SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Friday, San Francisco Mayor ed Lee announced plans for a new 101-unit housing complete to provide house for 50 homeless veterans, and another 50 low-income families in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood. The additional unit will house an onsite manager.
The project will be built at 1150 Third Street, 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 will help Mayor Lee as he tries to meet President Barack Obama’s challenge to local communities to end veteran homelessness.
The houses for low-income families will work toward the Mayor’s goal to build and renovate 30,000 housing units by 2020.
“Moving people off our streets and into supportive housing and services is among my highest priorities, especially when it comes to the brave men and women who have served our country and now find themselves without a home,” said Mayor Lee. “This project in Mission Bay will help us meet our commitment to ending chronic homelessness for veterans and families and is another great example of the public and private sectors coming together to tackle homelessness, housing and other challenges that face our City. I am grateful to sf.citi and the private donors who have stepped up to help house formerly homeless veterans and to make sure our veterans have the dignity of a place to call home.”
Along with the public grants, the project has private backing from several philanthropists including the Conway and Benioff families.
“The purpose of sf.citi is to engage the tech sector, its leaders and workforce in helping to tackle San Francisco’s challenges and I’m very proud that so many have stepped up to partner with Mayor Lee and the Hamilton Family Foundation to house homeless veterans in Mission Bay,” said sf.citi Chair Ron Conway. “Mission Bay is one of the most exciting and thriving new neighborhoods, with UCSF, biotech, new transit, new housing, new parks and a spectacular new arena for the Golden State Warriors coming soon. This new home for some of our country’s bravest men and women will help keep Mission Bay a diverse and welcoming community for all San Franciscans, even as the neighborhood changes and grows.
“There are more than 50,000 homeless veterans in this country, and that’s just not acceptable,” said Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff. “Every city, every leader and every individual can step up and do more for our veterans. Today, we are coming together to provide critical resources to those in San Francisco who have given so much to our country.”
Construction is anticipated to start in late 2016, with occupancy in 2018.