In October 2023, the City of San Francisco’s Balboa Park Neighborhood held a ribbon cutting for 131 new affordable homes adjacent to the Balboa Park Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station, known as Kapuso at the Upper Yard. These homes were built thanks to
$29.9 million from SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), in its fifth round of funding. The AHSC program funds the construction of affordable housing near transit as a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, and Kapuso at the Upper Yard is a key example of the need for this work. As San Francisco continues to see sky‑high housing prices, the construction of new affordable housing near transit is critical to help reduce risks of displacement and provide access to job centers and other key destinations.
Bus lane near Kapuso at the Upper Yard.
“Kapuso at the Upper Yard is a prime example of transit‑oriented development done right. By repurposing this underutilized parking lot into more than 131 new homes, we are doubling down on our commitment to increase public transit ridership and provide improved services for our residents,” said Mayor Breed in the City’s press release. “As we work to continue to build affordable housing citywide to reach our housing goals, we need to keep in mind the families that need housing near public transit or in areas that are accessible by walking or biking.”
The AHSC program requires coordination between the housing developer and local transportation planning. In partnership with the City of San Francisco, BART, Mission Housing, and Related Housing, the Kapuso at the Upper Yard housing project was complemented by three new BART trains to increase service frequency and capacity throughout the region as well as a public plaza for the BART station’s entrance.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is currently constructing pedestrian access and circulation improvements around the station and providing residents free transit passes. The project will further fund new traffic signals, bulb‑outs, sidewalk widening, bus stop relocation, bus bulbs, crosswalks, and bicycle infrastructure along Mission Street, a prominent commercial corridor.
The ground floor of the housing project includes a variety of other community resources, including a childcare facility with an outdoor activity area, ground floor retail, and a community services space coordinated through the Family Wellness Community Resources Center operated by Mission Housing Development Corporation.
To date, the AHSC program has awarded more than $3.1 billion in California Climate Investments funding to more than 180 projects across the state. These projects continue to be a key strategy in the state’s goal of building 2.5 million new homes by 2030 while also reducing GHG emissions and combatting the risks of climate change.