BRIDGE Breaks Ground on $190M San Francisco Affordable Project

Potrero Block B. Rendering courtesy of BRIDGE Housing

BRIDGE Housing, together with the San Francisco Housing Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), has broken ground on Potrero Block B, a 157-unit affordable housing development in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood. Local firms Y.A. Studios, Cahill Contractors, HKIT Architects and GLS Landscape Architecture are also part of the project team.

The building aims to achieve LEED Gold certification, with the first move-ins expected in the fall of 2024.

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The developers received a total of $189.6 million in construction financing from various sources, including MOHCD and the State Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program. The California Department of Housing and Community Development also contributed with funding through the California Housing Accelerator fund—a state program created to reduce the backlog of affordable housing projects that are stalled in the funding pipeline.

Potrero Block B is set to serve residents earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. The development will incorporate a mix of 117 units for residents living in former public housing, 38 apartments for low-income occupants, as well as two manager units.

Located at 1801 25th St., the property will be some 3 miles southeast of downtown San Francisco and one block south of Potrero Hill Recreation Center. The location is easily accessible through public transportation, being within walking distance of several bus stations. Additionally, the upcoming community will have numerous green spaces, as well as an array of retail and dining options nearby.

A courtyard, public mini-park, community room, teen room, as well as on-site parking and supportive services are among the amenities planned for the community’s residents. Potrero Block B will also encompass an on-site childcare facility—operated by Cross Cultural Family Center—which is set to service more than 50 children, with 45 slots reserved solely for children from low- to moderate-income families.

A community-driven development

The five-phase Potrero Hill Master Plan development is an effort aiming to restore 619 units of distressed public housing into new apartments, complemented by community facilities, retail, open spaces and neighborhood services. At full build-out in 2034, the project will have added between 1,400 and 1,700 new mixed-income residencies to the neighborhood, with 65 percent of them affordable.

Rising on a former public house site, the whole project is set to create inclusive, mixed-income communities without the mass displacement of existing residents. Once completed, the redefined Potrero Hill neighborhood will enhance San Francisco’s racial and economic inclusiveness.

Potrero Block B is the second affordable housing project to break ground as part of the HOPE SF Potrero Hill Master Plan, following the 2019 opening of LEED-certified 1101 Connecticut—which added 72 units to the neighborhood’s inventory in the immediate area of Potrero Block B.