Press Release: Mission District Residents Secure their Future as SFCLT Purchases Building for Permanently Affordable Housing
SAN FRANCISCO — At 320 14th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District, one third of the mostly-Latinx households have called this apartment their home for more than 20 years. When building conditions deteriorated and their frustration boiled over into a rent strike, the long-time tenants – including seniors and families – faced serious risk of eviction.
This past week, the residents instead scored a major victory: After more than two years of organizing, their building was bought by the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) and converted into permanently affordable housing.
“We are thrilled to be taking this property off the private speculative market, and creating permanently affordable homes for these residents,” said Kyle Smeallie, SFCLT Policy Director. “It is a testament to the power of tenant organizing to not only stop displacement, but to bring their homes into community ownership.”
The journey to acquisition by SFCLT began when 320 14th Street, then owned by Veritas Investments, went into default. In November 2023, the Prado Group acquired a 20-property portfolio that included the building. Partnering with residents and the City of San Francisco, the Prado Group addressed deferred maintenance and facilitated the sale to SFCLT, ensuring a smooth transition.
The acquisition was made possible through the Housing Preservation Pilot, administered through a regional body known as the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA), and funded by a new source called Regional Early Action Planning Grant from the state of California.
“The BAHFA team is so proud to finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of 320 14th Street, which is our first Housing Preservation Pilot project,” said Somaya Abdelgany, BAHFA’s Preservation Program Manager. “This project sets an important precedent for our preservation investments by demonstrating our commitment to supporting community-based and community-owned organizations and serving the most impacted residents.”
In addition, the Housing Accelerator Fund provided a loan to support the project, one of many affordable housing preservation projects the public-private partnership has assisted in San Francisco.
“Congratulations to all involved in transitioning these 16 apartments to permanent affordability, especially the residents of 320 14th Street,” said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the Housing Accelerator Fund. “Achieving solutions like this requires collaboration among nonprofits, local government, and private sector partners. We are proud to play a role in these efforts and remain committed to helping them succeed and scale.”
Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission District on the Board of Supervisors, also represents San Francisco as a member of the BAHFA Oversight Committee. “The tenants at 320 14th Street have demonstrated the power of community organizing and I am overjoyed that they will soon have collective ownership over their homes,” Ronen said. “I am grateful to the San Francisco Community Land Trust for making this dream purchase a reality, and as a member of the BAHFA Board, it is gratifying to see BAHFA deliver on funding to preserve affordable homes in our communities.”
The Northern Mission neighborhood where the 14th Street property is located has seen extensive displacement, particularly from the Latinx community. Since 2000, the Mission District has seen a net loss of more than 10,000 Latinx residents, according to a 2020 survey from the Mission Economic Development Agency.
“We feel like a great weight has been lifted now that our homes are part of a supportive Community Land Trust, especially after many stressful years under profit-driven corporate landlords,” said Matthew Souzis, who has lived at 320 14th Street for more than 17 years.
Saki Bailey, Executive Director of SFCLT stated, “This project is an example of so many other similar projects that need to happen in the Bay Area before we can stop the rampant displacement taking place in our communities. We must thank all those who made this project possible and are true leaders in the field: Rebecca Foster and Katie Fisher at the SF Housing Accelerator Fund; Kate Hartley and Somaya Abdelgany at the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority; and finally the SFCLT team- Osmaan Dawood, Kristen Villalobos, and Constanza Asfura-Heim.”
Founded in 2003, SFCLT preserves San Francisco's affordable housing stock by acquiring buildings with at-risk residents, and converting them into permanently affordable housing. In the housing ecosystem, SFCLT is unique in that it not only provides affordable rental units, but it seeks to put residents on a path to eventually buy their homes through limited equity cooperative homeownership, an aspect that was particularly valuable to the 14th Street residents.
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