Visitacion Valley’s Sunnydale public housing community celebrated the groundbreaking of a new, multimillion-dollar recreation center Tuesday.
Mayor London Breed and neighborhood leaders gathered to commemorate the start of construction for a 35,000 square-foot-campus of community-serving buildings beside John McLaren Park.
The $72 million Sunnydale Community Hub will include a clubhouse for the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, an early childhood education center to serve 150 children from age 0 to 5 and a community center with spaces for events, exercising and cooking classes as well as a cafe. The 11,500-square-foot Herz Recreation Center, which will also be on-site, will include a basketball court, bleachers and a multipurpose room. Renderings show an outdoor courtyard and landscaped play areas for children to recreate and the community to come together.
“The Sunnydale Community Hub will be vital to the development of children and youth in this neighborhood and is the perfect example of the great things we can accomplish when we make significant investments and work collaboratively to provide our residents with facilities that foster a thriving community,” Breed said in a statement.
The hub is part of a collaborative redevelopment effort between Mercy Housing, Related California and Hope SF in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development and the San Francisco Housing Authority. Sunnydale is one of four public housing sites that Hope SF is transforming into mixed-use and -income communities. To date, Hope SF has completed 222 affordable units, with 75% designated as public housing replacements for Sunnydale residents, according to the Mayor’s Office.