New Apartments for Low-income Residents Will Be Located Near Public Transit, Key Destinations
Media Contact: LCI.press@lci.ca.gov
SAN FRANCISCO (5/1/26) – California state representatives joined Related Companies, the San Francisco Housing Development Corp. (SFHDC), the City of San Francisco, partners, and community members to celebrate a big moment: the “topping out” of an 85-unit affordable housing project in San Francisco.
On Thursday, the all-electric 160 Freelon Apartments, funded in part by $41.2 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program, marked the placement of the final, highest structural beam in the building, completing its framework.
“California is continuing to show how smart housing and land use practices can advance our state’s climate goals,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “By investing in affordable housing and connected communities, we’re reducing pollution, expanding opportunity, and helping more Californians have a place to call home.”
READ: Governor’s Office press release
The complex is in the South of Market (SoMa) District near public transportation, restaurants, museums, and retail. The units are restricted to renters earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income.
With the high cost of living in the Bay Area, these units are critical for the community.
“We are thrilled to see 160 Freelon come to life as a much-needed central community hub in the SoMa District,” said Sam Assefa, Director of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Innovation and Chair of the California Strategic Growth Council, which administers AHSC. “From affordable, green housing to nearby transit to robust on-site amenities and programming, this development embodies the projects SGC and our partners support to uplift thriving communities across California.”
About a quarter of the units are supportive units for formerly homeless people and families, and five units are set aside for households with at least one resident living with HIV.
“Freelon Apartments will be a tremendous resource for its residents and San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, providing its residents life skills training, high-speed internet, and expanded access to opportunity through transit,” said California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez. “We are proud to work with the Strategic Growth Council to create sustainable communities that help Californians thrive.”
The building is close to an SFMTA Muni Stop, will have 85 bike parking spots, and residents will get discounted transit passes.
Some of the project’s transportation improvements include:
- Two miles of protected two-way bike lanes.
- Five new bus stop pull-in spaces.
- Transit signal priority upgrades.
And there’s more: At 160 Freelon, SFHDC will provide instructor-led adult health and wellness and skills-building classes, along with bilingual tenant counseling to prevent displacement. Class topics will include financial literacy, debt reduction, first-time homeownership, computer skills training, resume building, nutrition, adult recreation, and parenting and youth-focused programming.
California Climate Investments
The AHSC Program is funded through California Climate Investments, a statewide program that uses billions of Cap-and-Invest dollars to fund projects that reduce harmful emissions, protect public health, strengthen local economies, and support natural environments. With a strong focus on communities most impacted by pollution and limited access to resources, California Climate Investments helps build a more equitable and sustainable future.
California Climate Investments includes 117 programs administered by 27 state agencies, with funding directly supporting the Governor’s work to build a California for All, meeting the housing needs throughout the state while also protecting California’s climate.
A Housing Approach That Works
From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness – which was decades in the making – has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems. Governor Newsom is reversing decades of inaction by creating a foundational model, which has led to a 9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, a first in more than 15 years:
✅ Creating shelter and support — Providing funding and programs for local governments, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments have a safe place to go. This week, through a $77 million investment from California’s cap and invest program, Los Angeles announced the expansion and redevelopment of the largest public housing project in the region, the Jordan Downs Project.
✅ Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness — Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom’s Proposition 1 which is transforming California’s behavioral health systems. When fully awarded, funding from Proposition 1 bonds is estimated to create 6,800 residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health care.
✅ Creating new pathways for those who need the most help — Updating conservatorship laws for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system that creates court-administered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, often with substance use challenges.
✅ Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing — Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.
✅ Removing dangerous encampments — Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities’ authority to clear encampments. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.
About the California Strategic Growth Council
The SGC is part of the Governor’s Cabinet, a team of state leaders who work closely with the Governor to advance sustainability, equity, and quality of life across California—connecting housing, transportation, climate, and community investment.
The 10 distinguished members of the council include state-agency secretaries and directors, and three appointed members of the public. The Director of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation acts as its chair.
The collaborative structure of SGC provides a pathway for broad implementation across state agencies to prioritize uplifting community voices into the type of projects and resources to receive state funds.
About the California Department of Housing and Community Development
HCD helps to provide stable, safe homes affordable to veterans, seniors, young families, farmworkers, tribes, people with disabilities, and individuals and families experiencing homelessness so that every California resident can live, work, and play in healthy communities of opportunity.