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Committee recommends exemption to speed repairs at Midtown Park Apartments, an affordable city-owned complex
Summary
The Rules Committee recommended an ordinance to exempt Midtown Park Apartments, a 140-unit city-owned affordable housing complex, from certain Chapter 6 contracting requirements to allow expedited tenant-occupied rehabilitation while retaining prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules.
The Rules Committee on Monday voted to forward to the full Board an ordinance that would exempt Midtown Park Apartments (1415 Scott Street) from San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 6 contracting requirements while preserving prevailing-wage and apprenticeship obligations under Administrative Code section 23.61. MOHCD staff said the exemption would let the city contract quickly with vendors experienced in tenant-occupied rehabilitation at vulnerable affordable properties.
Sheila Nicolopoulos, Director of Policy at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), told the committee Midtown Park is a 140-unit family housing development built in 1964 that the city acquired after a private developer defaulted on a HUD-insured mortgage. She said the building includes six separate buildings in the Western Addition, has been lightly updated since construction, and that plumbing for the heating system still uses 1964-era piping that reduces boiler life and requires frequent replacement. MOHCD reported 34 vacancies being held to allow on-site relocations while repairs proceed.
Nicolopoulos listed critical capital and life-safety needs at Midtown Park: complete plumbing and boiler replacement, roof replacement, fire-sprinkler installation, window replacement to address water intrusion, and upgrades to meet the city’s soft-story retrofit requirements. She said Certificates of Participation bonds from the 2022–23 budget cycle have been allocated for upgrades to affordable properties and that MOHCD is expediting work. Because Midtown is city-owned rather than owned by a nonprofit operator, MOHCD said an exemption from Chapter 6 will permit the department to contract with firms experienced in tenant-occupied rehabilitations, while still following RFQ/RFP procurement processes and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) contracting requirements.
Committee members asked about local-contractor opportunities; a project manager representative said MOHCD will still use RFQs and RFPs and meet SBE requirements even if the Chapter 6 exemption is granted. There were no public speakers on the item. The committee adopted the motion to move the item to the Board with recommendation by voice vote; Member Madelmann was absent.
Next steps: The ordinance was forwarded to the full Board for consideration. MOHCD will proceed with procurement planning consistent with prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules and with SBE outreach under the expedited contracting approach if the exemption is approved by the Board.
