Since 2017, the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) has been trying to build affordable housing at 2205 Mission St., on the corner of 18th and Mission streets. If all goes well, according to MEDA, construction of 63 apartments designated for teachers could start by the end of the year.
If President Donald Trump successfully freezes millions of dollars in federal funds, though, the timeline could be longer.
The building on the site was most recently a 99 cent store, and has been a vacant eyesore for years. The facade is an example of Streamline Moderne design, but has fallen on hard times; earlier renderings of the proposed building featured a reconstruction of the original design, but that hasn’t survived more recent iterations.
MEDA bought the lot in 2017 from a former Facebook executive who owned several buildings in the Mission District.
At the time, MEDA hoped to create a mix of commercial space and below-market-rate condos, with Dance Mission and a Head Start program on the first two floors and an additional six floors of housing above.
In summer 2023, MEDA finally secured the $12 million it needed to build the project via funds raised by Proposition I and dispersed by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. All of the apartments were meant to house those earning between 40 to 140 percent of area median income, which was then between $40,350 and $141,200 for individuals, and between $57,650 and $201,750 for a family of four.
MEDA was hoping to get the remaining funding through the New Market Tax Credits program, a federal financing tool for affordable housing through the Department of the Treasury, but then the area median income in the Mission District changed and made its project ineligible. MEDA then changed tactics and applied for $15 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Agency in November, via the EPA’s Community Change Grant, a $2 billion investment made possible by Congress in 2022 through the Inflation Reduction Act.
MEDA is expecting a decision in the spring. If the funding comes through, construction on the nine-story project could start between the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
In a statement, through its Region 9 spokesperson, the EPA said funds are now available.
“EPA worked expeditiously to enable payment accounts for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and Inflation Reduction Act grant recipients, so funding is now accessible to all recipients,” read the statement.
Warren Ritter, associate director of housing development and production at MEDA, called the statement “a good indication.”
“If awarded, we will work with the EPA to get the funds disbursed to the project as quickly as possible,” he added, while still expressing “concern” about federal funding: President Trump tried to block millions in grants managed by the EPA last month, after all, even though the funds were already approved by Congress. His move was blocked by two federal judges.
If the funding still doesn’t come through, MEDA is working with city agencies on a Plan B, Ritter said.
Anne Stanley, the communications manager at the Mayor’s Office of Housing, said MEDA could start applying for other sources of money as early as summer. “Our staff is working closely with MEDA to aggressively target funds to close this deal if they are unsuccessful in the last funding round.”
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, for her part, called on the city to find alternative ways to fund the project.
“There’s such a strong need for affordable housing, and yet no political will among elected leaders to tax the wealthiest to fund it. I look forward to continuing to support MEDA with trying to move this critical project forward,” said Fielder.
The linked article was unclear, but am I to derive from this that not only do these projects have turnaround on the order of 8 years minimum, but as CCHO, of which MEDA is a member, supported luxury condo upzonings in the Mission and then lower inclusionary rates, the median income of the Mission (or teachers) has risen to the point where projects like this do not qualify for federal funding?
This is the lynchpin around which all of D9 and Mission politics revolves. We deserve better. D9 deserves a full spectrum politics, not forcing us all to hold the tree pose until the funding ship comes in.
I am not convinced that occupation-specific housing is desirable.
And I’d say the same thing if Salesforce wanted to build housing for tech workers.
Teachers and tech workers can and do commute within the larger city – the Bay Area.
Dude, calm down. What is called ‘teacher housing’ is just ‘teachers get to apply first in the lottery’ housing. The requirements are still onerous and a lot of our district’s teachers still can’t afford even the reduced rent that they offer. Unless you are signing up for a career in inner-city public school education I don’t think you ought to be telling teachers how far they need to commute to get a job here.
But again, why does a SF PS teacher have to live in SF?
Because they have to be there to teach, nimrod. Where did you say you went to school again?
I’m not convinced teachers would do much for Tom either.
Often teachers stay within a district for years and generally become known within a community. It’s easier to be in the area to get to know people who can be guest speakers or bring more knowledge of local history and companies to partner with on projects. The ones I know spend a fair amount of time advising kids’ club activities outside of school, creating curriculum, etc. so a long commute might make it harder for them to do these. Wouldn’t you want them to have stable housing, be a part of the area, and to be able to draw upon local resources for their students? Even if you don’t have kids, invested teachers can make a difference to the kids (and eventual adults) around you. We should just pay them more, but unless you’re going to magically do so…
Can we get an update on this project? It seems that MEDA has been scheduled to build for years and it still remains an eyesore.
Work seems stalled on the affordable housing site at Shotwell & 26th St, near Cesar Chavez. Anyone know what’s up with that?
Dead endangered species was found . If all goes well, should be done with their investigation in 18months with a decision on how to proceed . Many federal Biologists have been laid off by the Orangeman .
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_garter_snake