San Francisco Breaks Ground on 11-Story Affordable Housing Project After Over 5 Years | KQED

"Although the project was originally proposed to be a mixed-income building, financial constraints emerged amid a rocky housing market, said Mark MacDonald, the CEO of DM Development, a San Francisco-based firm specializing in mixed-use development and one of the community partners spearheading the project. MacDonald pointed to the capital markets in San Francisco slowing down post-pandemic, as well as skyrocketing interest rates and decreased investor interest, which is "why you don't really see any cranes in the sky in San Francisco now." Compounded with extended dialogue among the neighborhood and community, the permitting phase and entitlement process were lengthy, he said. But without SB 35, it would have taken even longer to get to groundbreaking."

"MacDonald acknowledged that 300 De Haro became a point of contention among Potrero Hill residents upon its proposal, especially because a few small businesses like Cafe Da Fonk and Torraku Ramen, both sited at the development's address, were given notice to vacate before groundbreaking began. He said the building will have 6,000 square feet of space for retailers, but he did not specify which would operate there. "We even invited some of our existing [retail] tenants at 300 De Haro back into the building should they choose to come," he said. "We would"

An affordable housing project at 300 De Haro in Potrero Hill is breaking ground after five years in development. The site was originally slated for an 11-story mixed-income building with over 400 furnished and unfurnished units. Capital market slowdowns after the pandemic, rising interest rates, and reduced investor interest created financing constraints that shifted the project away from mixed-income models. Lengthy neighborhood dialogue and prolonged permitting and entitlement processes added delays. SB 35 accelerated the timeline and helped enable groundbreaking. A few small businesses at the address received notices to vacate. The building will include about 6,000 square feet of retail space.

Read at Kqed