BRIDGE Debuts San Francisco Affordable Community
Development costs clocked in at $115 million.
BRIDGE Housing has officially opened Islais Place, a 137-unit, fully affordable community in San Francisco’s Excelsior District. Total development costs landed at $114.8 million as of March 2023.
The freshly debuted property represented one of the first new projects in the Excelsior District dating back 25 years, as well as one of the first fully affordable communities throughout District 11.
Apartments are reserved for households earning between 30 and 103 percent of Area Median Income. Furthermore, 35 units are set aside for voluntary resident relocation from two public housing communities undergoing redevelopment through the HOPE SF program.
READ ALSO: How Teamwork Can Push Affordable Housing Projects Across the Finish Line
Floorplans include one- to three-bedroom layouts ranging between 596 and 1,365 square feet. Amenities comprise a community room, bicycle parking, landscaped courtyards and public art. Additionally, more than 5,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and a 10,000-square-foot clinic will be available.
Mission Neighborhood Health Center will provide low-cost medical, behavioral and dental services. Moreover, Urban Services YMCA is slated to contribute with education and financial literacy, as well as basic needs assistance and case management. The clinic will be operational in the spring of 2025, Mission Neighborhood Health Center CEO Anna Robert said in prepared remarks.
Located at 4840 Mission St., Islais Place is roughly 6 miles southwest of downtown San Francisco. John McLaren and Glen Canyon parks, as well as the San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, are within about 4 miles. Several retail options and transit stops can be found within walking distance of the community.
The making of an affordable and sustainable community
According to Yardi Matrix data, funding included $66.7 million in bonds issued by the City and County of San Francisco with Bank of America as trustee and maturity set for 2041, as well as a $25.8 million loan issued by the City and County of San Francisco.
Additional financing was issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Project-Based Voucher Program that will provide subsidies for the 35 units set aside for the HOPE SF replacement, as reported by Hoodline San Francisco. A total of $50.4 million in LIHTC equity was projected as of March 2023.
Islais Place took shape thanks to the California Senate Bill 35, which streamlines the approval process for affordable developments that meet certain thresholds. Among the qualifying criteria are affordability standards, number of units, as well as location, among others.
Van Meter Williams Pollack designed the project, while Nibbi Brothers served as general contractor. The team broke ground in March of 2021 and subsequently topped out the development in August 2022.
The building features a series of green building practices, such as solar hot water and on-site energy generation, low flow plumbing and natural ventilation, as well as bioswales and planters for stormwater filtration and detention.
San Francisco’s affordable deliveries shrink
Greater San Francisco’s development pipeline held north of 7,400 units across 64 fully affordable projects as of September 2024, according to Yardi Matrix data. Developers brought online more than 1,000 units in fully affordable projects during the first nine months of the year. Additionally, Yardi Matrix expects a total of 2,005 such units to debut in 2024, a 27.1 percent decrease compared to 2023’s completed unit count which clocked in at upward of 2,700.
Another affordable community in the metro opened earlier this year. Also developed by BRIDGE, Casa Sueños expanded Greater San Francisco’s affordable inventory by 181 units. Located across the bay from Islais Place, the property took shape at 3511 E. 12th St. in Oakland, Calif.
