The city of San Francisco and its beloved Mayor London Breed is celebrating the inauguration of a new housing develoment at 691 China Basin Street in Mission Bay, San Francisco. The project proposal includes the development of a housing community offering affordable residences and onsite services.
Mercy Housing is the project developer. Studio Vara and Paulett Taggart Architects teamed up to design the project.
691 China Basin Street Elevation via Studio Vara
The affordable housing development is named after Sister Lillian Murphy. Murphy, who passed away in 2019, led Mercy Housing, one of the nation’s largest affordable housing organizations, for 27 years before retiring in 2014.
Named the Sister Lillian Murphy Community, the housing development will bring 152 units, providing affordable housing options to families. Units range in size from studios to five-bedroom apartments and have the unique opportunity to serve multigenerational households. Twenty-five percent of the units are set aside for residents from the Sunnydale public housing development.
Sister Lillian Murphy Community Interior via Studio Vara
The building also features two community-serving commercial tenants offering priority registration to resident—Blue Bear School of Music and Kai Ming, an early child care facility.
Sister Lillian Murphy Community sits just a few blocks from the University of California San Francisco medical campus as well as the new Chase Center, a sports and entertainment arena that’s home to the Golden State Warriors.
691 China Basin Street Facade via Studio Vara
The approximately $118 million development was financed with low-income housing tax credits from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and investor Bank of America. Other funders include the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure, California Department of Housing and Community Development, and the California Community Reinvestment Corp.
691 China Basin Street Rendering via Studio Vara
The celebration of the new community was attended by Mercy Housing president and CEO Ismael Guerrero, former CEO Jane Graf, founder Patricia O’Roark, and members of Murphy’s family.
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Wow! This is unappealing and looks like it was intentionally designed for poor people. The city obviously doesn’t scrutinize affordable housing developers nearly as much as market rate or a single family homeowners when it comes to design review. That should probably change.
This is sad, bland, screams government housing and already looks dated.