Board committee advances 10‑year master lease to house 136 homeless veterans at 250 Kearny

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee on Sept. 4 recommended forwarding a 10‑year master lease with 250 Kearny Street LLC to provide 136 single‑room‑occupancy units for chronically homeless veterans.

John Updike, director of the city’s Real Estate Division, told the committee the building has been rehabilitated and each SRO has a private bathroom. He said the lease sets a capped annual maintenance obligation for the city at $205,000 and that owners agreed to reduce planned rent increases to 1% over the initial 10‑year term, a change Updike said saves the city more than $900,000 over that period.

Amanda Fried of the Mayor’s Office of HOPE said the project pairs the master lease with HUD VASH vouchers and VA‑provided wraparound services. “This is a really extraordinary moment for our efforts to end veterans homelessness in San Francisco,” Fried said, describing targeted street outreach and use of the VI‑SPDAT vulnerability assessment to prioritize the most medically and socially vulnerable veterans for housing.

The city’s budget analyst warned committee members the report and lease terms arrived on an accelerated timetable; the analyst’s report also noted that if the Board does not approve the master lease the city risks losing up to 136 supportive housing units and associated federal HUD voucher funding of $1,695,600 in the first year. The analyst’s report estimated total city costs over the 10‑year lease term at $27,974,030 (including rent, utilities and a property management contract that has not yet been awarded).

Committee members heard multiple veterans and service‑provider testimony urging approval. Jamie de Jesus, a Navy veteran, said the project would give veterans “a chance to be a part of society on a day to day basis.” Several speakers described long histories of homelessness and the difficulty of using VASH vouchers to secure private rentals.

Scott Walton of the Human Services Agency said HSA has issued a request for proposals for property management and that the VA is separately soliciting proposals for supportive services; the selected property manager and supportive services provider will be expected to execute a memorandum of understanding to coordinate on‑site services and tenancy supports.

Committee members approved a motion to send the item forward by unanimous voice vote (no roll call recorded). The committee chair noted the tight timeline tied to HUD deadlines and the need for a subsequent accept‑and‑expend action for project‑based vouchers if the lease is approved by the full Board.

Next steps: the item was recommended to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration. The city will award a property management contract (proposals due Oct. 6) and, if the Board approves the lease, staff said a separate accept‑and‑expend for the HAP contract with the housing authority will follow.