City Attorney reaches settlement to improve conditions at Alice Griffith

San Francisco, CA (August 26, 2026) – San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, Mayor Daniel Lurie, Supervisor Shamann Walton, and Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Director Dan Adams announced today that the City has reached a first-of-its-kind, $9 million settlement agreement with the owners of the Alice Griffith housing complex to address health and safety issues at the property.

This is the first code enforcement settlement in the City’s history to require settlement funding to go directly into property improvements. Under the agreement, the Alice Griffith property owners must invest $3 million directly into critical property improvements like pest control, security upgrades, and repairs.

Separate from the agreement, the MOHCD will provide an additional $2 million to improve play areas in courtyards at Alice Griffith. Combined with the property improvement funds, Alice Griffith residents will see a $5 million investment in the property.

The property owners will also pay the City $3 million in penalties to resolve dozens of code violations and pay the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) nearly $3 million in unpaid water and sewer service fees.

“No San Franciscan should have to live in substandard housing, and there must be consequences when residents are deprived of a safe and healthy place to live,” said City Attorney Chiu. “This settlement represents a meaningful step toward improving conditions at Alice Griffith. We know it’s not possible to solve every challenge overnight, but this agreement directs real dollars into Alice Griffith and holds the property owners accountable for the terrible conditions at the property. I appreciate the partnership with our City departments who worked hard to investigate the many violations and take coordinated enforcement action.”

“Every San Franciscan should have housing that is not only affordable but also safe and well maintained, and the residents at Alice Griffith have not. Over the past year, our administration has worked with the City Attorney’s Office to hold the owners and property managers accountable for the conditions residents have endured,” said Mayor Lurie. “This settlement is an important step toward providing safety and dignity for the residents of Alice Griffith, but we know that years of neglect will not be fixed overnight. That is why the city is committing an additional $2 million for property improvements to help fulfill the promises that were made to this community.”

“For years, families at Alice Griffith were told by the owners to wait for conditions to improve,” said Supervisor Walton. “Residents deserve clean and safe living conditions, including working elevators, pest-free homes, and garbage-free areas, and this settlement forces the owners to finally deliver this to the residents. Our office will continue to watch and hold the owners accountable to make sure every dollar is spent on improving conditions.”

“Under this agreement, we are advancing important improvements at Alice Griffith to ensure safe and healthy living conditions for residents,” said Daniel Adams, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. “By directing significant owner-funded repairs and supplementing those efforts with targeted MOHCD investments, we are accelerating critical improvements while ensuring the owners remain fully accountable for their obligations.”

Background
Alice Griffith Apartments, a 338‑unit subsidized housing complex located in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood, opened in 2017 as part of the redevelopment of the former public housing. The redevelopment was funded by a $30.5 million federal grant and additional public and private financing.

While the San Francisco Housing Authority owns the underlying land, the site is entirely owned and operated by private investors across five limited partnerships. In each partnership, a subsidiary of McCormack Baron Salazar serves as the co-managing general partner.

Over the years, conditions at the property have deteriorated, leading the various City departments to issue dozens of Notices of Violations (NOVs) for violations of the City’s health, housing, plumbing, electrical, building, and fire codes.

Over the last year, City departments alongside the City Attorney’s Office have been investigating code violations at the property. As a result, the property owners began to address the violations at the property. To date, the property owners have abated 31 of 41 NOVs.

The agreement reached this month requires the property owners to:

• Address and resolve all outstanding NOVs at Alice Griffith.
• Pay the City $3 million in penalties related to dozens of code violations.
• Pay the SFPUC nearly $3 million in previously unpaid water and sewer service fees.
• Invest $3 million in critical property improvements at Alice Griffith. These funds include specific allocations for:
  • Rehabilitation of 50 currently uninhabitable units;
  • Security access control upgrades;
  • Pest control;
  • Elevator repairs;
  • Garbage room upgrades;
  • Security camera enhancements;
  • Hot water and mechanical system improvements;
  • Other urgent or emergency improvements subject to prior written approval by MOHCD;
  • Miscellaneous capital needs.

MOHCD will provide $2.5 million of the required $3 million in improvements through a loan that the owners must repay, underscoring the City’s commitment to accelerating repairs at Alice Griffith. This approach allows improvements to begin quickly while ensuring the owners remain responsible for repayment.

Separate from the settlement agreement, MOHCD will invest $2 million to improve play areas in the courtyards at Alice Griffith. This supplemental investment is designed to further enhance residents’ quality of life. Combined, these commitments represent a $5 million investment in the community.

The settlement agreement was approved by Alice Griffith investors on August 21 and by the City on August 24. The City filed a stipulated injunction today in San Francisco Superior Court, which will memorialize the agreement between the parties in a court order. Once the Court approves the stipulated injunction, the owners must spend $1.5 million on improvements within 12 months and another $1.5 million within 24 months. View a copy of the settlement agreement and stipulated injunction.