CPMC exceeds First Source hiring goals; workforce fund supports neighborhood providers

Lowell Rice of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development told the commissions that First Source hiring obligations tied to the CPMC development agreement were largely met. Rice said construction hiring obligations concluded in July 2019 and that CPMC exceeded nonconstruction First Source goals: as of July 2022, the program achieved a 47% placement rate (48 hires from 102 referrals) for entry-level positions and a 91% retention rate at 90 days for those hires.

Rice described the CPMC workforce fund and current grantees (JVS, Self-Help for the Elderly, Success Center, and FACES SF) and noted a remaining fund balance of $870,000 as of May 31, 2020. Commissioners asked for neighborhood breakdowns of hires and additional retention data; staff said those reports exist from prior years and offered to provide them after the hearing. Commissioners praised CityBuild and construction-phase compliance while urging continued focus on hiring residents from priority neighborhoods named in the DA (Western Addition, Tenderloin, Mission South of Market, Outer Mission/Excelsior, Chinatown, and Southeast neighborhoods).

CPMC staff said they expect more than 50 hires in the current program year and that retention and outreach remain priorities. Commissioners requested that staff return with neighborhood-level hire counts and additional detail about the workforce fund's current awards and outcomes.