SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, September 10, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a $100 million commitment to the region to purchase affordable housing made using modular construction built in San Francisco. The commitment represents the first production order for a new modular housing facility that will be built in San Francisco in partnership with the San Francisco Building Trades.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s website, after a competitive application process, the city of San Francisco selected the international design firm Nelson Worldwide to conduct a feasibility study for a new modular housing factory on Port-controlled industrial lands. To date, Nelson Worldwide has started conducting stakeholder meetings, data collection, and analysis needed to support a future facility to decide capital investment requirements, operational and staffing goals, and supply and demand targets. The second phase of the feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 and will develop the business plan for the future factory.
“We are in a housing crisis and the reality is we need to produce affordable housing much quicker than we currently do, or we will continue to see displacement of our low and middle-income communities,” said Mayor Breed. “By building a modular housing factory in our own backyard, we can create housing faster and more cost-effectively, while also creating great union jobs in partnership with our labor leaders.”
The $100 million commitment will help ensure the financial viability of the modular factory and allow San Francisco to develop its pipeline in a cost-effective manner.
“Providing new homes for people experiencing homelessness as fast as we can is essential to creating a compassionate and livable city for all San Franciscans,” said Kate Hartley, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. “We are thrilled to be working on a new modular production facility that will create jobs and homes for San Franciscans.”
The San Francisco Building Trades Council is working with Mayor Breed to facilitate the creation of a San Francisco-based modular factory with union labor.
“I want to thank Mayor Breed for recognizing the vital role building trades workers play in addressing the city’s housing and homelessness challenges and the importance of keeping these jobs in San Francisco,” said Larry Mazzola Jr., President of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. “We are proud to partner with our City to help develop a facility that addresses these issues while keeping jobs in our local economy.”
Written By Casey Jacobs
