Committee approves amended loan terms for 936 Geary under Small Sites program

The Budget and Finance Committee voted March 20 to forward to the Board of Supervisors a resolution approving permanent financing for the 936 Geary small sites project, reducing the requested not-to-exceed amount from $11.8 million to $11.6 million to match the project budget.

Sophie Rubin of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development said the project, acquired in 2021 and rehabilitated late last year, contains 31 studio residential units and two ground-floor commercial spaces. Rubin said 42% of households served were formerly homeless and many units include rental vouchers. The financing would combine a $4.4 million senior mortgage provided by the City and up to $7.4 million in Small Sites program funds; the deed of restrictions preserves affordability for up to 99 years.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office summarized loan terms in the BLA report and recommended two technical amendments: reducing the not-to-exceed loan amount by $200,000 and correcting the project address. Chair Chan moved the technical amendments and the committee approved them before forwarding the resolution to the full board. There were no public speakers.

Next steps: the matter will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at its March 26 meeting; if approved, MOHCD will finalize loan documents and conditions, including a required commercial leasing plan for the retail spaces.