A St. Louis-based developer has agreed to pay $9 million settlement to the city of San Francisco over numerous health and safety violations at its property, Alice Griffith Apartments, a 337-unit affordable housing complex in Bayview.

The agreement with developer McCormack Baron Salazar comes after years of complaints and mounting city enforcement over conditions at Alice Griffith Apartments, as Mission Local reports. The 337-unit Bayview complex has reportedly been plagued by rodent infestations, debris, inoperable elevators, plumbing problems, and other health and safety issues, prompting multiple city departments to issue violations.

According to KQED, the settlement requires the St. Louis-based developer to address those violations and make additional improvements beyond what the city had cited. The owners will also invest $3 million in pest control and other upgrades over the next two years, while the stipulated injunction requires emergency repairs addressing urgent habitability and life-safety issues within 30 days.

“We have worked tirelessly to provide a place that is safe, secure and accommodating for the tenants who call Alice Griffith home,” a spokesperson for McCormack Baron Salazar said in a statement. “Today’s mutually agreed-upon settlement between all of the Alice Griffith partners marks a moment for this community to move forward in a collaborative, positive manner.”

Alice Griffith was operated by the San Francisco Housing Authority from 1962 until 2017, when it was redeveloped through a public-private partnership that was heavily backed by public funding. The city reportedly provided $68.3 million in loans through the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, while the project also received a $30.5 million federal grant and other public and private financing.

The complex then reportedly deteriorated within a few years of the transition to private ownership. Mission Local documented in July reports of rat infestations, piles of debris, and other conditions affecting residents, while city inspectors identified violations involving health, housing, plumbing, building, electrical, and fire codes. 

Over the past year, McCormack Baron Salazar and the John Stewart Company, which manages the property, said they lacked sufficient funds to make necessary repairs. During an April 2025 hearing called by Supervisor Shamann Walton, John Stewart Vice President Jennifer Wood said the company had been unable to address problems including inoperable elevators and garages because of unpaid tenant rent.

City Attorney David Chiu said it is the first code enforcement agreement in San Francisco in which a landlord is required to invest additional money into the property on top of paying the city, per Mission Local.

“No San Franciscan should have to live in substandard housing, and there must be consequences when residents are deprived of a safe and healthy place to live,” Chiu said.

Separate from the $9 million settlement, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is putting $2 million toward a new playground and outdoor improvements at the complex. The office will also provide a $2.5 million loan to McCormack Baron Salazar for elevator repairs, restoration of hot water systems, rehabilitation of 50 uninhabitable units, $200,000 in pest control services, and other urgent work.

KQED reports that McCormack Baron Salazar attributed some of the property’s financial difficulties to losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as what it described as a lack of investment in the surrounding area that left Alice Griffith particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s effects.

The city attorney’s office said the owners violated multiple city codes, state housing law, and California’s unfair competition law. Chiu said the injunction will require the landlord to follow through on the agreement, while Supervisor Walton said his office will continue monitoring the property and the money being spent on improvements.