Housing For Developmentally Disabled Adults Opens On Page St.

Housing For Developmentally Disabled Adults Opens On Page St.Photo: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on October 27, 2017

On Wednesday, a long-vacant former residential hotel at Page and Masonic began its new life as an independent living facility for adults with developmental disabilities.

Arc Mercy Community is a collaboration between The Arc and Mercy Housing; this week's opening is the culmination of more than four years of work between the agencies to add housing stock for a grossly underserved community.

In a city where housing is already in short supply, housing for adults with developmental disabilities is in particularly short supply: according to The Arc, there were only 44 apartments citywide designated for developmentally disabled adults before the facility on Page Street opened this week.

The 16 new units at 1500 Page St. are permanently affordable; residents will have access to a community space, a live-in residential manager, and coaches who offer assistance with things like applying for jobs, budgeting and paying bills, and their own housekeeping.

"With the right training and support," said chief of wellness and residential services Jennifer Dresden in a statement, "individuals with developmental disabilities can achieve the dream of leading full and independent lives while residing in San Francisco.”

According to SF Weekly, Mercy recently opened 14 units of affordable housing for developmentally disabled adults at its new Bill Sorro Community housing project in SoMa.