OCII presents housing production report: 21,927 units planned, funding uncertainty remains

OCII staff presented the agency's draft annual Housing Production Report for fiscal year 2022–23 at the Commission's May 7 meeting, outlining pipeline totals, financing methods and recent project starts.

Elizabeth Columello, OCII housing program manager, said OCII's project areas are expected to yield 21,927 housing units overall, of which roughly 32% are planned as affordable. She described typical AMI targeting (many OCII affordable units are below 60% AMI) and provided example rent ranges and AMI numbers used for project planning.

Columello described recent OCII funding decisions and construction starts: site preparation and gap funds were provided for Hunters Point Shipyard Blocks 52/54 and Block 56 — a set of family affordable projects — totaling about $39 million, and roughly $3 million in predevelopment funds were provided to Transbay Block 2 West. She said three construction starts occurred in FY22–23, including Mission Bay Block 9A (a 148‑unit homeownership project) and the Shipyard family projects noted above; some projects are expected to finish in 2024–25.

On financing, Columello outlined how OCII relies on state tax‑exempt bonds and Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and said competitive changes to state allocation scoring in 2022 briefly shut out high‑cost jurisdictions like San Francisco; OCII and partners advocated for scoring updates that the presenter said helped recent allocations. She also warned that market conditions in 2022–23 — notably higher interest rates and construction costs — affected developments and may continue to influence timing.

OCII reported programmatic outcomes including SBE (Small Business Enterprise) contracting: more than 50% of contracts by value for the year went to SBEs (about $81 million in awards), and local construction workforce participation was reported at about 22.9% (roughly 374 San Francisco residents performing approximately 63,000 hours and earning about $2.9 million in wages).

Staff also flagged state legislation signed after the reporting period: Senate Bill 593 (introduced by State Sen. Scott Wiener), which allows a limited continuance of OCII's tax‑increment financing authority to fund up to 5,842 replacement affordable units. Columello said the Commission would see more on priorities and potential projects in coming months.

Commissioners asked for additional information on local hiring, finishes and contractor outreach; staff said it would provide more details, including CitiBuild and workforce data, and will continue to coordinate marketing and COP outreach with MOHCD.