“S.F. City College Picks Developer to Build Housing on Gough St.”
City College of San Francisco has selected a developer to build as many as 300 units on a property it owns on the edge of the Civic Center, a move that will intensify the already hot debate over whether public land should be set aside for affordable housing.
The college has chosen the local group Equity Community Builders, along with Atlanta-based Integral, to redevelop 33 Gough St., a 46,000-square-foot parcel that includes a two-story administrative building and two surface parking lots, City College spokesman Jeff Hamilton said.
“The ECB plan, on balance, meets the needs and the criteria that was presented to the developers,” said Hamilton.
In August, the college administration issued a request for proposals to redevelop the site, stating that the district will vacate the property and sought an experienced developer to “maximize the value of the property and return to CCSF.” The land sits within blocks of Twitter’s and Square’s booming tech campuses and near new luxury towers such as 100 Van Ness and NEMA.
While the details of the project proposals were not revealed, real estate sources said the winning bidders committed to building a project with 30 percent below-market- rate units. A competing group, however, made up of Strada Investment Group and Community Housing Partnership, had submitted a proposal with 50 percent below-market-rate units, including a stand-alone building for formerly homeless residents.
For City College, the decision comes at a tumultuous time. For three years, the school has fended off closure and struggled to remain accredited. In early June, Chancellor Art Tyler stepped down. The money generated by 33 Gough is needed to modernize buildings on the school’s campus, and Hamilton said the school had to weigh affordable housing goals against what the developers were willing to pay to lease the land.