Golden Gate Village, a federal public housing complex for families in Marin City and former home to Tupac Shakur as a teen, is about to undergo a $266 million renovation, and residents have concerns about gentrification and displacement.  

The $266 million renovation of Golden Gate Village, Marin County's only federal public housing complex for families, is slated to begin June 1, as KGO reports. It’s expected to take about two years to complete, and residents will begin moving out of their units in phases starting mid-June.

According to Local News Matters, the historically Black development, which opened in 1961 and earned federal recognition for design excellence in 1964, provided homes to scores of Black workers barred from most housing due to racially restrictive covenants. Additionally, Golden Gate Village was once home to Tupac Shakur, who lived in Marin City as a teen, and it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The quality of the living conditions at Golden Gate Village has declined over the years, and as SFist reported in 2020, residents filed a lawsuit, citing squalor and disrepair. At the time, there were also plans for a renovation that would have replaced some low-income units with market-rate (luxury) housing. The current plan preserves all existing affordable housing units.

The renovation will remedy the dilapidated conditions of the development, including mold, faulty plumbing, and pests, but residents fear this will lead to it eventually becoming privately owned, per Local News Matters. They also fear their federally funded housing vouchers will expire, leading to a hike in rents and increased evictions.

Residents say their input was not heard throughout the years-long planning process, per KGO. They say this has led them to worry they’ll be permanently displaced during construction, despite assurances they’ll be temporarily relocated elsewhere on the property.

“It's still that ‘we know what's best for you,’” said Royce McLemore, president of the Golden Gate Village Resident Council, who fears the renovation signals gentrification of the area. “We need a lawyer. That's what we really, really need — someone in the legal realm to assist us.”

At a recent meeting with residents, Marin County Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters explained that the renovation will be carried out in phases over the two-year project. She said that before residents are temporarily moved to vacant units on the property during construction, they’ll first sign documents with officials that guarantee their right to return, per KGO.

Moulton-Peters said the earlier meetings were geared toward residents impacted by the beginning phase of the project, which is why not everyone was included. Residents can contact her office or the housing authority directly with any concerns.

Previously: Marin Public Housing Actually Exists, But Residents Sue Over Squalor and Disrepair

Image: Marin County