The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) announces the availability of predevelopment and acquisition funding for sites suitable for the development of new, permanent affordable housing.
Donor Name: Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development
State: California
County: San Francisco
City: San Francisco
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/07/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $40,000,000
Details:
This Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will help build the City pipeline of affordable housing, which is especially important at this time given the ambitious production goals of the General Plan’s Housing Element. For sites acquired under this NOFA, MOHCD will make predevelopment loans in 2023, with target construction start dates in 2026 and lease up complete in 2028. Additional development funds will need to be identified in FY2025 to construct the projects.
MOHCD will select proposals that meet the following eight outcomes.
- MOHCD will prioritize affordable housing projects best positioned to secure funding from the CA Debt Limit Allocation Committee by falling into one of three (3) priority funding categories.
- Site development will produce at least 25% 2-bedroom and 25% 3- bedroom units, so that development will qualify as High/Highest Resource family development.
- Site development will include at least 45% units set aside for referrals of homeless households from HSH’s Coordinated Entry System, so that development will qualify as Homeless.
- Site will be developed by a team that qualifies for the CDLAC BIPOC funding pool.
- The proposed project must maximize density and unit count that may be built “as of right” using all available tools.
- Use streamlined ministerial approval processes and maximize density per as-of-right zoning. For example, SB35 may be used in conjunction with the Affordable Housing Density Program or the State Density Bonus Program.
- Adjust unit sizes to serve the proposed target populations.
- Note: The City may determine, at its sole discretion, whether any projects with an existing entitlement meets this requirement.
- The proposal must implement an interim use plan for the site that outlines contingencies for construction start delays of up to three years that includes:
- Retention, where possible, of existing active uses.
- Active site management to prevent unsafe conditions.
- Any proposed interim uses that will activate the site. Note that costs to sustain any interim uses are not eligible uses for funding from this NOFA.
- The proposal must maximize the benefit of the City’s subsidy dollars through demonstrated Cost-Effectiveness, whether via low-to-no land costs, use of efficient construction techniques and/or materials, or other identified cost saving measures.
- The site’s development plan must accommodate funding constraints, namely, a maximum $350,000 of City subsidy per unit, including land.
- The proposal must secure construction and permanent financing that minimizes and leverages City resources to the greatest extent possible, e.g. a State of California, Housing & Community Development (HCD) loan and/or philanthropic contribution
- The proposal must designate a minimum of 25% of units for Households Experiencing Homelessness, subsidized by the City’s Local Operating Subsidy Program.
- The proposal must align with the implementation of City policies on anti-displacement, racially inclusive communities, and creating stable housing for vulnerable populations.
- The proposal must create opportunities for the growth of Emerging Developers in primary development roles, as members of the development team, or as key members of selected development teams.
- Serve at least 30% Extremely Low Income (ELI) households, eg $29,100 for a single person household, or $41,550 for a family of four.
- This may be homeless households referred through the Coordinated Entry System or income restricted units that are subject to the Chapter 47 Preferences.
- Maximize the number of target population placements into the Project (COP holders, etc.).
Funding Information
Available Funds: up to $40,000,000 for site acquisition and predevelopment for new construction projects serving low-income households, including homeless households.
Criteria
Minimum Development Team Characteristics
- The proposed applicant team must include the following:
- A nonprofit developer (or developers) with experience developing permanent affordable housing for low-income households or a for-profit developer working in partnership with a nonprofit developer, of which one of the joint venture partners must have experience developing affordable housing (the “Developer”); the development team must have demonstrated experience conducting effective community outreach and engagement.
- A property owner entity with experience owning housing for low-income communities.
- A property management entity with experience managing housing for formerly homeless families with Housing First principles.
- A community-based, service-providing entity with experience providing culturally competent, and trauma-informed, services appropriate for formerly homeless households in a supportive housing context.
- Minimum Development Team Experience
- Minimum experience must be demonstrated by identifying specific Qualifying Projects in which team members have participated. The proposed Development Team must submit Form 5 – Qualifying Project Form, to document how the Qualifying Project characteristics meet each of the experience categories below (developer, owner, property manager, service provider.)
- To demonstrate the minimum required development team experience, each team should submit one project for each experience category. When appropriate, teams may submit the same project as evidence of experience across multiple experience categories, or may use different projects to demonstrate experience across categories. In all cases, no more than four (4) total Qualifying Projects should be submitted. Qualifying Projects will not be scored; they are used to determine if the proposed Development Team meets the minimum development team experience required to develop the Site.
- For Developer and Owner, a Qualifying Project must have all of the following characteristics.
- The project must be new construction (not a requirement for Minimum Service Provision Experience) in a construction type appropriate for the proposed site development (not a requirement for Minimum Property Manager and Service Provision Experience).
- The project must include units for households experiencing homelessness.
- The project must be financed in part with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
Eligible Uses of Funds
Funding awarded through this NOFA may be used to support a variety of preconstruction housing development activities for the production of new affordable rental housing, including but not limited to the following:
- Property acquisition and holding costs, with the exception of interim uses (which are not eligible uses)
- Architectural and engineering expenses
- Environmental assessments
- Appraisals
- Legal costs
- Project management
For more information, visit MOHCD.
