Following Mission Local reporting on a long-delayed affordable housing project in the Tenderloin, the San Francisco mayor’s office of housing has changed course and committed to seek developers for the site within the next two years.
That would mean a fully affordable housing project, which was promised at the site as far back as 2015, could begin construction soon after.
District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood said Mission Local’s reporting inspired him to push for a change to the city’s agreement with La Cocina, the popular incubator kitchen that first opened in 2021. He said he refused to support extending La Cocina’s lease unless the city took steps toward building housing.
“We do respect and appreciate the temporary activation but it’s time to start moving forward on the original purpose for this site,” Mahmood said, referring to affordable housing. The Board of Supervisors approved the new amended lease agreement today.
The city acquired a vacant post office at 101 Hyde St. in 2016 for a proposed affordable housing building, but citing a lack of immediate funding brought in La Cocina to temporarily use the site for a public food hall.
La Cocina closed its marketplace in 2023 after only two years, citing low foot traffic and poor sales. In its place, the nonprofit began operating its commissary kitchen for its program participants, disappointing some in the neighborhood who wanted a public space for the community.
In October, Mission Local reported that the city was about to sign a new 5-year lease extension with La Cocina through 2031, removing any possibility of housing at the site for another six years. City officials reasoned at the time that the site was not competitive for state funding needed to move the development forward.
When the lease extension came before the Board of Supervisors last week, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development added a provision that it will begin seeking proposals from developers to build on the site by 2027. The exact timeline for new development is uncertain.
The office also added a possibility for the city to break the lease after two years if it finds resources faster to build housing.
The Tenderloin has been waiting years for housing on the site. Eighty-five affordable units at 101 Hyde were promised as part of a 2016 deal with a developer needing to fulfill its affordable housing requirements for a separate market-rate project.
While that 304-unit market-rate project pushed ahead and has residents living in it today, the spokesperson for the mayor’s housing office, Anne Stanley, said that the Tenderloin’s designation as a low-resourced area puts it lower on the priority list for state funding. Meanwhile, La Cocina’s presence at the site saves the city money it would otherwise owe for keeping the building vacant.
The renewed push is promising for residents.
Michael Nulty, a resident and program director of the Tenant Associations Coalition, said in a statement that he was “grateful,” and called it a “meaningful step forward for everyone involved — especially the thousands of low-income Tenderloin families, seniors, and formerly homeless individuals who urgently need these homes.”
La Cocina, too, is heeding community pushback on the five-year lease proposal and making plans to better engage Tenderloin residents.
“One of the biggest grievances we hear regarding the transition of 101 Hyde is the loss of community gathering space,” reads a new report from the nonprofit obtained by Mission Local, referring to its change from a food hall to commissary kitchen.
The report shows plans to roll out free access to the building for meeting and office space during business hours, with a focus on Tenderloin-based workers and students, residents and families. The nonprofit also plans to begin more community programming, like night markets and community dinners for neighborhood residents.
The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved the amended lease last week, and the full board is expected to approve it today.