On a clear day, future residents of 1234 Great Highway will see Golden Gate Park’s canopy to the right and the Pacific Ocean in front.
While plans to build a seven-story apartment building at the site, currently occupied by Motel 6, are in the early stages, the affordable housing project is drawing the ire of neighbors who take issue with everything from its proposed height to the inclusion of formerly homeless residents.
Nancy Federico, 77, has lived at her apartment on La Playa Street, behind the motel, for 43 years and has an ocean view. When the building goes up, she won’t be able to see the ocean anymore.
“I moved here for that view,” said Federico. “I pay for that view, and then you want to take it away from me and give it to somebody else? How are you going to compensate me? You’ve got to compensate me, or do I have to file a lawsuit?”
The development will include more than 200 units for elderly residents, with about half set aside for people who were formerly homeless. Shreya Shah, associate director of housing development for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, the nonprofit leading the project in concert with Self Help for the Elderly, said this will be the first time formerly homeless residents will make up more than 20% of the tenants in a project that also includes seniors who haven’t experienced homelessness.
“That is not something you see in our portfolio,” Shah said. “We do have buildings which are 100% permanent supportive housing. But we haven’t had a 50% senior and 50% homeless seniors yet.”
Outer Sunset resident Michael Nohr, who has spoken out against new developments on the west side, said one of his main concerns for the property is mixing “two very distinct populations.”
“There’s potentially going to be a lawsuit at some point, because somebody is going to get injured,” Nohr said in a phone interview.
In the past, supportive housing complexes like the Granada Hotel, which also has low-income seniors and formerly homeless residents, have come under fire for dangerous conditions. The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation operates two projects with mixed housing.
Jacob Goldstein, a project manager for the nonprofit, said there will be staffed social workers and managers at the new building, but he declined to say how often they would be there, adding that it was too early to provide specifics.
“I understand the opposition,” said Corey Smith, executive director of Housing Action Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for development citywide. “But the fastest growing homeless population is seniors.”
Coastal politics
From La Jolla to Arcata, California’s coast has become a hotbed of anti-development rhetoric, and the Outer Sunset is no exception.
Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset and was elected in 2022 with the support of SF YIMBY, has occasionally angered local homeowners for backing new housing projects in the neighborhood.
Last June, the city blocked plans to build a 589-foot apartment tower at 2700 Sloat Blvd. after community uproar. And while the Tenderloin nonprofit recently broke ground on an affordable housing project in the Inner Sunset, the development has received opposition “every step of the way,” YIMBY Action San Francisco Organizing Director Jane Natoli said.
The Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods comprise the largest and most populous area of San Francisco, with almost 10% of the city’s population. However, since 2005, the Outer Sunset has contributed less than 1% of the city’s new housing, according to Dan Sider, chief of staff for the San Francisco Planning Department.
But as San Francisco rolls into an era of building in tandem with local and state laws to streamline new housing, opponents have fewer opportunities to stymie development. Construction at 1234 Great Highway could start as soon as 2026, with residents moving in by the end of 2028, according to the nonprofit.
During an event with Mayor London Breed on Tuesday at one of the Painted Ladies, several west side residents complained about her plans to upzone swaths of the city to help it achieve state-mandated housing targets. They argued that the push to build more units in the Outer Sunset lacks forethought, adding that the area lacks the infrastructure to support more residents.
“The idea of upzoning like they are, you know, an eight-story building behind my house, that’s a bit to take on,” West Portal resident Glen Harvey told Breed. “But the thing is, we don’t feel like anybody is listening to us.”
After the event, The Standard asked Breed for her opinion on plans to build another apartment complex at 3601 Lawton St., which, at eight stories, would be the tallest building in the Outer Sunset.
“Just eight stories?” Breed said. “What’s wrong with eight-story housing?”