of service providers long at the vanguard of meeting this diverse community’s needs. In addition, TNDC will act as ongoing service provider to residents, providing comprehensive support to all families in the building.

“1990 Folsom represents the latest step in MEDA’s affordable housing strategy, as we look to produce and preserve units. The 1990 Folsom development is located just a half block from 2060 Folsom Street, a 136-unit affordable-housing site on which MEDA will break ground in 2017, so we are building a community within a community. Partnering with TNDC makes perfect sense for the 1990 Folsom development, as for 35 years they have been providing solutions for homelessness and displacement in the Tenderloin and throughout the city,” states MEDA Director of Community Real Estate Karoleen Feng.

Echoes CEO Don Falk of TNDC, “We look forward to partnering with MEDA and the City to address the exodus of low-income families from the Mission.”

###

Mission Economic Development Agency

About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
Rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development. medasf.org

tenderloin

About Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC)
TNDC provides affordable housing and services for over 3,600 low-income residents in six San Francisco neighborhoods, building community and promoting equitable access to opportunity and resources. tndc.org

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *