A new 145-unit affordable housing development was completed in a fraction of the typical time for half the cost on the edge of the Mission-Bernal Heights border, and officials hope to use it as a model for future projects.
City leaders on Tuesday celebrated the opening of 1633 Valencia, a 145-unit affordable housing development for seniors 55 and older who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as SF Examiner reports. The six-story building, located on a former Sears parking lot in the Mission District near Bernal Heights, was nearly fully occupied at the time of its opening, with residents referred through city and nonprofit housing programs.
The project was reportedly completed in just 19 months at a cost of about $525,000 per unit, significantly below the price tag of many comparable affordable housing developments in the Bay Area. According to the Chronicle, officials credited the reduced timeline and cost to a combination of private financing, prefabricated construction components, and a design-build approach that brought architects and contractors into the process early.
Developed by Mercy Housing California, 1633 Valencia reportedly offers on-site support services through the nonprofit Felton Institute, along with shared community spaces and bike parking.
The development is the first project completed through the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund, a partnership launched in 2024 by the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, Apple, the Sobrato Organization, and other backers. The fund was created to help affordable housing projects move more quickly by providing flexible financing and supporting new construction methods.
“Every year we spend waiting and every extra dollar spent has real-life consequences for the 145 older adults who live and will live here,” said SF Housing Accelerator Fund CEO Rebecca Foster. “Every time we wrestle together to simplify what stands between capital and housing, we create room for another neighbor to come home.”
Backers of the project say several additional developments funded through the program are already underway across the Bay Area, per the Chronicle, including projects in San Jose and Santa Cruz, with the goal of using the model to deliver more affordable housing at lower cost and on shorter timelines.
“With rent starting to skyrocket again, it’s a really important moment for our base of amazing corporations that have benefited from this hotbed of innovation and the unique, diverse, vibrant community that we have here in San Francisco,” said Foster, “ to really roll up their sleeves and say, ‘Okay, how am I part of the solution to these affordability challenges?’”
Related: SF Mayor, Supervisors Announce Proposal to Double Funding For Affordable Housing
Image: David Baker Architects
