Midtown Park study urges $13 million initial retrofit and resident-led governance plan to preserve 140 city-owned units

Consultants for Midtown Park Apartments presented a final study to the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission on March 21, 2025, detailing building conditions, a resident-centered visioning process and recommended next steps to preserve affordability and enable residents to age in place.

Fernando Marti and Steve Suzuki, architects hired to work with Midtown Park tenants, described a year-long engagement that combined community visioning with a physical needs assessment. Midtown Park is a city‑owned residential complex of six buildings and about 140 units in the Western Addition/Fillmore; consultants said it is unique as a city-owned residential development and recounted a history of resident self‑management and a long rent strike that led to rent-control application in 2020.

The study grouped recommendations into immediate life-safety and structural repairs; unit-level "age in place" retrofits (universal-design elements short of full ADA compliance); and common-area investments including the potential for elevators. The consultants concluded that addressing the structural work at the four corners of each building — plus accessibility upgrades for a primary building used as a budget example — would cost roughly $13 million for Building 1. The consultants estimated roughly $69–70 million for a comprehensive, 20‑year set of repairs and replacements across all six buildings.

Consultants flagged other operational issues: insurance costs have jumped (noted in the study from roughly $75,000 to about $400,000 annually because of outdated fire-safety systems), and the city currently subsidizes operations by roughly $1 million annually. Consultants said more than 30 vacant units have been held vacant amid renovation delays; if those 34 units were rented at 80% of area median income it could add about $1 million in annual revenue, and if filled with housing authority vouchers the additional revenue could be closer to $1.5 million.

Tenant priorities in the study include preserving affordability, avoiding displacement, restoring resident control or meaningful resident standing in decision-making, and funding a dedicated organizer to build tenant capacity. The study recommended a memorandum of understanding between the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and the tenants association as a short- to mid-term governance measure, and a funded, part‑time or full‑time tenant organizer to support resident leadership.

Commissioners praised the study and asked staff and the mayor’s office how quickly funding streams and policy tools could be identified. Commissioner Williams said the report underscored the need for "accountability, dignity, and structural redress" for longtime residents. Commissioner Sevier asked whether the consultants had tracked potential financing sources; consultants said identifying funding packages is a logical next step and that MOHCD would need to prioritize the project for available federal, state and utility programs.

The consultants said a final meeting with residents, Supervisor Shamann Walton’s office (referred to in the packet as "Supervisor Mahmood") and MOHCD Director Adams is scheduled for April 26, 2025, to review recommendations and next steps.

What’s next: The study provides detailed costs and a path for advocacy; consultants and commissioners urged the city to accelerate work to avoid rising construction and insurance costs and to support tenant capacity-building for any ownership transition.