Christmas came just about a week early for tenants of 3235 16th St., a five-unit apartment building two blocks from Dolores Park: The San Francisco Community Land Trust officially acquired their building last week, retaining rent-controlled units and dissipating tenants’ fears of displacement.
“It’s really a relief, the stability and the security. Over the years we always thought ‘What if somebody sells our building?’” said Alana Herron, a high school teacher in the Excelsior who has lived in the building for 24 years. “This really means a lot.”
About a dozen tenants live in the building, and many have for decades. Conversations between the San Francisco Community Land Trust, which buys mid-sized buildings and has 17 in its portfolio, and the prior owner, Deborah V. Vanpatten, started this summer. The discussions began after the owner notified the nonprofit that the building would be sold.
Under the city’s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, owners of buildings with three or more residential units, or land that can accommodate such numbers, are required to inform qualified nonprofits of their intentions to sell. That guarantees the organizations the right of first refusal on the properties.
“This has been a lot of work, and it’s been great to see it culminate in knowing that these long-term residents will be able to stay in their home,” said Kyle Smeallie, the policy director for the land trust.
The building, which dates to 1905, has five residential units and one ground-floor commercial space, the home of Barnets Salon. Smeallie said the residential tenants worried a new owner could find ways to displace them.
“For them to have the feeling that they don’t have to worry about that anymore … that’s a sense of relief that is really palpable,” said Smeallie.
The San Francisco Community Land Trust purchased the building for $1.55 million with loans from the city’s Small Sites Program, which helps nonprofits buy smaller buildings for affordable housing, and the Preservation and Seismic Safety Program, which has money for the same.
The land trust has been growing and, two years ago, received a $20 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. It said at the time it would use the gift to expand as part of a $60 million capital campaign.
“Everyone feels like this was a really fortunate thing that happened,” said another resident, who has lived in the building for over 30 years. The purchase, she said, gave a sense of relief, particularly for the artists and teachers who live alongside her.
“When you talk about preserving teachers and artists we’re kind of a living proof of that,” she said. “That’s who lives here.”
While there has not been an official celebration yet, Herron said she and her husband took it upon themselves to toast the purchase by going out to dinner.
“We’re really grateful,” said Herron. “It is really a gift and we know that.”
