State financing has been secured to support the 15-story affordable housing proposal at 772 Pacific Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The development has been awarded $33.5 million from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, allowing the team to continue working towards breaking ground as early as 2027. The Chinatown Community Development Center is responsible for the project.
In a public statement shared by the Mayor’s office, CCDC Executive Director Malcolm Yeung said, “the senior housing and community banquet hall development at 772 Pacific is a project that was conceived by the community, for the community… Thank you to Mayor Daniel Lurie, Senator Scott Wiener, and Supervisor Danny Sauter for supporting this vision by signaling to the state of California how much of a priority this project is for San Francisco.”
772 Pacific Avenue preliminary massing area context, rendering by HCLA and Stan Teng Architectural Studio
Demolition will be required for the existing New Asia supermarket, which was formerly a restaurant and grand banquet hall with a capacity for roughly a thousand people.
The roughly 155-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 148,400 square feet, including 175 apartments, a 13,500-square-foot banquet hall, and 3,300 square feet of usable open space. Unit types will vary with 124 studios, 50 one-bedrooms, and a two-bedroom manager unit.
Herman Coliver Locus Architecture and Stan Teng Architectural Studio are jointly responsible for the project, though detailed drawings have yet to be shared. Illustrations show a generic massing overview, with some articulation and a sloped rooftop awning.
772 Pacific Avenue site plan, rendering by HCLA and Stan Teng Architectural Studio
Preliminary permits were filed in early January last year, with the formal application submitted in mid-June 2024. The application was deemed complete in September and given final approval in January 2025. The application was streamlined by Assembly Bill 2011 and Senate Bill 330, with residential capacity increased via the State Density Bonus law.
The project will also financially benefit from Related Companies as part of the development agreement to redevelop city-owned land at 530 Sansome Street. The project is expected to receive a portion of nearly $15 million projected to be generated by the office development, with an initial $2 million paid out within six months of entitlement, according to the mayor’s office.
The parcel at 772 Pacific Avenue was purchased by the City of San Francisco in 2017 for $5 million, and 758 Pacific Avenue was purchased by CCDC with support from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development for $2 million in 2023. The project is a joint collaboration between the CCDC and MOHCD.
758-772 Pacific Avenue existing condition, image by author
Construction is expected to start by 2027, with completion as early as 2029. Previous plans estimate construction will cost around $107 million, a figure not inclusive of all development costs.
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An awesome project. Looking forward to the project breaking ground!
I’d love to know how they managed to contain costs to build and competitively finance an affordable high-rise, given that almost all affordable projects are midrise due to the cost per unit of going higher.