City updates bond spending on 2015 and 2019 affordable housing GO bonds; preservation loan program described

Officials from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development presented updates on the city’s affordable housing general obligation bonds and the 2016 preservation (PAS) loan program.

A finance director on the call said the 2015 bond first and second issuances are nearly fully spent and that a third issuance completed in October 2019 had been about 60% spent as of December. The presentation included a breakdown of 2015 bond budgeting (about half for low‑income housing and set‑asides for public housing and middle‑income units) and an expected spend‑down timeline that projects full expenditure of the first two issuances by the end of 2023 and the third issuance in 2024.

The presenters described the 2019 affordable housing bond (authorized at $600 million). The team said the first issuance of the 2019 bond was $254 million and that the program had spent almost half of that issuance since it was issued less than two years earlier; they said a second issuance (estimated not‑to‑exceed $172 million) was approved by the Board and expected to be issued in spring.

Johnny Oliver (director of preservation) gave an overview of the PAS preservation loan program, explaining that the program repurposed bond authority from a 1992 seismic safety loan program to provide low‑cost long‑term debt targeted at preservation projects (typically 5–50 units, also eligible for SROs). He said loans are structured with a 40‑year term and that loans funded with the 2019 A bond yielded a blended rate of less than 3.5%, while the blended rate for the 2020 C bond was around 2.58%. The presentation listed recent closings and pipeline projects and said most loans are structured as permanent takeout financing with a permanent financing step after rehab and lease‑up.

Deputy Director Benjamin McCloskey explained the live‑and‑work preference for affordable housing lotteries: the preference applies at the time of application (not time‑based) and additional preferences approved by the Board of Supervisors (for displaced residents, Ellis Act evictees, etc.) can be layered above a live/work preference.

Committee members accepted the update and said liaisons would follow up with the housing team during scheduled liaison meetings. No vote or policy change was taken at this meeting.