Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and the Housing Rights Committee’s Tommi Avicolli-Mecca look on as Openhouse’s Marcy Adelman warmly thanked everyone who made the 55 Laguna affordable housing possible, at a City Hall rally on Jan. 17. Photo by Rink.

A coalition of business, nonprofit, and government organizations have come together in an innovative partnership to build the first affordable housing facilities that are expressly welcoming to San Francisco’s LGBT seniors. Openhouse – a nonprofit community-based organization founded ten years ago to provide housing, services, and community programs for the City’s large and growing LGBT senior population - has joined with private developer AF Evans and the Mayor’s Office on Housing (MOH) to build a new facility at the former UC Extension site at 55 Laguna. On Jan. 17 a press conference was held in front of San Francisco’s City Hall to announce breaking developments of affordability for the 55 Laguna housing site to impact the final vote by the San Francisco Planning Commission.

Because of the City’s willingness to partner with Openhouse, one hundred percent of the new senior facility will be housing defined as affordable according to City standards and available to individuals who are unable to access similar market-rate facilities due to the expense. The new building, which will have at least 88 units and perhaps more, will be part of a larger initiative by AF Evans, under an agreement with the University of California, to develop a new community of rental apartments on the site, publicly-accessible parks and gardens, and new retail and community services facilities. The building will also provide Openhouse with a new, permanent base of operations for its services.

“Thanks to the commitment of so many wonderful people, Openhouse is realizing a dream today to significantly advance our mission by building affordable senior housing for our community’s growing population of LGBT seniors,” said Neil Sims, President of the Board of Directors of Openhouse. “The innovative partnership of business, government, and nonprofit organizations will ensure that our City’s LGBT pioneers have a welcoming, safe, and secure place in which to grow old while continuing to thrive within the community they’ve always called home.”

According to research conducted by Openhouse in 2004, San Francisco will have tens of thousands of LGBT seniors requiring a range of aging-related support beginning this year. LGBT seniors, even in a city as gay-friendly as San Francisco, face a range of challenges that are unique to the community.

These include a lack of traditional supports such as children and other family; lack of access to Social Security and other survivor benefits available to heterosexual couples; and institutional discrimination, among many others.

While Openhouse already delivers a range of services and community programs, it is its housing initiative that will enable the organization to create a safe and vibrant environment for LGBT seniors as they age. The new facility at 55 Laguna also benefits from its proximity to the larger, diverse community envisioned for the site, the City’s LGBT Community Center on Market, and the Castro District. Features of the whole development going before the City’s Planning Commission for final review and approval include the following: First, the entire project will be rental housing units. San Francisco is in desperate need of new rental housing stock after years of condominium and loft development, and 55 Laguna provides urgently needed relief. Second, 35% or more of the total housing available at 55 Laguna will be designated as affordable, and 100% of the Openhouse facility will be designated affordable. City law requires less than half this number be designated as such, so over-delivering on this requirement is a huge win for the City. Third, the project will take what is presently a fenced-off asphalt parking lot and reunite the upper and lower parts of Waller Street to create a new public park and pedestrian thoroughfare, developed and maintained at no expense to the City. Fourth, the historic buildings on the site will be preserved and incorporated into the new buildings and architecture that are designed to blend beautifully with the existing neighborhood. Fifth, the entire project is designed to be “green,” including water preservation / conservation features, new community gardens and trees, bike-friendly features, and energy-efficient public and private appliances, among others. Sixth, California State Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) was instrumental in securing a $2 million price reduction from the University of California, the landlord of 55 Laguna, in order to fund the creation of a new, twelve thousand square-foot community services center. Finally, there will be limited new retail spaces on the Market Street-facing corner that is designated for locally owned small businesses. The Planning Commission voted to accept the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved the project by a unanimous vote of 6 to 0.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of ten years of hard, determined work by many, many people dedicated to the belief that LGBT seniors deserve a dignified, supportive, accessible, safe, and welcoming environment,” said Openhouse co-founder and board member Dr. Marcy Adelman. “I couldn’t be more thrilled or proud than I am at this moment.”

“Today was a great day for our public policy advocacy work with the announcement from Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi that his office in collaboration with AIDS Housing Alliance/SF, Housing Rights Committee, and many other advocacy groups were able to secure our goal of ensuring that the LGBT senior apartments at Openhouse will be 100 percent affordable and that 36 percent of the over 400 units at 55 Laguna will be affordable,” AHA/SF Executive Director Brian Basinger told Bay Times.

“It’s great that we were able to get the number of affordable units increased at the 55 Laguna site. I’m especially pleased with the fact that the queer senior units will be 100 percent affordable,” Tommi Avicoli-Mecca, tenants rights activist, told Bay Times. “The task ahead of us now is to make sure that we get the deepest subsidies we can find into some of those units so that they can be for seniors with AIDS, and those who have extremely low incomes (such as SSI and SSDI).” He noted that West Hollywood accomplished this with their queer senior housing, managing to get a wide range of income levels included. “We can do it, too. We can create a building where queers of various income levels live together,” he said. “That’s the goal: economic diversity.” He said it is important to note that this is the first major housing development in the Castro area; so hopefully it sets a precedent for the rest.

“We don’t want only market-rate housing in the Castro. Our greatest need in the Castro is for affordable housing.” He stated that the Castro has been hit hard by gentrification and evictions. “We need to economically diversify the neighborhood. No more market-rate housing in the Castro.” He concluded, “Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi deserves a big hand for negotiating this deal. He did a great job.” 

A nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, Openhouse was established in 1998 to create and sustain a senior residential community and related services that honors LGBT seniors. It is committed to providing mixed income, LGBT-friendly senior housing with comprehensive social and health services, referrals for LGBT aging-support services, and opportunities for social engagement for those LGBT seniors who wish to age in their homes.

Ruthy Bennett, of AF Evans Development, said they will be going to the Board of Supervisors for the final approval on the rezoning in February. “We are very excited about this and also very appreciative of all the letters, calls, meetings, emails, and time spent at hearings that our supporters put in,” Bennett said. “It made a big difference.”