Design and Construction Report staff writer
Construction has started on Casa Adelante, a new 100% affordable housing development in San Francisco’s Mission District. The project will create 168 permanently affordable rental homes, including 120 units for households earning between 25% and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Located within the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, the project honors the neighborhood’s cultural heritage while addressing San Francisco’s urgent housing needs. The development is led by local nonprofits Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), and reflects years of community advocacy and planning.
“This is a 100% affordable housing project that directly responds to the needs of our community,” said District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder. “The Mission continues to push for housing justice—and delivers. I’m grateful to CCDC, MEDA, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), and everyone who made this possible.”
Casa Adelante at 1515 South Van Ness is the largest affordable housing project to break ground in the Mission in the past 20 years, and one of ten such developments launched in the neighborhood since 2018. The site, once home to McMillan Electric Company, was initially slated for market-rate housing before being re-envisioned to serve low-income San Franciscans.
The project includes on-site community resources such as a new Wu Yee Head Start childcare center and the future home of the Nuevo Sol Day Laborer and Domestic Worker Center. Its location offers easy access to public transportation, local schools, and healthcare facilities.
“This is what happens when communities are resourced and trusted,” added Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director of CCDC. “This development creates an intergenerational campus that links seniors, working families, and essential services—built by and for communities of color.”
The $167.7 million project is funded by MOHCD and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), with additional support from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Construction is being managed by local, minority-owned contractors Guzman Construction Group and Marinship, with architectural support from David Baker Architects, Y.A. Studio, and Armando Vasquez, Architecture + Construction Management.
Casa Adelante – 1515 South Van Ness is expected to be completed in early 2027.
