A NEXT PHASE FOR HOPE SF

In 2020, the City and County of San Francisco passed Right to Return legislation which provides a housing preference to current AND former HOPE SF public housing residents—wherever they might currently live—so they benefit from rebuilt, subsidized units in their original neighborhoods in San Francisco. This policy and other key tenets of the HOPE SF program are centered on reversing the impacts of decades of disinvestment and neglect.  

The new apartment building at 290 Malosi Street in Sunnydale, HOPE SF’s site in Visitacion Valley, will welcome residents later this fall. It will be the first HOPE SF building constructed since San Francisco’s innovative “Right to Return” policy was expanded last year to grant a priority preference for former and current public housing residents of the HOPE SF communities.

Operated by Mercy Housing, 290 Malosi Street will consist of 166 brand-new residential one- to four-bedroom units, with 125 units set aside for current Sunnydale public housing residents and 41 units open to the general public, with a priority preference for former and current Sunnydale public housing residents. This marks another step towards HOPE SF’s commitment to construct new homes that replace all pubic housing units on a one-for-one basis as well as add additional affordable units at various income levels.

More importantly, HOPE SF is committed to ensuring current public housing residents are able to remain in their neighborhoods and benefit from the transformation, as well as make it easier for former residents to return to their communities. The original Right to Return policy guaranteed current HOPE SF public housing residents in good standing a brand-new, revitalized public housing replacement unit. Last year, with the support of Mayor Breed, Supervisor Shamann Walton, and the other members of the Board of Supervisors, Right to Return legislation was expanded to provide former HOPE SF public housing residents with the right to return to the community from which they moved. Now, former residents of HOPE SF sites at Hunters View, Alice Griffith, Sunnydale, and Potrero Hill have a priority to return to a revitalized public housing replacement unit at the site from which they moved, once all current HOPE SF public housing residents have had their chance to move in. Additionally, any current or former HOPE SF public housing resident has highest priority to move into any newly opened affordable units in HOPE SF at the site from which they moved.

“The people who have lived in these neighborhoods for years should get to benefit from the investments that we’ve made in our HOPE SF housing developments,” said Mayor Breed. “For too long, public housing residents, including black San Franciscans who have been historically displaced by redevelopment, have been pushed out of the city. This legislation ensures that families can return to the neighborhoods that they call home and benefit from the revitalization of their communities.”

While 290 Malosi Street will not open its doors until fall 2021, preparations are underway to prepare its new residents. The San Francisco Housing Authority and Mercy Housing will soon reach out to current residents to fill the 125 units set aside for current Sunnydale public housing residents, by lottery order. For the remaining 41 affordable units, applications are open now through July 14, 2021, and can be accessed on DAHLIA, the City’s affordable housing portal.  Applications Closed Jul 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM

Former and current Sunnydale residents may apply for their priority preference on that application, which provides them with the highest ranking in the lottery process.