Friends & neighbors,

I wanted to share an exciting update on our shared efforts to bring affordable housing to the DMV field office site on Fell Street, as well as a way you can take action to support more affordable housing in District 5.
 

After more than a year of advocacy, the California Department of General Services last Thursday issued a request for housing developers to submit plans for a mixed-use development on the current San Francisco DMV site, paving the way for hundreds of new affordable homes to be constructed along with a revamped DMV field office.

This is a big win for affordable housing. Together with Assemblymember Ting, we’ve led the effort to convert this huge state-owned parking lot to affordable housing. In November 2022, we introduced a resolution urging state officials to prioritize affordable housing on the DMV site. At the time, the state was preparing to redevelop the DMV field office, but without adding any housing on site. Since then, we have been working closely with Assemblymember Phil Ting and representatives from state agencies, including the Department of General Services (DGS) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). 

We were thrilled to learn late last week that the state is moving forward with plans to include affordable housing on the DMV site. They will be accepting submissions for affordable housing until late November, and they plan to select an affordable housing developer in March 2024.

As San Francisco takes on ambitious new targets for affordable housing, it makes perfect sense to prioritize publicly-owned sites like the DMV property for housing that serves low-income San Franciscans and their families. 
 

Publicly-owned properties like the DMV lot are some of the best opportunities to develop cost-effective affordable housing. Another opportunity site that my office has been advocating for is the Parcel K lot in Hayes Valley.

Parcel K, at the intersection of Hayes and Octavia Street, is an asphalt lot where the Central Freeway once stood. The freeway was taken down and the land was transferred to the city in 2003, with the express intent of creating affordable housing. The site is perfect for affordable housing – city owned, close to transit, and across the street from Patricia’s Green.

It has since been repurposed into a temporary event space with pop-up retail stores known as Proxy, but the City’s commitment and intention remains to develop the lot into affordable housing. Earlier this year, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development committed to issuing a request to developers to submit plans for affordable housing by August, but nothing has been issued to date.

A group of neighbors in Hayes Valley have started a petition calling on MOHCD to move forward with the project, and those who agree can add their name in support. Click here to sign the petition.

Thank you for taking action and standing with us as we push forward for more affordable housing in District 5.