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A homeless encampment is seen in Tenderloin District of San Francisco, California, United States on June 6, 2023. ((Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
SAN FRANCISCO – The California Department of Housing and Community Development on Friday awarded $56.3 million in Proposition 1 funds toward the acquisition and rehabilitation of two San Francisco properties into affordable housing.
The money will create 124 new homes at 1035 Van Ness Avenue, which will house formerly homeless veterans, as well as housing at 835 Turk Street for 106 people exiting homelessness.
“Our administration is transforming the city’s response to the homelessness and behavioral health crisis and adding affordable housing so that San Franciscans can afford to stay in the city they love,” Lurie said in a press release. “With these two projects, we are revitalizing underutilized spaces into affordable housing and taking another step to address San Francisco’s housing crisis.”
The properties
Dig deeper:
The Van Ness Avenue property will be operated by Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting veterans. The site is a former assisted living facility, which when rehabilitated will feature community spaces and onsite supportive services, which will include mental health care, case management, peer support, and congregate meals. Residents will also have access to Swords’ to Plowshares wraparound programs such as legal assistance and job training.
The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is providing additional financing for rehab and long-term operational support.
“Every veteran deserves more than just a roof over their head. They deserve a safe, dignified place to call home,” Tramecia Garner, the Executive Director of Swords to Plowshares said in a press release. “With 1035 Van Ness, our seventh supportive housing site in San Francisco, nearly 600 veterans will now have access to permanent housing and the supportive services that help them thrive. The progress we’ve made — cutting veteran homelessness in half — shows what is possible when the VA, the city, the state, and community-rooted organizations like Swords come together to ensure no veteran is left behind.”
The property at 835 Turk Street was purchased by the City and County of San Francisco in 2022, and has been operated as permanent supportive housing since then.
The existing ground floor will be reconfigured to serve as a common area that also has space for supportive services. It will also feature an on-site community kitchen, community room, and bicycle parking.
The property’s rehabilitation is being overseen by Five Keys Housing, a nonprofit group dedicated to providing supportive housing and wraparound services for people who are homeless, incarcerated, or facing behavioral health challenges. Five Keys Housing will partner on the project with the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation.
“Five keys is excited to receive… this funding award, which will create safe and permanent housing for individuals who might otherwise have no access to stable housing,” Steve Good, President and CEO of Five Keys said in a press release. “This marks another important and meaningful step forward to both Five Keys and the City of San Francisco in addressing the housing crisis and creating pathways to dignity and stability for our community.”
Tenants will continue to have access to programs and activities provided by Five Keys, as well as behavioral health support from the Department of Public Health’s Permanent Housing Advanced Clinical Services team.
Proposition 1
The backstory:
Proposition 1 was passed by voters in 2024 and established the Behavioral Health Bond, which authorized $6.4 billion toward creating behavioral health treatment beds, supportive housing and services for veterans and individuals with behavioral health needs.
One of the main components of Proposition 1 is Homekey+, a program overseen by the HCD, which supports people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, with a particular focus on veterans and people suffering from mental illness or substance abuse issues.
In addition to the Homekey+ funds, the rehabilitation of 835 Turk Street is being financed in part by voter-approved 2020 Health and Recovery General Obligation bonds and Our City, Our Home funds.
“Each of these awards represents a pathway to stability and opportunity for so many Californians who have struggled to maintain housing amid rising costs and personal challenges, including our nation’s veterans,” Gustavo Velasquez, director of HCD said in a press release. “Modeled on the governor’s highly successful Homekey program — and made possible by the forward-thinking voters of this state — Homekey+ is laying the foundation for generational impacts and continued reductions in unsheltered homelessness.”
San Francisco has, since the creation of the Homekey grant program, been awarded approximately $239 million in funding. Those funds have supported the acquisition and operation of more than 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing for adults, youth, families and veterans.