Housing San Francisco: Unlocking Affordable Housing in the West Side
San Francisco is mandated to plan for 82,000 homes over the next eight years to meet the city’s housing needs, within a built-out urban environment. Join City officials and housing developers to talk about opportunities for adapting low density, but transit rich, corridors to help meet these needs while respecting the character of established neighborhoods, and examples of new affordable housing already under way on the West Side.
The San Francisco Planning Department’s “Expanding Housing Choice” initiative aims to enhance density along transit and commercial corridors to meet the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirements mandated by California state law. Even as the initiative moves forward, new affordable housing developments on the West Side – facilitated by recent enhancements to density bonus legislation and streamlined entitlement processes – are starting to illustrate what this housing can look like, and what it takes to get it built. Will these 100% affordable developments lead the way towards new opportunities for workforce, middle-income, and market-rate housing in the coming years?
Join our discussion featuring Lisa Chen from the San Francisco Planning Department, Hermandeep Kaur from TNDC, and Adrianne Steichen from Pyatok Architects for updates on the Expanding Housing Choice Plan and insights into the development progress of key affordable housing projects including 2550 Irving Street and 730 Stanyan Street.
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Adrianne Steichen, PYATOK architecture + urban design
A Principal at PYATOK architecture + urban design in Oakland, California, Adrianne brings expertise in permanent supportive housing, sustainability, resiliency, and affordability, as well as working with faith-based and community-based organizations to multifamily developments throughout the Bay Area. She has served on affordable and urban design award juries for the AIA, AIA/HUD Secretary Affordable Housing Design Awards, Bank of America/Merril Lynch Low Income Housing Challenge, AIA Minnesota, AIA Billings, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). She has spoken widely on affordable housing and walkable design at national, regional, and local conferences and seminars. Adrianne is the 2024 Chair of AIA’s Housing & Community Development Knowledge Community, served seven years on the AIA San Francisco Board of Directors, including President in 2020, and is the 2015 recipient of AIA Young Architect of the Year for her work in affordable housing. She holds a Master of Architecture from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a minor in Film Studies. She is a LEED AP BD+C and Homes, and is a registered architect in California and Oregon. In addition to leading 2550 Irving Street, Adrianne has been influential in leading Avalon Hayes Valley at Parcel P from the entitlement phase—resulting in a unanimous vote for approval by the SF Planning Commission—to construction, and in leading the schematic design phases of Orchard Park Redevelopment at UC Davis for University Student Living, and Bowles Hall Residential College Renovation at UC Berkeley for Education Realty Trust.
Lisa Chen, SF Planning Department
Lisa Chen is a long-range planner at the San Francisco Planning Department, where she has worked with communities around San Francisco to advance more healthy, sustainable, and equitable neighborhoods. Some of her projects have included: the Central SoMa Plan, Environmental Justice Framework, Sustainable Chinatown, the Transportation Sustainability Program, and the Department’s Racial & Social Equity Action Plan. Previously, Lisa worked at community-based organizations focused on public health, education, and community development. Lisa holds a dual Master's degree from UC Berkeley in City Planning and Public Health.