Budget & Finance Committee forwards package of housing bond items, including 1500 Mission and Bridal Courts

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee on Tuesday advanced a bundle of housing financing measures to the full Board, including conduit bond resolutions for a 550‑unit mixed‑income project at 1500 Mission Street and the rehabilitation of Bridal Courts Apartments.

Amy Chan of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development told the committee the 1500 Mission Street resolution would authorize issuance and sale of multifamily housing revenue bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $325 million to finance a 550‑unit mixed‑income rental project at 1500–1580 Mission Street. Chan said the resolution applies only to the residential tower (not the planned office building), that the bonds are conduit financing that will not pledge the city’s general fund, and that 20 percent of units will serve households earning no more than 50 percent of area median income (AMI). She said the developer has secured a debt‑limit allocation and a financing team and that the project aims to close financing by the end of the month with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Chairwoman Supervisor Malia Cohen said negotiations between the contractor and labor unions were still underway and moved to forward the item to the full Board without a positive recommendation to preserve the project’s closing schedule. Supervisor Tang questioned whether the item could be continued; staff counsel and Chan said the month‑end closing and uncertainty around federal tax reform make keeping the timeline important. The committee forwarded the item to the Board without objection.

On Bridal Courts Apartments, Chan described a bond issuance resolution authorizing up to $76 million in multifamily housing revenue notes to finance acquisition and rehabilitation of a 92‑unit affordable rental project. Chan said half the units will serve households at or below 50 percent AMI and half at or below 60 percent AMI; the project is scheduled to close by the end of the month and rehabilitation is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Supervisor Tang moved to forward the Bridal Courts item with a positive recommendation and the committee approved the motion without objection.

The committee also approved a $51 million bond issuance resolution to finance construction of 1150 Third Street Apartments, presented by Kim Obstfeld of the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII). Obstfeld said the project will provide 119 affordable rental units targeted to formerly homeless veterans and low‑income families, with 62 units targeted up to 30 percent AMI (including 55 units supported by Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers) and family units affordable up to 60 percent AMI. Financing sources noted included a $4.5 million private donation, an award from the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, an OCII loan, and a $10 million award from the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program.

Items 4 and 5 — financing actions related to Candlestick Point projects — were called together. Gretchen Heckman (OCII) described non‑substantive cleanup amendments (including LP name corrections, a revised unit count from 176 to 156 for one project, and corrected parcel identifiers). The committee adopted the cleanup amendments and forwarded items 4 and 5 to the Board with positive recommendations.

All motions on these housing items were taken by unanimous consent and will return to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

Next steps: the full Board will consider the forwarded resolutions at upcoming meetings; the committee record and staff reports list programmatic conditions such as prevailing‑wage and local business enterprise (LBE) compliance that the presenters stated the projects meet.