Birds eye view of the highly needed LGBT, affordable housing complex design slated for 55 Laguna St. in San Francisco.
55 Laguna Street, the lot picked to become San Francisco's first, unique, LGBT, Senior, low-income, housing complex recently received some much needed funds from the City helping to keep the one of a kind plan moving forward.
The much-needed project has been in the works since 2005. In 2008 the Planning Commission gave its final nod of approval. Since than there's been a bit of a stall. The largest obstacle facing the project, not surprisingly considering the economic woes of the entire country, has been financial.
SF Mayor Ed Lee
Championed by Dist. 8 Sup. Wiener who inherited it from its original shining knight, former Dist 8 Supe Bevan Dufty, and with the unflagging support of Mayor Ed Lee it's now the recipient of 6.1 million dollars in grant money, part of Mayor Lee's recently created Housing Trust Fund, a tax plan that will funnel up to $50 million a year to affordable housing in San Francisco.
The much-anticipated, affordable, low-income, 110 unit building will be overseen by non-profits Mercy Housing and Openhouse.
A recent Examiner story stated, according to Openhouse, more than 25,000 LGBT Seniors live in San Francisco and a good majority are low-income.
Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose district includes the Laguna Street site, said LGBT Seniors have unique needs, including that they are less likely to have adult children to help care for them. He also said that LGBT Seniors can face discrimination at care facilities because of their sexual orientation.
This will be a welcome relief to many of our LGBT Seniors who led the fight for equality in times when same-sex marriage was as a foreign idea as time travel. They deserve our help in staying in the City they helped make such a mecca for their tribe.
3D Image of the 55 Laguna LGBT Low Income Senior Housing
With Ellis evictions at an all time high often targeting many of the LGBT Senior community finding new digs that fit within a fixed income is beyond challenging. The amount of affordable housing is shrinking in San Francisco at an even faster rate than the climate changed challenged polar caps while the need increases like the heat index. Finding a place to live is a top stress factor and can challenge one's health and well-being.
This is a great first step in helping to off set that continued issue and the Mayor has said more projects are in the pipeline. The City will need that. The Baby Boom generation has quickly reaching retirement and the number of citizens who will be in need will continue to expand.
The 55 Laguna Project construction is planned in phases starting as soon as late 2013 or early 2014 with completion expected for 2015 or 2016. Let's hope there are no more snags. It would be great to see this nearly decade long project at last become a reality.
