Supervisors advance lease for Western Addition neighborhood workforce “one-stop” at 1449 Webster

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee on July 23 advanced a resolution to lease roughly 3,900 square feet at 1449 Webster Street for a neighborhood "one-stop" employment center intended to provide intensive, neighborhood-tailored job-readiness, case management and placement services.

John Updike, assistant director of the Department of Real Estate, told the committee the lease negotiators secured a rate of $2.05 per square foot — about two-thirds of staff’s market estimate of roughly $3 per square foot — for an initial three-year term with a city option to cancel after two years if funding problems arise. Updike said the landlord will deliver tenant improvements (including ADA-compliant restrooms) funded by the city but delivered by the landlord to expedite occupancy.

Rhonda Simmons of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development described the center as a neighborhood-focused, higher-intensity alternative to the state Employment Development Department’s self-service offerings. "This one will provide more intensive hand holding services for folks that don't have skills to do this work on their own," Simmons said, adding the Chinatown one-stop is already open and the Western Addition site will deliver services tailored to that community.

Staff and supervisors emphasized measurement of outcomes. Simmons said staff expect to see roughly 800 clients a year as a planning estimate and projected 200 to 300 placements annually, while identifying placement, wage progression and retention as the principal performance metrics tracked by the city. The department plans to use electronic check-in systems to record visits and placements.

Committee members pressed on staffing and continuity. The proposal lists 12.55 Rubicon positions translating, in staff calculations, to 4.05 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at the site. Supervisors asked whether many part-time staff would undermine continuity; Simmons answered that a collaborative staffing model — four permanent staff focused on case management plus rotating instructors — is intended to maintain continuity of service.

On funding, staff described a mixed package: general-fund support, federal Workforce Investment Act dollars and residual redevelopment agency dollars. Mr. Rose, the committee’s budget analyst, noted redevelopment dollars are secure for the current fiscal year but uncertain thereafter; staff said they are pursuing CDBG, CalWORKs and other partner funding to supplant redevelopment dollars if needed.

No members of the public spoke on the item. Supervisor McRaeamy moved to forward the lease recommendation; the committee sent the item forward without recorded objection.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the lease at a later date. The resolution advanced by the committee authorizes moving ahead with the lease and the program plan as presented, but operational details such as multi-year funding stability and final performance metrics will return to the board as part of subsequent oversight and appropriation steps.