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San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
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San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) was an urban renewal agency active from 1948 until 2012, with purpose to improve the urban landscape through "redesign, redevelopment, and rehabilitation" of specific areas of the city.
SFRA demolished over 14,000 housing units in San Francisco between 1948 and 1976, claiming the agency was working on slum clearance and addressing urban "blight". They replaced the demolished units with newly built affordable housing, but was only able to replace a portion. It was succeeded by the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII).
On August 10, 1948, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency was formed under the California Community Redevelopment Law of 1945, and in response to the Housing Act of 1937. Initially the agency was not a separate department, but rather the functions were carried out by various city departments; however by 1950, the organization formed its own city department. The first agency chairman in 1948 was Morgan Arthur Gunst; who had previously worked for the San Francisco Planning Commission.
In 1954, real estate promoter Ben Swig presented the San Francisco Prosperity Plan which involved a complete overhaul of the south of Market street (SOMA), a project that the city approved in 1966. Primary work started on the Moscone Center project.
In 1955, Joseph Alioto was appointed chairman of the board of the SFRA. He led the Western Addition redevelopment project, which was criticized because a vast majority of its previous residents could not move back as rents had gotten much higher.
In 1969, residents of the SOMA created the Tenant and Owners in Opposition to Redevelopment (TOOR) which charged the SFRA for not fulfilling its promise of finding affordable housing for removed residents. The case was brought up all the way to the Federal District Court which ruled in favor of the TOOR in a unique moment in History where a federal judge refuted the HUD. In 1970, Justin Herman, executive director of the SFRA, said about the SOMA "This land is too valuable to permit poor people to park on it." Efforts of the TOOR to protect the removed residents were finally diluted by the SFRA.
From 1989 until 2011, the agency used tax increment financing as a major source of their funding (through a TIF law); which prompted the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors initiated a policy requiring that half of the agency's tax increment financing be used towards affordable housing in San Francisco.
The agency had removed 14,207 housing units between 1948 and 1978. They started a process of replacing the units with affordable housing; and by 2012, the agency had created 7,498 affordable units (a net loss of 6,709).
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San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) was an urban renewal agency active from 1948 until 2012, with purpose to improve the urban landscape through "redesign, redevelopment, and rehabilitation" of specific areas of the city.
SFRA demolished over 14,000 housing units in San Francisco between 1948 and 1976, claiming the agency was working on slum clearance and addressing urban "blight". They replaced the demolished units with newly built affordable housing, but was only able to replace a portion. It was succeeded by the San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII).
On August 10, 1948, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency was formed under the California Community Redevelopment Law of 1945, and in response to the Housing Act of 1937. Initially the agency was not a separate department, but rather the functions were carried out by various city departments; however by 1950, the organization formed its own city department. The first agency chairman in 1948 was Morgan Arthur Gunst; who had previously worked for the San Francisco Planning Commission.
In 1954, real estate promoter Ben Swig presented the San Francisco Prosperity Plan which involved a complete overhaul of the south of Market street (SOMA), a project that the city approved in 1966. Primary work started on the Moscone Center project.
In 1955, Joseph Alioto was appointed chairman of the board of the SFRA. He led the Western Addition redevelopment project, which was criticized because a vast majority of its previous residents could not move back as rents had gotten much higher.
In 1969, residents of the SOMA created the Tenant and Owners in Opposition to Redevelopment (TOOR) which charged the SFRA for not fulfilling its promise of finding affordable housing for removed residents. The case was brought up all the way to the Federal District Court which ruled in favor of the TOOR in a unique moment in History where a federal judge refuted the HUD. In 1970, Justin Herman, executive director of the SFRA, said about the SOMA "This land is too valuable to permit poor people to park on it." Efforts of the TOOR to protect the removed residents were finally diluted by the SFRA.
From 1989 until 2011, the agency used tax increment financing as a major source of their funding (through a TIF law); which prompted the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors initiated a policy requiring that half of the agency's tax increment financing be used towards affordable housing in San Francisco.
The agency had removed 14,207 housing units between 1948 and 1978. They started a process of replacing the units with affordable housing; and by 2012, the agency had created 7,498 affordable units (a net loss of 6,709).