San Francisco Sun

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed joined City and State leaders and community members to break ground on Transbay Blocks 2 West (2W) and 2 East (2E), two new buildings that will add 335 units of affordable rental housing to the East Cut neighborhood in Downtown San Francisco. Block 2 West is expected to be completed in winter 2025, with Block 2E following in spring 2026. More than 700 people are anticipated to live in the two buildings.

“These projects are exactly the type of transit-oriented housing that we need to create in San Francisco to benefit some of the City’s most vulnerable residents and meet our housing goals,” said Mayor Breed. “These homes will not only provide stability to seniors, low-income families, and formerly homeless individuals, they will also add vibrancy to Downtown and move us closer to our 30 by 30 goal of adding 30,000 residents and students Downtown by 2030.”

Block 2 is a 42,627 square-foot parcel acquired by the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) in 2021. The project is located in the East Cut neighborhood.

"Today's groundbreaking is a major milestone for the Transbay redevelopment plan as we prepare to welcome more seniors and families to one of San Francisco's most exciting new neighborhoods," said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. "As we continue to make progress on our ambitious Housing Element goals, projects like these are what inclusive, 21st century urbanism is all about."

The Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) is leading development for Block 2W, which will feature 151 new affordable rental units serving senior households earning between 15% and 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Thirty homes will be reserved for those who have experienced homelessness.

"We're thrilled to embark on Chinatown CDC's largest senior housing project in 25 years! With 151 units, including homes for formerly homeless and low-income seniors, Transbay Block 2 West Senior Housing embodies our commitment to quality living,” said Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director of Chinatown CDC. “Our seniors deserve great design, transit, green space, and walkable neighborhoods. Partnering with OCII, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and Bank of America, we're turning this vision into reality.”

Mercy Housing California (Mercy) leads development for Block 2E, which will feature 184 new affordable rental units serving family households earning between 40% and 80% AMI. Forty homes will be reserved for those who have experienced homelessness.

“We are proud to partner with OCII and Chinatown Community Development Corporation to ensure that families and seniors with low incomes benefit from the City and County of San Francisco’s visionary Transbay Redevelopment Plan,” said Doug Shoemaker, President of Mercy Housing California.

Resident amenities at both sites include onsite community gathering spaces, outdoor roof decks overlooking a future park in Block3 , events programming ,and onsite resident services provided by Episcopal Community Services (ECS) at Transbay2 Eastand CCDC atTransbay2 West .

The combined project budgets total $309 million with funding from various sources including a competitive $41 million grant from the California Department of Housing &Community Development(HCD), federal low-income housing tax credit equity from BankofAmerica,and substantial support from OCII .In additiontohousing,the State awardwillalsofund pedestrianand transportation-relatedimprovementsincludingprioritytransitsignalupgradesat29 intersectionsintheSouthofMarketandfreeMunipassesforBlock2 Eresidentsfor3years .

“The Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Program allows HCDto leverage cap-and-trade funds t o support developments that further not just housing but California’s critical climateandequitygoals ,”saidHCDDirectorGustavoVelasquez .“Weareconnectinglow-incomefamilies t o opportunity whilereducingvehiclemilestraveledandfurthercuttinggreenhousegasemissions .”

“This unique dual effortto adapt a former bus depotinto high quality service-rich affordablehousingforseniorsandverylow-incomeresidentswilltransformthisSouthofMarketneighborhoodandt helivesofitstenants ,”saidLizMinickBankofAmericaMarketExecutiveSanFrancisco-EastBay.“BankofAmerica’sconstructiondebtandtaxcreditequitywillhelptwoofourleadingnonprofitdeveloperpartners –MercyHousingCaliforniaandChinatownCDC–andtheCityandCountyofSanFranciscomakethisvisioncometolife .”

OCIIis completingtheenforceableobligationsoftheformerRedevelopmentAgencyoftheCity&CountyofSanFranciscointheTransbayRedevelopmentProjectArea(ProjectArea),whichincludesBlock2.To date ,2196residentialunitshavebeencompletedintheProjectArea721ofwhicharerestrictedforaffordability.BlockalongwithBlocks3(siteoffuturepark)&4(currentsiteoftheCrossingfoodandrecreationactivation)&futureextensionsofClementina&TehamaStreetsarepartoftheparcelformerlyusedastheTransbayTemporaryTerminal.TransbayTerminaloperationsrelocatedtothenewlyconstructedSalesforceTransitCenterin2019 .

“TheBlockdevelopmentsarethefulfillmentofthecommunity’svisiontodevelopamixedincomeneighborhoodforallSanFranciscans ,”saidThorKaslofskyOCIIDirector.“Wearegratefultoourneighbors&partnersfort heircollaborationonthisdynamicdevelopmentwelookforwardtowelcomingnewresidentsprovidingaffordablechildcareretailspacesservices .”

“Today’sgroundbreakingmarksasignificantmilestoneintheTransbayProgram’sgoalcreateaffordablehousingdowntownconvertoldtemporaryTransb ayTerminalintocriticalhousingfortheCity’ svulnerablecommunities,”saidAdamVandeWater TJPAExecutiveDirector.“TheseprojectsbuildonthesuccessoftheEastCutneighborextendingitsleadershipasathrivingtransit-orientedmixed-usemixed-incomedowntow nofthefut ureanchoredbyourmultimodalSalesforceTransitCenter .”

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