125 Mason Street Family Housing
Glide Economic Development Corporation

Portfolio Real Estate Consulting (PRC) has been engaged by the Glide Economic Development Corporation to manage the development of two affordable housing projects in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. These 137 units in two apartment buildings represent $80 million in affordable residential development, offering a range of affordability, from workforce housing at 60% of area median income, to very low income housing, at 20% of area median income.

125 Mason Street Family Housing
125 Mason Street is a 14-story, 81 unit building, consisting of a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments for families, most of whom have children. The building design provides open space in two fully landscaped outdoor courtyards, play spaces for children, and gathering places for adults. The ground floor community space includes a full kitchen for group events, meetings and celebrations of all kinds. The ground floor also includes offices for property management and support service offices.

Spacious community rooms at the upper level open onto a landscaped terrace where residents can cultivate their own gardens and share the experience with their children. Colors and materials in the common spaces create an atmosphere of good health, pride and a sense of ownership.

Since GEDC is a relatively new non-profit housing developer, PRC's role has been to manage the team in all aspects of the development process, including entitlements to use, design, construction, and financing. Paula Collins was successful in bringing in Millennium Partners, a former joint venture partners in the Metreon and Four Seasons projects, to act as GEDC's equity and development partner for the $ 50 million family housing building. Millennium's substantial equity commitment to the project fulfills its inclusionary housing requirement for their 301 Mission project nearby. The total development cost of 125 Mason is approximately $43.8 million. The layered financing package consists of Aegon USA Realty as the tax credit investor, construction financing from Wells Fargo Bank. Bond financing was provided by the California Debt Allocation Committee and issued by the City of San Francisco.

PRC managed a design and construction team which included Michael Willis and associates as architects, and Swinerton Builders as the contractor. The apartments were completed three months in September 2008, and are now fully tenanted. PRC also managed the public art selection process, which resulted in facade artwork by internationally acclaimed Mildred Howard.

149 Mason Street Studios for the Homeless
Glide Economic Development Corporation

The 149 Mason Street project consists of 56 studio apartment units designed for people who have been chronically homeless. The target population for these apartments has annual incomes at or less than 20% of area median income for San Francisco. Rent is subsidized by the San Francisco Local Operating Subsidy Program. Support services to building residents are provided by Glide Community Housing in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Health Services.


PRC managed a development team consisting of a joint venture partnership of Glide Economic Development Corporation and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, both highly esteemed non-profit organizations in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. A tax credit financing structure provided funding from a variety of public and private lenders, including the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Housing, and State bond financing The project was designed by HKIT Architects and built by Nibbi Brothers General Contractors. The building was delivered on time, and under budget.

At the express wishes of its clients, GEDC, PRC worked closely with the contractor to insure maximum participation by participants in Glide's Youth Build program. Many young people from the local Tenderloin neighborhood were employed on the construction team, and subsequently went on to work on other construction projects.