San Francisco leaders give face-lift to public housing

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Officials in San Francisco are hoping a recent face lift could help change the perception of public housing across the city.

Mayor Mark Farrell helped unveil the newly remodeled senior housing units at 227 Bay Street.The project was spearheaded by the Chinatown Community Development Center with the help of public and private partners.

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The renovations were part of a larger effort to transfer ownership of public housing sites from the San Francisco Housing Authority to community based groups that would work with affordable housing developers to update them.

Mayor Farrell says the model is essential to expanding affordable housing in the city.

"You think about affordable housing in San Francisco, we have to build more affordable housing, that's no secret, we have to speed up the production of it. But it also includes rehabbing existing affordable housing units that have been neglected for decades," said Farrell.