Tenderloin Transit-Oriented Housing Development Gets Boost From MTC
The Tenderloin could see a 14-story mixed-use building replace a parking lot within the next few years. Developers hoping to bring new affordable housing and space for a much-needed grocery store to the neighborhood received a $10 million funding commitment from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today.
“We will transform this part of the Tenderloin,” said Donald Falk, executive director of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), which is developing the planned Eddy and Taylor Family Housing building. “This is not just smart growth in the conventional sense. Four-hundred people will have a place to call home, with zero parking, because we’re two blocks from Market Street and Muni.”
The development at 168 Eddy Street would provide 153 new apartments reserved for low-income families and space for a 12,000-foot street-level grocery store. It would help quell some of the high demand for affordable housing in the neighborhood, where valuable lots used to park cars diminish the urban fabric despite very low car ownership. Bringing the first full-sized grocery market to the neighborhood would also provide access to healthy food options within walkable distances.
The MTC’s contribution was allocated to the $50 million Transit Oriented Affordable Housing Fund (TOAHF) through its Transportation for Livable Communities program along with a collection of other private and public investors. The construction of up to 3,800 low-income housing units in the Bay Area is expected be aided by the TOAHF.
The Livable Communities program falls in line with the Sustainable Communities Strategy currently being developed by the MTC, which aims to locate new housing near convenient public transportation options in order to reduce automobile dependency. Prioritizing transit-oriented development is key in reaching the MTC’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent while significantly reducing the cost of living for families.
Falk said construction on the site could start as early as 2013 after further funding is secured.
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