San Francisco’s BRIDGE Housing recently opened the doors on two new affordable housing projects in the city and broke ground on yet another in Oakland.

Photo courtesy of BRIDGE Housing

The total project cost was $92 million and the development cost was $55 million. The project team also included TWM Architects + Planners, architect of record; BAR Architects, design architect; and Cahill Contractors as general contractor.

Located within the six-story building, IOA’s senior-services facility includes an Adult Day Health Center, Alzheimer’s Center, therapeutic rehabilitation and primary care clinic, as well as program space for case management, elder suicide prevention, elder abuse prevention, art and education programs and administrative staff.

BRIDGE affiliates also opened the Armstrong Place Senior housing complex off Third Street. The AIA-award-winning affordable development includes two components: Armstrong Place Senior Housing, a rental community for seniors, and Armstrong Townhomes, with below-market-rate homeownership for first-time homebuyers.

The $31.6 million Armstrong Place Senior provides 116 affordable apartments along with landscaped courtyard areas, a community room, and 7,600 sq ft of commercial space, community services and retail shops. Twenty-three of the apartments are set aside for formerly homeless seniors participating in San Francisco’s Direct Access to Housing program. These residents are eligible for intensive social services provided by the Providence Foundation of San Francisco, which will enable them to transition to independent living.

Armstrong Townhomes offers 124 affordable homes for first-time homebuyers. Amenities include a fitness room, common green space with community gardens and children’s play area, and a community lounge. Each two-, three- and four-bedroom unit features stainless steel appliances, a dishwasher, Caesarstone countertops and a washer/dryer.

Both properties were designed by David Baker + Partners. Nibbi Brothers, Inc., was the general contractor for Armstrong Place Senior, and James E. Roberts-Obayashi Corp. was the general contractor for Armstrong Townhomes.

And ground was broken on the first phase of BRIDGE’s MacArthur Transit Village, a mixed-use transit-oriented development located adjacent to the MacArthur BART Station in North Oakland. The Transit Village is the result of more than 15 years of effort by community members, the City of Oakland, BART and the development team of BRIDGE Housing and McGrath Properties.

Phase one includes demolition of two adjacent motel properties, along with construction of the 478-space BART parking garage and site infrastructure. Construction of affordable apartments will follow in 2012, along with development of the remaining parcels phased from 2014 through 2021. Ultimately, MacArthur Transit Village will provide 624 new housing units on a 7.76 acre site, including 516 market-rate and 108 affordable homes. In addition, 42,500 sq ft of local commercial and retail space will be constructed, along with 5,000 sq ft of space for community use.

The U.S. Green Building Council selected MacArthur Transit Village to be part of its new LEED Neighborhood Development Pilot Program, which recognizes projects that protect and enhance the overall health, natural environment and quality of life in our communities. MacArthur Transit Village received a LEED Gold rating under the first phase of the program and the project will be submitted for the second phase in 2011.

The master plan architect is McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners. The parking structure architects are Lowney Architecture and International Parking Design, Inc. Preconstruction services are being provided by Howard S. Wright Construction.