‘Gardens at Harrison’ Project Could Bring Housing for Low-Income Families

The proposed project, called ‘The Gardens at Harrison,’ would be built on Harrison between Third and Fourth. The zoning in this area currently only allows new development to be a maximum of 45 feet high, which would allow approximately 196 market-rate units to be built there. Should the developers’ current request to the Planning Department that their site be rezoned to allow for buildings 85 feet high, they could build 509 units.

However, such a rezoning would require approval from the Board of Supervisors. While debate surrounding the project currently centers on the loss of views from the freeway it would cause, once it reaches the Board the concerns will likely shift dramatically.

“I don’t care about the views of people in cars – what I do care about is providing housing for the community,” said Supervisor Chris Daly.

Daly brokered the 2003 agreement for 4th and Freelon, which brought 56 units to people making 50 percent of the median income at no cost to the city. Located at Brannan Street, the building will provide permanent affordable housing for former SRO hotel residents, and represents one of the most substantial concessions gleaned from developers in recent memory. Developers recently broke ground on the project, which will run by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

In exchange, the city allowed 4th and Freelon’s developer, Joe Cassidy, to build 35 feet higher and provide some above ground parking.

Currently, the only concession from developers of the Gardens at Harrison will be to either include some affordable housing in their project or pay money into a city fund for housing as part of the city’s inclusionary housing law. Most developers choose to simply pay into the fund, and the Gardens’ developers will likely do the same, which would allow the money to go towards housing for people who make 80 to 100 percent of the median income.

Read More
http://quartz.he.net/~beyondch/news/index.php?itemid=1485