Say it, don't spray it
Marcel Duchamp: Fountain, 1917. Image by James Broad
It's impressive (if not comical) when ordinary mass-produced goods, like a humble urinal, get designated “high art” and sell for millions. But when it comes to tax-funded “affordable housing,” it's not so much groundbreaking as plain depressing when simple units rack up to $900k+ each. SF Chron examines the Golden City's latest proposal to modestly house 63 folks for (hold your breath) $61.5 million.
Two years after construction was halted because of a dispute with an adjacent church, the 63-unit, low-income development at 78 Haight St. in San Francisco is seeking $10.5 million in additional funding in order to get the project back on track.
The additional funding, which will bring the total project cost to $61.5 million — nearly $1 million per unit — would cover “structural and foundation repairs as well as any escalation in construction and operating costs for the project at large,” according to Anne Stanley, spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.
The funding request will be heard at the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee next week before it goes to the full board for final approval.
If approved, the allocation would end a two-year delay for a project slated to include 63 low-income housing units, half of which would accommodate young adults, ages 18-24, who are transitioning out of public services, such as foster care.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents that corner of Hayes Valley, said the additional costs are frustrating, but that he supports the project.
“It’s disappointing to see costs rise on this project, which is, in part, a predictable result of delays,” he said. “Still, this is a necessary amendment to get a good project moving forward. We need to build housing, and we especially need to build affordable housing. We also have to keep in mind how expensive the consequences will be if we fail to build enough housing — given the possible loss of state funding if we fall short on the commitments of our Housing Element.”
Under the state-mandated housing element, San Francisco is on the hook to produce 82,000 units by 2031, of which 46,000 are supposed to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
In April 2022, Mayor London Breed and other politicians gathered at an already excavated construction site to celebrate the development at 78 Haight St. At the time, Supervisor Dean Preston said the project represented “the kind of work that changes lives,” while Breed said the project demonstrated the city’s commitment to “building a city that is more equitable and affordable for all of our residents, especially our most vulnerable young people.”
This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. Read the whole thing here.
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