Mayor Lurie Celebrates Opening Of Affordable Homes For Seniors In The Mission

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today celebrated the grand opening of 1633 Valencia, a new supportive housing community with 145 homes for older adults exiting homelessness and substantial onsite services and community‑focused amenities.

The opening of 1633 Valencia builds on Mayor Lurie’s work to build more housing in San Francisco and make San Francisco more affordable for working families. Last month, Mayor Lurie partnered with District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar on a plan to expand the city’s Housing Trust Fund and update inclusionary housing requirements. He has celebrated the opening of new housing sites across the city, including in the Bayview, Sunnydale, Civic Center, Inner Richmond, and Outer Sunset. Last year, the mayor signed his Family Zoning plan to ensure future generations of San Franciscans can afford to raise their children in the city.

“Our city has not built enough housing, and the cost has fallen to our seniors—people who spent decades contributing to this community and deserve stability, dignity, and care. Today, I’m proud to open 145 new supportive homes for San Francisco seniors,” said Mayor Lurie. “This space used to sit largely unused, and now it will be a site where people can age with dignity, build connections with their neighbors, and find the stability they need to thrive. We will continue building a system where housing comes with healthcare and where success is not just about whether someone has a place to sleep but about whether their life is actually getting better.”

Completed in just 19 months, 1633 Valencia includes a 1,500‑square‑foot supportive services center with case management services provided by Felton Institute, in addition to indoor and outdoor common spaces and a secure landscaped courtyard designed to foster stability, wellness, and community connection. Residents are referred through the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) Housing Ladder Program or the Mission Action Access Point.

Located on a former Sears parking lot between Cesar Chavez and Mission Street and overlooked by the California Pacific Medical Center Mission Bernal Sutter medical campus, 1633 Valencia is served by a number of neighborhood-serving businesses, including a grocery store and pharmacy. The development, one of eight new 100% affordable housing projects that have broken ground in the Mission since 2018, is also served by several Muni bus lines and is less than a 10-minute walk from the 24th Street Mission BART station.

“It’s an honor to announce the opening of 1633 Valencia, a groundbreaking housing program designed specifically for older adults facing or experiencing homelessness,” said Shireen McSpadden, HSH Executive Director. “This program fosters a sense of belonging and connection, ensuring that every resident feels valued and empowered. Together, we are building a place to call home where older adults can live with purpose and independence.”

Mercy Housing California and the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) proposed the 1633 Valencia project as a replication of Tahanan Supportive Housing at 833 Bryant Street in the central South of Market area, delivered by HAF and Mercy Housing in partnership with Tipping Point Community. 1633 Valencia utilizes the same floorplan and efficient design as Tahanan, as well as other cost-saving and time-saving measures. This innovative approach diversifies the housing production model to produce 145 permanent supportive housing units more quickly and cost effectively.

“We are constantly looking for ways to build smarter, faster, and with greater impact for residents,” said Tiffany Bohee, President of Mercy Housing California. “1633 Valencia reflects what’s possible when trusted partners come together with a shared commitment to innovation and equity. We are grateful to the Housing Accelerator Fund and all of our partners for helping make this vision a reality, and we look forward to continuing to scale these approaches to ensure more seniors—and more communities—have access to quality, stable, and affordable homes.”

“Felton Institute is excited to bring our agency’s expertise in supporting older adults, unhoused individuals, and mental wellness to the residents of 1633 Valencia,” said Al Gilbert, Felton Institute President and CEO. “Guided by an age-friendly supportive housing model, our services and case management will also offer opportunities focused on aging in place, digital literacy, and community building.”

1633 Valencia was the first project to receive funding through the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund, a $50 million investment vehicle to accelerate affordable housing development launched by HAF in partnership with Sobrato Philanthropies, Destination: Home, and Apple.

“We will never deliver the homes our communities need if they take a decade to build or cost a million dollars a door,” said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the Housing Accelerator Fund. “By bringing developers and mission-aligned funders together around a new financing model anchored in ambitious cost- and time-saving goals, we are proving that another way is more than possible. We are so proud to dedicate 1633 Valencia today and to celebrate 145 new neighbors moving in.”

Utilizing philanthropic and private funding, the per-unit cost of building the $84.6 million project is at least 20% less than comparable permanent supportive housing and senior developments. 1633 Valencia was financed through a combination of 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, voter-approved Health and Recovery General Obligation Bonds courtesy of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and a $16 million below-market permanent loan provided through the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund. In addition, approximately $76.9 million in operating subsidies will be provided through the city’s Local Operating Subsidy Program to support the project over the next 19 years.