Former Navigation Center Could Become Affordable Housing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The site of a former Navigation Center in San Francisco's Mission District could soon be transformed into affordable housing, Mayor London Breed announced on Monday.

According to Breed, the city is seeking to purchase a parcel at 1515 S. Van Ness Ave. using part of the tax windfall from the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund.

All of the site would be permanently affordable housing for families who make less than the area's median income. Once completed, it would become the eighth affordable housing project in the Mission since 2015.

"Projects like 1515 South Van Ness are exactly what I envisioned last year when we pushed for the city's windfall revenue to be spent on building and preserving affordable housing," she said.

"We need more affordable housing in the Mission and throughout San Francisco so that low-income and middle-income residents can continue to live here. The $600 million Affordable Housing Bond that we introduced last month will continue our progress and I look forward to working with our diverse coalition of supporters to make sure that it passes," she said.

The site is currently vacant but between 2017 and 2018, it served as a temporary 120-bed Navigation Center. That center closed when the Division Circle Navigation Center opened last year.

In addition to money from the tax windfall, $5 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Jumpstart investment program would be used to purchase the site.

The site's purchase is expected to be approved by the city's Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks.

— Bay City News

Also See:

• 194 Best Employers In California: New Forbes List
• No Strike: Progress In Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Talks
• 10 Calif. Restaurants Earn AAA 5-Diamond Rating 2019
• Garin Park Goats: Photo Of The Day