Mayor Lee Announces New Mission Bay Project to House Formerly Homeless Veterans

• published: 27 May 2015
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Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced plans for a new 101-unit project to provide housing for 50 formerly homeless veterans and 50 low-income families at 1150 Third Street in Mission Bay and an onsite manager unit. The project will be built on land dedicated to the City’s Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) for affordable housing and is supported with an initial $5 million in private contributions from technology and business leaders marshalled by the San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology & Innovation (sf.citi). The 50 new homes for veterans at 1150 Third Street will enhance Mayor Lee’s efforts to put the City on track to meet President Barack Obama’s challenge to local communities to end veteran homelessness, today, as well as in the future. The 50 units for low-income families will contribute to the Mayor’s goal to build and rehabilitate 30,000 new housing units by 2020, with more than half within reach of San Francisco’s low-and middle-income families. The project at 1150 Third Street is made possible through a public-private partnership that will leverage $5 million in philanthropy raised by sf.citi Chair Ron Conway. Initial contributors include the Conway Family, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Peter Thiel, Sean Parker, Andrew Mason, Drew Houston, Alfred and Rebecca Lin and the Golden State Warriors along with two anonymous donors. These private contributions will accelerate the design and construction of these much-needed affordable housing units in Mission Bay by approximately one year at the front end, and once completed, will provide enhanced specialized and supportive services, medical and vocational equipment, unit furnishings and other capital costs typically considered ineligible under low-income housing funding regulations. Salesforce’s VetForce program is donating free Salesforce training, certification and employment assistance for all Veteran residents of the new complex to help them build fulfilling careers in the Salesforce ecosystem. Residents will receive free access to the Salesforce training library through Salesforce University or VetForce partner cohort classes. VetForce is also providing free exam vouchers to residents who want to become Certified Salesforce Administrators. Together, VetForce and the Veterans Housing Initiative are providing critical resources to help Veterans in their civilian transition. The $5 million in initial private contributions have been secured by Hamilton Family Center who has made a grant to the City to support this development. Hamilton Family Center is a long-standing San Francisco non-profit partner that seeks to end homelessness for families and individuals by providing a safe, stable environment that promotes the dignity of each person. In April 2015, the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, which succeeded the Redevelopment Agency, issued a Request for Proposals for development teams to build on a one acre parcel that will be developed into one, two and three bedroom apartments for formerly homeless veterans and low-income families in the Mission Bay. Located at the northwest corner of Third and Mission Rock Streets, the site is ideally located adjacent to the Muni T-line and many services in walking distance such as the Mission Bay public library and neighborhood retail. Robust specialized supportive services for veterans will be on-site in collaboration with the City’s Humans Services Agency. Construction is anticipated to start in late 2016 and occupancy in 2018. By accelerating the predevelopment of the project, these private contributions will position the development to compete for funding from the newly launched Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention program from the State’s Housing and Community Development department. Other funding sources that the private contribution will leverage are permanent funding from OCII, low income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, and a private construction loan.