SFCLT completes the renovation of 2976 23rd Street during the Pandemic
The San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) has completed the renovation of the residential building at 2976 23rd Street, also known as the Merry-Go-Round house. The work was done on an occupied residential building during the COVID-19 pandemic following the strict social distancing protocols of the San Francisco Health by the General Contractor – G.Y. Engineering. There were no reported infections among residents of the building who were in occupation during the work. Construction was funded by the Small Sites Program of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to ensure that the building remains permanently affordable in perpetuity.
2976 23rd Street is a pair of Victorian row houses connected together, located in the heart of the vibrant Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. It consists of 14 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 5 bathrooms and a number of common rooms. In 2014 residents of the building, many of them artists or creative types, came together and brought in the SFCLT to purchase the property. SFCLT helped the residents in organizing towards cooperative ownership in which the residents can collectively own, control and govern their housing together with shared values and common interests. Now the building is home to a diverse population of White, Latinx, and AAPI residents.
The focus of the construction was firstly, health and safety concerns for the residents and secondly, ensuring that this 121 -year-old building is ready for the future. The entry stairs to the four front doors of the building were found to have had dry rot so they were completely rebuilt, with new handrails. A new heating system for the building was installed, all of the bathrooms were remodeled. A fire alarm system that meets the new requirements for fire safety in 2021 was installed. Structural work was done to ensure the building was seismically safe. Finally, the facade of the building was repaired and a new paint job sensitive to the history of the building was undertaken.
“COVID presented many challenges for renovating an affordable housing building. The entire project team— MOHCD; Keith Cooley from SFCLT; Architects, Babette Jee and Steve Suzuki; Common Ground and MGR residents were professional, adaptable and solution-oriented,” said Leiasa Beckham, CEO Common Ground Development. “COVID presented an opportunity and we co-created a new robust digital infrastructure, for communication, schedules, process approvals and document management. Going forward, the process will be much more time efficient.”
Saki Bailey, the Executive Director of SFCLT said, “We appreciate the cooperation and help of residents at MGR , especially the resident coordinator, Phoenix Firestarter. Without their participation the rehab would still be languishing. Our Rehab team, led by Keith Cooley, did a sterling job of moving the project forward.”
To find out more about this project please contact: Keith Cooley, Director of Asset Management at SFCLT: 415 480-0397 – kcooley@sfclt.org