Address: 1005 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
After many years of owning 1005 Powell, a 64-unit SRO building at the corner of Powell and Clay Streets, the Young family found themselves with a dilemma: the 114-year-old building, originally built as an upscale hotel called the "Parker Hotel" after the 1906 earthquake, was showing its age. The low rents they were charging made keeping the building in good shape challenging, and family members were aging. They had rented the building to low-income households for years, mostly Cantonese speaking. They knew the building needed major improvements – but they didn't think they would manage that process of relocating the residents, fixing the building, and moving them back in.
Santino DeRose, the owner's representative, approached Chinatown CDC about the situation. After thorough consideration, all parties agreed that the best solution is for the owner to sell the building, and Chinatown CDC would buy it at a discounted price. That began a journey as Chinatown CDC worked through design, budgeting, and construction issues, met the residents, assessed their relocation needs, then tried to get financing to close on the property…until the pandemic hit.
For nearly two years during the pandemic, the residents of 1005 Powell awaited the moment when their homes would be acquired and begin the path toward renovation. During that time, Chinatown CDC staff kept talking to the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development about financing the acquisition and rehabilitation. And Supervisor Peskin's office kept pushing everyone to find ways to restore this building to make it safe and affordable. Our friends at the Crankstart Foundation helped support the effort, assuring that we could continue to pursue the property. And a grant from MacKenzie Scott made a huge difference in making the acquisition possible.
We finally closed and acquired the building on December 27, 2021. All the residents have now relocated to temporary housing, and construction has started – bringing the building to up-to-date design and safety standards, including a new roof, soft story retrofitting, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm system upgrades, the remodeling of all units shared kitchens/bathrooms, and more.
Chinatown CDC has remained true to our mission to build community and enhance the quality of life for San Francisco residents by building and preserving affordable housing since 1977. Its core belief is putting people over profits. Moving forward, staff will continue exploring options and advocating for extremely low-income subsidies towards the building's long-term operations and ongoing maintenance. 1005 Powell will remain affordable when the tenants move back to their new home after a complete makeover.
Special Thanks:
30x30 large sites acquisition coalition
Mayor London Breed
Crankstart Foundation
Mayor's Office of Housing & Community Development
MacKenzie Scott
Perkins Coie team, Allan Low & his team
Supervisor Aaron Peskin & Sunny Angulo, District 3
San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund
After many years of owning 1005 Powell, a 64-unit SRO building at the corner of Powell and Clay Streets, the Young family found themselves with a dilemma: the 114-year-old building, originally built as an upscale hotel called the "Parker Hotel" after the 1906 earthquake, was showing its age. The low rents they were charging made keeping the building in good shape challenging, and family members were aging. They had rented the building to low-income households for years, mostly Cantonese speaking. They knew the building needed major improvements – but they didn't think they would manage that process of relocating the residents, fixing the building, and moving them back in.
Santino DeRose, the owner's representative, approached Chinatown CDC about the situation. After thorough consideration, all parties agreed that the best solution is for the owner to sell the building, and Chinatown CDC would buy it at a discounted price. That began a journey as Chinatown CDC worked through design, budgeting, and construction issues, met the residents, assessed their relocation needs, then tried to get financing to close on the property…until the pandemic hit.
For nearly two years during the pandemic, the residents of 1005 Powell awaited the moment when their homes would be acquired and begin the path toward renovation. During that time, Chinatown CDC staff kept talking to the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development about financing the acquisition and rehabilitation. And Supervisor Peskin's office kept pushing everyone to find ways to restore this building to make it safe and affordable. Our friends at the Crankstart Foundation helped support the effort, assuring that we could continue to pursue the property. And a grant from MacKenzie Scott made a huge difference in making the acquisition possible.
We finally closed and acquired the building on December 27, 2021. All the residents have now relocated to temporary housing, and construction has started – bringing the building to up-to-date design and safety standards, including a new roof, soft story retrofitting, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm system upgrades, the remodeling of all units shared kitchens/bathrooms, and more.
Chinatown CDC has remained true to our mission to build community and enhance the quality of life for San Francisco residents by building and preserving affordable housing since 1977. Its core belief is putting people over profits. Moving forward, staff will continue exploring options and advocating for extremely low-income subsidies towards the building's long-term operations and ongoing maintenance. 1005 Powell will remain affordable when the tenants move back to their new home after a complete makeover.
Special Thanks:
30x30 large sites acquisition coalition
Mayor London Breed
Crankstart Foundation
Mayor's Office of Housing & Community Development
MacKenzie Scott
Perkins Coie team, Allan Low & his team
Supervisor Aaron Peskin & Sunny Angulo, District 3
San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund
