The organization that built an LGBTQ-focused senior housing complex on Laguna Street in the last decade secured funding earlier this month for a significant expansion on the other side of Market Street, with a new 15-story, 187-unit building.

There will, in the next few years, be even more affordable housing for LGBTQ+ seniors, as well as veterans, just a few blocks from the Castro neighborhood.

LGBTQ+ community service and senior housing organization Openhouse and development partner Mercy Housing announced this month that they have been awarded funding for a new project at 1939 Market Street by the state's Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program. The site, currently a surface parking lot at the corner of Duboce and Market streets, was acquired by the city in 2020 with the express intent of developing an affordable housing project there, and Openhouse and Mercy Housing won the right to develop it through a competitive process.

The 187-unit, flatiron-shaped building will include a mix of one-bedroom and studio units, and will be marketed to LGBTQ+ city residents aged 62 and older who earn 15% to 60% of Area Median Income.

The new building will join a mini-campus run by Openhouse that includes two other previously developed buildings at 55-95 Laguna Street, which were also built in partnership with Mercy Housing, and where Openhouse runs multiple programs for LGBTQ+ seniors, including an Aging and Disability Resource Center.

Architect Paulett Taggart tells ABC7 this week that the new building at 1939 Market will also include multiple common spaces in which residents can interact with one aother, to counter tendencies to isolation.

Also, Taggart adds of the location, "obviously one of the reasons for this location is that it is located near a lot of the other LGBTQ facilities including the other one run by Openhouse."

Mayor Daniel Lurie celebrated the new funding announcement, saying in a statement, "This is an important step for LGBTQ seniors who deserve stability, dignity, and access to housing in the city they call home." And, Lurie adds, "State support for this project moves us closer to delivering new homes on a key site and strengthens our commitment to our seniors."

Marcy Adelman, who cofounded Openhouse nearly 30 years ago, said in a statement, "Openhouse housing has always been more than bricks and mortar, but rather building and strengthening community by valuing and caring for one another, especially those in later life. With the addition of 1939 Market Street, Openhouse will exponentially expand the number of safe, accessible, affordable, and supportive environments where LGBTQ+ older adults can live and thrive in community. Well done, everyone!"

In addition to Openhouse's facilities, the Bay Area is home to several senior living communities geared toward LGBTQ+ seniors, including Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove Lodge, and Oakland's Lakeside Park.