South of Market
Project Description
The South of Market Redevelopment Project Area, created in 1990 as the South of Market Earthquake Recovery Redevelopment Project Area, was originally adopted to repair damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Since 1990, the Agency has been able to: 1) provide earthquake recovery assistance to residents and businesses; 2) improve housing opportunities by funding the construction or rehabilitation of more than 1,000 new affordable housing units; 3) fund the construction on Sixth Street of new, widened sidewalks with new street trees and street lights, which were completed in February 2006; 4) since 2002, provide façade and tenant improvement loans to property owners and neighborhood-serving businesses on Sixth Street and provide street cleaning services for Sixth Street; and 5) support community nonprofits that provide health care and other services that contribute to the cultural identity of the area.
Because the Project Area was originally adopted to address conditions caused by a natural disaster, the Agency did not have all the tools normally available in a redevelopment project. Between 1998 and 2005, the Agency, in consultation with the South of Market Project Area Committee (PAC), worked on a proposal to amend the Project Area. The Plan Amendment, which was adopted in December 2005, converted the earthquake recovery redevelopment project into a traditional redevelopment project with the full complement of redevelopment tools.
The Plan Amendment allows the Agency to: 1) expand the scope of redevelopment actions to fully address all conditions of blight in the Project Area; 2) extend its ability to incur debt by an additional ten years, providing the Agency with greater financial resources; 3) expand the boundary of the original Project Area to include the Western Expansion Area; 4) adopt new redevelopment goals and objectives focused on creating new housing and revitalizing the entire Project Area; 5) acquire certain blighted properties through eminent domain, subject to the limitations contained in the Plan Amendment, if owners are unwilling to address the blight themselves or negotiate a fair market value sale.
The Project Area, including the Western Expansion Area, is approximately 70 acres in size and located in the central city area of San Francisco. The Project Area is roughly bounded by Stevenson, Mission and Natoma Streets in the north, Fifth Street in the east,Harrison Street in the south and Seventh Street in the west. Its focus is the Sixth Street corridor, a mixed-use community located between Market and Harrison Streets and characterized by a prevalence of older residential and commercial buildings, including many single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels, several commercial and light industrial uses, and a large number of vacant ground-floor spaces. The remainder of the Project Area consists mainly of a combination of older residential and commercial buildings, as well as the new Bessie Carmichael School and the proposed location of the new Victoria Manalo Draves Park.
The Plan Amendment allows the Agency to continue and expand all of its programs in the Project Area and implement new revitalization strategies. With the Plan Amendment, the life of the Redevelopment Plan has been extended from 2010 to 2020. The redevelopment program will be funded by approximately $47.2 million (in future dollars) that will be available after debt service and administrative costs. Of this total, approximately $37 million will go toward affordable housing, including facilitating the development of new affordable housing and rehabilitating existing housing. The remainder, approximately $10.2 million, will fund the Agency’s non-housing program, including planning, economic development, community services, public infrastructure, and community outreach.
The Agency worked closely with the South of Market PAC on the Plan Amendment between 1998 and 2005. The PAC was created by the Board of Supervisors to advise the Agency on the proposed Plan Amendment and is composed of 21 members, representing residential owner-occupants, residential tenants, business owners and representatives of community organizations.
South-of-Market (SOM) Alleyway Improvements Project
In 2006, the Agency and the San Francisco Department of Public Works ("DPW") completed public streetscape improvements on Sixth Street between Market and Harrison Streets, which have improved the quality of life in the South of Market Redevelopment Project Area (the "Project Area") by adding widened sidewalks, new street trees, and ornamental street lights. Agency staff and the South of Market Project Area Committee ("SOMPAC") have had discussions recently with DPW about extending these successful improvements to the residential and commercial alleyways that occupy most of the rest of the Project Area. As with the Sixth Street improvements, for which DPW provided planning, design and construction management services, the alleyway improvements would begin with a planning phase utilizing DPW architecture and engineering staff funded by the Agency. The American Institute of Architects San Francisco ("AIA San Francisco") has also been involved in the discussions and has agreed to help organize a design charrette to help the Agency and DPW develop ideas for the alleyways improvements.
Through discussions with SOMPAC, Agency staff and DPW have identified an initial set of alleyways for improvements. The planning phase for the initial set of alleyways would be followed by a future design and construction phase, as well as future improvement projects for other alleyways in the Project Area. Funding for DPW in the amount of $120,000 for the planning phase for the initial set of alleys is available in the current budget. Funding in the amount of $15,000 for the AIA San Francisco design charrette is also available in the current budget. Additional funding for the design and construction phase has been included in the Agency’s draft budget for Fiscal Year 2007-2008.
Documents
Redevelopment Plan (PDF)
South of Market Owner Participation Rules - Adopted on October 5, 2005 (PDF)
South of Market Delegation Agreement (PDF)
Sixth Street Design Guidelines
Program Updates
6th Street Gateway - Neighborhood Developments Recent & Planned (PDF)
South of Market Alleyway Improvement Meetings
Affordable Housing Projects
Contact Information
Archived meeting information:
Phase II - July 11, 2011 Community Meeting
Meeting #1 - July 30, 2007
- Announcement
- Powerpoint Presentation by DPW
- Comments from Workshop - 771 Kb
Meeting #2 - Saturday, September 29, 2007
- Announcement
Workshop Presentation - Thursday, February 7, 2008
Affordable Housing Projects
Since 1990, the Agency has improved housing opportunities by funding the construction or rehabilitation of more than 1,000 new affordable housing units in and around the South of Market Redevelopment Project Area. These projects are listed in the file below.
For information on the South of Market Project Area Committee(SOMPAC)
Sixth Street Design Guidelines (PowerPoint)