Bay Area Affordable Projects Need $9.7B in Subsidy to Move Forward

The 433 affordable housing projects currently in predevelopment across the San Francisco Bay Area need $9.7 billion in public subsidy to move forward, according to a report issued Wednesday by Enterprise Community Partners and the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA). A regional bond measure, potentially valued at $20 billion and planned for inclusion on ballots this November, could help close the gap.

While each of the nine Bay Area counties has affordable projects in the pipeline, the report notes that each city, town or county is currently working on its own to address the regional challenges of housing affordability and homelessness. The projects now in the pipeline would create 40,896 affordable units, nearly a quarter of the 180,000 units the State of California’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan determined that the Bay Area needs by 2031.

“The need for affordable housing transcends jurisdictional boundaries,” said Kate Hartley, director of BAHFA. “BAHFA’s proposed bond measure would finally allow our Bay Area to take a regional approach to a regional problem. With significant new resources for every county, we can build at scale, deliver equitable solutions and create a better way to deliver the affordable homes Bay Area residents need.”