Though housing development across San Francisco has slowed to a crawl during the recession, a plan to build a 196-unit mixed-use complex on the central waterfront is off the ground because of $1.7 million in federal stimulus funds.
Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will cover the first phase of the Potrero Launch project, which involves soil testing prior to brownfield cleanup on a 1.25-acre site in a heavy industrial zone near Pier 70. The city’s planning department is to rezone the site to create a temporary Draft Central Waterfront Plan Demonstration District, which would allow construction of market-rate and below-market-rate rental apartments.