San Francisco unveils affordable housing complex at site of notorious Haight-Ashbury drug haven

By CBS Bay Area

A new housing complex opened Tuesday in San Francisco at the site of a notorious drug haven in the city’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

The location at Haight and Stanyan streets next to Golden Gate Park was once the site of a McDonald’s restaurant that became such a crime-ridden nuisance that the city purchased the property in order to completely transform the 730 Stanyan site. On Tuesday, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Chinatown Community Development Center held a grand opening ceremony for new complex.

The building is already housing 160 families, including 32 units designated for those who have experienced homelessness, and 20 units for transitional age youth. Rooms range from studios to three-bedroom apartments that are already all filled. 

“We really believe that neighborhoods are needed and they flourish when there are multiple views within that community,” said Jennifer Dolin, the CEO of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The site was purchased back in 2018, with the groundbreaking in 2023. The developmental project was officially complete in 2025.  

“Over the years it just became eroded by other types of activity that eventually just had the neighborhood and the community saying, ‘Look our community deserves something different,'” Dolin said. 

Johnesha is a mother who had recently moved into 730 Stanyan with her children.

“Life has been a dream to be able to live here in San Francisco and be able to afford it,” Jonesha said. 

 She shared that she had been living in temporary housing in the Fillmore District, and so being able to sign a lease at 730 Stanyan is life-changing. 

“You are able to live here and you’re able to have a decent amount of rent that you pay,” Jonesha said. “You’re able to commute.” 

“A lot of these families work in San Francisco and so that they’re able to also live in their community and educate their children in San Francisco is particularly rewarding,” Dolin said. 

She added that tenants make between 25% and 80% of the area median income. 

“It’s really a sad fact that a lot of the families actually live in the neighborhood and the find themselves unhoused. Or find themselves priced out of what had traditionally been their neighborhoods,” Dolin said. “And so, what’s great is we have opportunity for other families who’ve grown up or lived there to be able to come back to the community.”

As for next steps, developers are planning on partnering with service providers, including Larkin Street Youth, to provide resources for transitional age youth. They are also looking into early care education programs. 

Dolin added that they are in search for the right retail tenant to also fill in the space on the first floor.