OCII conditionally approves schematic design for 1300 Fourth Street affordable housing in Mission Bay

The Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure on Aug. 4 conditionally approved the combined basic concept and schematic design for 1300 Fourth Street (Block 6 East, Mission Bay), a stand‑alone affordable rental development selected for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) team.

OCI Development Specialist Pam Sims told commissioners the development will include 142 affordable rental units plus one manager’s unit, roughly 9,730 square feet of retail and a building area of about 180,215 square feet. She said 114 units (about 80 percent) will be affordable at or below 50 percent of area median income and 29 units (about 20 percent) will be set aside for formerly chronically homeless households. Sims said the project achieved 52.7 percent small business enterprise participation for professional services to date and is using green, sustainable building strategies.

Why it matters: the site is one of the Mission Bay “stand‑alone” affordable sites required under the owner participation agreement for Mission Bay development. Approving schematic design moves the project toward construction financing and lease‑up while preserving OCII oversight of design details and affordability commitments.

Staff highlighted conditions that must be resolved in later design stages, including final landscaping and material samples, refinement of fenestration on the rounded corner of Mission Bay Boulevard North and Fourth Street, trash and recycling configuration to avoid curbside bins, compliance with the Mission Bay South signage master plan, adherence to the Mission Bay Good Neighbor policy on construction hours and noise, refinement of children’s play areas, and clarified operational separations for residential, commercial and car‑share/parking spaces. Sims said the development team will return for a gap‑financing request in June 2016 and that construction completion is expected in 2018.

The project’s parking plan drew commissioner questions. Sims said the proposed off‑street car parking count is 41 spaces, a 0.25:1 ratio consistent with Mission Bay design standards. She told the commission staff estimated it would cost about $85,000–$100,000 per additional parking space; adding roughly 37 spaces to reach a 0.5:1 ratio was estimated at approximately $3.1 million–$3.7 million, a cost that would divert funds from other affordable housing projects in OCII’s pipeline. Sims also said the project received $4,990,000 in state Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities funding, which staff said reflected greenhouse‑gas reduction benefits tied in part to the low parking ratio.

Commissioners and the developer discussed car‑share allocation. Ian Boyle of TNDC said the team is allocating two dedicated car‑share spaces (likely starting with one and moving to two if subscription supports it), and that operators typically run open or neighborhood‑wide access models; Boyle said the developer and staff would examine allocation alternatives, including lottery or prioritized access for larger households.

Public comment was limited to one speaker: Corinne Woods, chair of the Mission Bay Community Advisory Committee, who said the CAC supports the project and that earlier concerns had been addressed in the conditions of approval.

The commission approved the schematic design item on a roll‑call vote (4 ayes). Next steps identified by staff include finalizing design development materials and returning for gap financing and loan approvals as necessary.