The Kataly Foundation Restorative Economies Fund awards SFCLT a generous $600,000 grant
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 18, 2022) – The Restorative Economies Fund (REF) of the Kataly Foundation has announced a grant of $600,000 to the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) to create BIPOC permanently affordable housing in the Tenderloin. This generous donation will be utilized to close out the Capital Stack for the 285 Turk acquisition project which will allow for paying for rehab, organizational costs, and the salary of the Resident Education & Outreach Coordinator (REOC) for 1 year. The REOC position is essential to the conversion of this building eventually to limited equity homeownership from permanently affordable rentals in order to provide residents the necessary skills, education, and financial tools to self-management and own the building collectively.
285 Turk Street, the towering apartment building at the corner of Turk and Leavenworth, in the heart of the vibrant Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco is home to a highly diverse population of Black, Indigenous, and AAPI tenants. In addition to its 40 residential units, 285 Turk includes 2 units of neighborhood-serving commercial space and is located within the Tenderloin's Transgender Cultural District.
“Our goal for 285 Turk is to form, with BIPOC leadership, a Limited Equity Housing Co-operative (LEHC), LEHC’s are an important tool to advance homeownership which provides an individual wealthy building tool for communities of color while at the same time keeping units permanently affordable for generations to come.” Said Saki Bailey, Executive Director at SFCLT,
“In a historic move SFCLT successfully completed the acquisition of 285 Turk on January 19, 2022,” said Keith Cooley, Director of Asset Management at SFCLT, “however, the financing we were able to raise only covered the acquisition and did not cover the ongoing needs of the building and its residents. Beside capital for rehab a critical requirement is to be able to engage and educate tenants on the transition to LEHC. We are fortunate to have hired SF home towner Ajeya Hernandez as the liaison with tenants and help the transition to a LEHC”
“The challenge now is fostering the leadership and solidarity the residents of 285 Turk st displayed when they organized against unchecked rent hikes and threats of eviction, and channeling it into the creation of a Limited Equity Housing Cooperative,” said Ms. Hernandez, newly hired Resident Education and Outreach Coordinator at SFCLT.
Nwamaka Agbo CEO of Kataly & Managing Director of the Restorative Economies Fund said, “We are proud to provide support for this project, which will provide Black and brown communities in San Francisco with safe, affordable homes. 285 Turk Street is a powerful example of how to center the needs of the most impacted, build community wealth, and move from an extractive economy to one that creates shared prosperity.”
Saki Bailey, Executive Director at SFCLT thanks Kataly for its generous contribution, “We deeply thank the Kataly Foundation and the REF team in validating the significance of this work to advance BIPOC homeownership in San Francisco. It is truly an honor to be in partnership.”
To find out more about this project please contact:
Keith Cooley, Director of Asset Management at SFCLT: (415) 480-0397 – kcooley@sfclt.org
Ajeya Hernandez, Resident Education and Outreach Coordinator at SFCLT:
Saki Bailey, Executive Director at SFCLT: (510) 776-0902 - sbailey@sfclt.org
About the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT)
SFCLT is dedicated to creating and preserving permanently affordable housing through the community ownership of land, toward the goal of racial and economic justice.
About the Restorative Economies Fund (REF)
REF seeks to close the racial wealth gap and transform our financial system by strategically reinvesting resources into community-owned and governed projects that create shared prosperity, self-determination, and build collective political, economic and cultural power.