New San Francisco building will be “middle-income housing”
By Katie Nielsen
A new building in San Francisco is promising to bring housing to the city for the middle class: teachers, government employees, community organizers and young families.
It’s called the Sophie Maxwell Building on Maryland Street in the Dogpatch neighborhood, named after the former supervisor.
San Francisco already has low-income housing, but for those who are working and don’t qualify, market-rate apartments can still be too expensive. City leaders say targeting the “missing middle class” with subsidized housing offers new options.
“What I love is how vibrant the streets are,” said J.R. Eppler who has lived on Potrero Hill since 2010.
He said he loves the eclectic feel that comes from mixing residential with former industrial.
“Over the course of the last 15 years, you’ve seen all of this construction in Potrero Hill and Dogpatch,” said Eppler.
As president of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association, he was excited to hear about a new housing development going up along the waterfront, especially this one at the old Potrero Power Station. It was part of a plan approved in 2020 to resurrect a piece of San Francisco’s industrial past.
“Our waterfront projects add to it and increases the commercial corridor. Gives people more options, and it certainly adds residents that can help make our businesses thrive,” said Eppler.
That’s why there was so much excitement around the ribbon cutting Wednesday for the Sophie Maxwell Building. It will provide subsidized housing for people who make anywhere from about $54,000 a year for a single person to $185,000 a year for a family of 5, the “missing middle class”.
Residents are required to work and make twice the monthly rent to stay in their units.
“When we open doors like these, we send a message to the people who make this city work. That you belong here. That your kids can grow up here and that they can build a future in a place and a city that they love,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The developers said the goal was to provide housing to those who keep the city thriving. There are a total of 105 units from studios up to two bedrooms.
“This is important because it’s providing middle-income housing, some of the hardest housing to build in San Francisco for artists, for teachers, for people who actually work here,” said Theo Ellington of the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House.
None of the residents for the new building have been selected yet. They’ll be chosen during a lottery later this month.
