San Francisco gets over $117M to build affordable housing

San Francisco recently received more than $117 million in funding from California's Department of Housing and Community Development to build three affordable housing projects.

Why it matters: San Francisco is in the thick of a housing crisis, spurred at least in part by the city lagging behind other major U.S. metros when it comes to new housing construction.

• In August, the Department of Housing and Community Development launched a review into SF's housing policies to identify and remove "barriers to approval and construction of new housing."

Details: The new projects will provide 290 affordable units for veterans, seniors, families and people with disabilities, per the mayor's office.

• The projects are located at: 4200 Geary Blvd., in the Inner Richmond; Sunnydale Avenue and Hahn Street in Visitacion Valley; and 234 Van Ness Ave., in Civic Center.
• Construction is expected to begin on all three in early 2023.

What they're saying: Mayor London Breed in a statement called the new funding "an essential tool" to build more affordable housing in San Francisco and "get more people housed more quickly."

The big picture: The city needs to build 82,000 new units of housing by 2030 to meet its needs, which comes to about 10,000 units per year beginning in 2023.

• In the past few months, San Francisco has broken ground on a handful of affordable housing projects, including a 70-unit development in the Tenderloin and a 138-unit development on Treasure Island.

• Last week, the city's Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a resolution to finance three more affordable housing projects in the Mission, Haight and Sunset districts.

What's next: SF residents will vote in November on two competing affordable housing measures: Prop D, known as Affordable Homes Now, and Prop E, known as the Affordable Housing Production Act.

• Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on Nov. 15 to discuss the city's updated housing plan.