A new $875,000 loan is set to permanently preserve at least 120 units of housing in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco.
We are delighted to announce a new Program-Related Investment in the Mission Economic Development Agency. Founded in 1973, rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s purpose is to support Latino families that earn low and moderate incomes by developing assets within families and the community. MEDA offers financial capability, business development, housing opportunities, tax preparation, job training, and technology and internet services to clients – all free of charge. In 2016, MEDA served approximately 7,000 people through its various programs.
Our $875,000 PRI loan will provide acquisition capital for MEDA’s Small Sites Preservation Program. This capital will partially fund the acquisition costs of multi-family affordable rental properties in the Mission, which have between four and 25 units each.
By leveraging PRI funds from The San Francisco Foundation, MEDA hopes to acquire, convert and permanently preserve a minimum of 120 units of housing in the Mission over the next seven years. They expect that these residents will also benefit from other financial and educational services that MEDA’s related programs offer.
The Small Sites program was developed by MEDA in 2014 to provide a mechanism to counteract the loss of affordable housing homes and opportunities for San Francisco’s families, particularly those residing in the Mission. The Small Sites program is a component of MEDA’s Mission Promise Neighborhood initiative, which is designed to better the lives, from childhood through adulthood, of Mission residents, with a specific focus on the Latino community. The Small Sites program is part of MEDA’s comprehensive community real estate program whose overall goals are the production and preservation of 1,020 units and 10,000 square feet of commercial space for 100 businesses by the year 2020. These real estate objectives are intended to be an important piece of MEDA’s overall mission of creating economic, educational and personal stability for families living in the Mission that are struggling financially.
From the 1960s into the mid-90s, the Mission was primarily a neighborhood of Latino families and the cultural nexus and epicenter of the San Francisco’s Latino community. However, in the past 20 years, the Mission has evolved from a working class, Latino neighborhood to one of the City’s most desirable, and least affordable neighborhoods. Many of the families with long-term roots in the Mission are finding that they and their children can no longer afford to live there.
In partnership with our donors, we are proud to support MEDA with this important and timely investment. Learn more about our Program-Related Investment Fund and our current portfolio of loans at sff.org/pri.
