1979 Mission unveils new approach to build housing for all levels in the Mission

San Francisco – March 4, 2015 – Maximus Real Estate Partners, the developer behind the proposed 1979 Mission project at 16th and Mission, today unveiled a new approach to build housing for all income levels in the Mission District. The plan would build 41 middle-class, for-sale workforce homes onsite and 49 affordable, below-market rate apartments, bringing the overall affordable housing units created by the project to 31 percent.

“We believe this plan provides a way for people at all income levels to live at 1979 Mission,” said Seth Mallen, Principal for 1979 Mission. “Whether you’re an artist, teacher, laborer or firefighter, our proposal creates affordable workforce housing at 16th and Mission that can help current residents afford to stay in the Mission.”

The 1979 Mission housing proposal includes 290 rental apartments and 41 for-sale middle-class workforce homes onsite. The 41 for-sale middle-class workforce homes would be priced between $280,000 and $350,000, and households with income between $61,000 and $145,650 per year would qualify for purchase. All of the funds from the sale of the 41 homes would then be reinvested in the Mission to build 49 additional affordable, below-market rate apartments.

The 49 affordable below-market rate apartments could be rented for between 30 and 55 percent of average median income (AMI), where a single-person household with an annual income of $20,400 would qualify for a studio, and a household with an income of $53,400 per year would qualify for a three-bedroom unit. According to criteria outlined by the Mayor’s Office of Housing, rent for the studio at 30 percent of AMI would be $510 per month and $1,335 per month for the three-bedroom apartment at 55 percent of AMI.

“This is something that has never been tried before in San Francisco,” continued Mallen. “The housing pressures that many San Franciscans are facing demand new solutions. We believe this could be a model for development across the city; one that creates a path to homeownership for the middle class, builds more affordable housing across the board and helps to bring down rents citywide.”

Some of the other community benefits announced as part of the proposal include:

• The construction of a “Mercado” or Market Hall, where local neighborhood serving businesses and artists will have new opportunities to sell their food and products
• A Walgreens or comparable pharmacy onsite
• 40 percent increase in total area of the 16th Street BART plaza for all to use
• 50 percent increase in total school size for Marshall Elementary School through a raised playground and classroom space below that will help reduce the impacts of shadows by new and existing buildings
• Improved lighting, landscaping and traffic-calming measures on Capp Street that include wider sidewalks, raised crosswalks, bulb-outs and landscaping best practices developed by Laborers at the Recreation and Parks Department

1979 Mission will also include an emphasis on the preservation of Mission District history and culture. Under the proposal, the developer will work with community partners to identify and qualify the local Mission community to purchase the onsite middle-class workforce homes at 1979 Mission. They will also work with existing community organizations and cultural groups to introduce new 1979 Mission residents into the Mission District and plan to promote respect of the historic Mission culture. Local Mission artwork will be showcased in key areas of 1979 Mission as well.

The project details and community benefits were announced during a community meeting at the Laborers Union Hall in the Mission District.

“1979 Mission will be 100 percent union built, with job opportunities for local workers in apartment management and retail, and will also provide our workers with the middle-class workforce housing they need to stay in San Francisco,” said Michael Theriault, Secretary Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. “These types of new ideas are needed to increase the amount of affordable and middle-class housing built in San Francisco and preserve the city’s diversity.”

The 1979 Mission proposal is in line with the nine-year community planning process that took place between 2001 and 2009 as part of the City’s Eastern Neighborhoods Mission Area plan. That plan, which was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2008, reaffirmed previous zoning rules that zoned the 1979 Mission site for 105 feet, due to the site’s location near mass-transit.

About Maximus:

Maximus Real Estate Partners is reinventing the concept of urban living. Founded in 2012, the real estate and development company is creating transformational value in areas that have been in want of livable modern housing while revitalizing existing under-cared-for properties.  Recognized as the most rapidly growing multifamily investor in the San Francisco Bay Area, Maximus currently owns five multifamily renovation/development properties including the largest entitlement in California history, Parkmerced. This development received the prestigious American Institute of Architecture (AIA) award for Urban Design in 2013 for the project’s innovative long-term development design creating the largest carbon net neutral community. With 5,000 existing units and over 7,000 units in the development pipeline, Maximus has a deeply sophisticated and environmentally innovative approach that has positioned the company to revolutionize the urban community experience.