A new proposal for a tiny home village has been filed for 1979 Mission Street in the Mission District of San Francisco. The plans would install as many as 70 prefabricated units and related amenities on the 1.32-acre property. The city’s Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing is responsible for the application. Reached for comment, city staff shared with YIMBY, “The proposal does not include demolition of the existing buildings.”
1979 Mission via 1979mission.com
Initial plans for 1979 Mission Street include the supposed “Monster in the Mission” proposal by Maximus. Initial plans filed in 2013 would have produced 330 homes in a ten-story tower immediately next to the 16th Street BART Station. The former Walgreens property is now a single-story vacant structure and a surface parking lot along Capp Street.
Maximus sold the property to Crescent Heights in February of last year for $42 million. In the agreement, Crescent agreed to hand the property over to the city to fulfill affordable housing requirements for the 55-story tower with 1,012 apartments at 10 South Van Ness Avenue.
1979 Mission Street, image via Google Street View
City Staff specify the 70 prefabricated units are temporary emergency housing. The following passage was included by the General Plan Referral planning application:
The project proposes conversion of the vacant parking lot at 1979 Mission into low-barrier temporary emergency housing. The project will involve construction of a “tiny home village” with a maximum of 70 prefabricated tiny homes. In addition to the tiny homes, the project will include a community room, meeting room, storage containers, guard shacks, restroom and shower trailers, and case management offices. No alterations to the existing buildings on site are proposed.
The HSH has worked before with DignityMoves for a Tiny Homes Village at 33 Gough Street. The community involved the partnership with Tipping Point Community, Urban Alchemy, HomeFirst Services, Gensler, Boss Homes, and Swinerton Builders.
33 Gough Street walkway, image courtesy DignityMoves
33 Gough Street tiny homes example, image courtesy DignityMoves
The Tiny Homes Village is intended as a temporary solution while the city searches for a developer to build a permanent affordable housing project. According to the SF Chronicle, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is aiming to see around 330 low-income households for the same property.
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Low density and hideous right next to transit. Can someone explain why the city thinks this is a good idea? Is it because it’s cheap?
Reasonable idea but not at this location and not for $100k per unit.
I can’t list city-owned or deeded land in the district off the top of my head but don’t think this area near BART can take any more concentration of homelessness [or related aspects], regardless of the implied protocols to ensure safety and security (and sanitary) needs. The city and each district needs to get more serious about building real homes for the gamut of needy peoples… and not on top of intentionally stalled housing at a major neighborhood transit stop.
Bobby the reasons you “don’t think this area near BART can take any more concentration of homelessness” are the reasons it’s a good location: people need homes there, and this initiative would provide them. Homes solve homelessness.
I agree the price tag per unit is absurd, particularly for a site that will be closed in 2 years—and particularly when Ronen said a full YEAR ago that she would start working immediately on interim uses for this site. Maddening that this still in a discussion and brainstorming phase.
Being overpriced might be a reason to scrap this plan; public expenditures have to be efficient in order to achieve what’s needed. Or maybe it’s worth the cost this time, hard to say definitively.
One note: the price per unit doesn’t reflect that they’ll probably be able to move the actual structures somewhere else in 2 years. Hopefully. Maybe.
Tiny homes are a great idea but it shouldn’t exist in heavy foot trafficked areas. This should be reserved for mixed-use space that encouraging walking and urban living. The land is just too valuable to be used for a single use only.
Totally agree with your comment. Higher density is needed in this area.
Hi sfyimby.com admin, You always provide in-depth analysis and understanding.
Once these tiny shacks get built, they will be tough to remove. Given the many layers of bureaucracy, I don’t believe in the temporary nature of this project.