OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN AND COMMUNICATIONS SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY
EDW IN M. LEE, MAYOR REV. AMOS C BROW N, CHAIRMAN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 21, 2011 Contact: Office of the Ombudsman and Communications, 415-715-3951
***PRESS RELEASE*** SAN FRANCISCO HOUSING AUTHORITY ONE OF SIX FINALISTS NATIONWIDE FOR HUD’S CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS Grant would transform Alice Griffith in the Eastern Bayview neighborhood.
San Francisco, CA –The Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) announced on Friday that the San Francisco Housing Authority and McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc. is one of six finalists for the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. In total, 42 applications were submitted nation-wide. The San Francisco Housing Authority was selected for its proposed transformation of the Alice Griffith Housing Development in the Eastern Bayview neighborhood. Specifically, the Alice Griffith site would be rebuilt at a higher density than what currently exists. All 256 Alice Griffith units would be replaced one for one. Additionally, the projected unit mix would include another 248 new low income housing tax credit units, 382 market-rate units, 43 inclusionary units, and 281 workforce units for a total of 1, 210 units. “I am pleased that HUD has chosen the Alice Griffith transformation plan as a finalist for the Choice Neighborhoods award. In a time of shrinking financial resources, the Choice Neighborhood grant would allow us to offer the Alice Griffith residents the type of quality housing, neighborhood services and vibrant surrounding community where their families could thrive,” said Mr. Henry Alvarez III, Executive Director, of the San Francisco Housing Authority. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative was created to transform communities experiencing extreme poverty, violence, and unemployment into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with quality services, good schools, affordable housing and access to jobs and transit. In a press release earlier today, HUD’s Secretary, Shaun Donovan stated, “President Obama has said that there is no greater economic policy than one that invests in our children’s future and helps America out-educate the world. But that's not possible if we leave a whole generation of children behind in our poorest neighborhoods. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative expands on the bipartisan success of the HOPE VI program by recognizing that we must link affordable housing with a mix of incomes and uses with quality education, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets.”
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