The limitations of affordable housing funds are apparent in San Francisco, raising the question of where and how the process of building affordable housing can be improved.
"Almost all of the money San Francisco dedicated to building new affordable housing in the Mission District has been allocated to a single project that will cost some $300,000 per unit in city funds," reports Joe Rivano Barros.
The money came from a $310 million housing bond approved by voters in November 2015. $50 million of that bond was allotted for the heavily contested Mission District. Of that total, $43 million "will go to a recently-approved fully affordable 143-unit project at 1990 Folsom St. on the corner of 16th Street."
"That leaves just $7 million for future spending in the neighborhood, since all of the other funds in the housing bond for new construction have already been allocated to other housing projects citywide," adds Barros. The $43 million from the city doesn’t even pay half the price tag for the new building, which will total $103 million for 143 units when all is said and done.
Read the full story: Mission Affordable Housing Funds Almost All Spent
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