Franciscan Towers Now Accepting Affordable Housing Applications For Summer Reopening

Franciscan Towers Now Accepting Affordable Housing Applications For Summer ReopeningPhoto: Brittany Hopkins / Hoodline
Brittany Hopkins
Published on June 20, 2015

By summer's end, the Franciscan Towers — the six-story affordable housing complex at the corner of Eddy and Taylor streets — will be abuzz with residents once again.

In the spring of 2011, the 100-year-old building suffered a major fire that displaced all 124 low-income residents, as well as the offices of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and the Tenderloin After-School Program. Now, with renovations nearing completion, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation is accepting rental applications for its 105 affordable units.

The building is made up of small studios, large studios, and one-bedrooms, with full kitchens and private bathrooms. Rent for studios, which accommodate up to two people, will range from $615 to $1026; residents must have a minimum annual income of $14,760 and a maximum income of $35,700. One-bedroom apartments, which house up to three occupants each, will rent for $659 to $1099; annual income requirements are a minimum or $15,816 and a maximum of $40,750.

Rent prices are a couple hundred dollars higher than they were in 2011, Brandon Flannery, the TNDC's compliance manager and section 504 coordinator, told residents at the Tenderloin Futures Collaborative meeting earlier this week. However, the income limits follow the Area Median Index percentage limits set by the Mayor's Office, which are lower than the state's.

A newly renovated kitchen in the Franciscan Towers. (Photo: TNDC)

Applications can be dowloaded here, or picked up at the TNDC's administrative offices at 215 Taylor St. They must be returned in person to the same address by July 6. A public lottery will be held July 14, and residents will begin moving in during the last week of July, says Flannery. The building should be fully leased by the end of August, when the TNDC offices and the Tenderloin After-School Program move back into the ground floor.

Flannery said that the TNDC expects to receive about 3,000 applications, with preference given to previous Franciscan Towers residents displaced by the fire, Ellis Act evictees, and individuals and families in the Human Services Agency's Shelter Plus Care program.

More information on the application and selection process is available here. TNDC is also holding an information session for prospective Franciscan Towers residents on Thursday, June 25th at 220 Golden Gate Ave; it starts at 6:30pm.