The Essex – San Francisco
On April 17, 2008, Mercy Housing-California and Community Housing Partnership formally opened the Essex, a seven-story former hotel renovated and converted to permanent supportive housing. The studio apartments each have bathrooms and kitchenettes. In addition to the apartments, the building features 3,000 square feet of street-level commercial space and 5,500 square feet of community facilities where the Community Housing Partnership provides supportive services to residents. CHP will also serve as the building’s property manager and owner. The Essex’s 84 SRO units will also receive tenant services. The city’s Local Operating Subsidy Program is providing funds to make monthly rents affordable to tenants. All residents of The Essex are formerly homeless and, on average, earn less than 12 percent of the area median income (AMI). A 250 square-foot unit rents for an average of $216 per month, far below market-rate rents in San Francisco.
The Essex, which was originally built in 1912, is centrally located and allows residents easy access to public services, amenities and transportation. The Essex rehabilitation involved adaptive reuse of an older building, thereby preserving the character of the neighborhood and generating less waste material during the process as well.
Green features include:
- photovoltaic solar panels
- low-flow water fixtures
- Energy Star lighting
- a high-efficiency boiler
- insulated pipes
- environmentally-friendly carpet and bathroom surfaces
- re-used building materials implemented into the overall design and construction
Project Financing included:
Mayor’s Office of Housing |
$6,096,483 |
State of CA Multifamily Housing Program |
$7,000,000 |
FHLB – Affordable Housing Program Citibank |
$680,000 |
Enterprise Green Communities Grant |
$55,000 |
LIHTC Equity Through Enterprise |
$8,315,918 |
Tax-exempt bond-backed construction loan (Citibank) |
$11,594,362 |
City of San Francisco Dept of Human Services Annual Operating Support
The building carries no hard debt thanks to funding from the state of California and from the city of San Francisco. Total development costs for The Essex were $33,741,763.
Architects: Barcelon and Jang
Structural: Holmes Cully Engineers
General Contractor: Fine Line Construction
excerpted from
Green, Supportive SRO-Development Celebrates Grand Opening in San Francisco
Hotel Essex PDF |
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