By Linda Badger

The Richmond District’s first 100% affordable housing development held its grand opening on Nov. 17, 2025. The seven-story building, located at 383 Sixth Ave., is fully leased and home to 98 senior citizens who are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about their new residences.

When the building was completed last year, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) held a lottery for 57 of the building’s studio and one-bedroom apartments and was inundated with 4,416 applications. Tenants were selected according to a set of preferences. People who had lost their homes due to eviction, fires or rent increases were given a preference, as were veterans, residents of the Richmond District and others who either lived or worked in San Francisco. Twenty additional units were set aside for veterans and another 20 were reserved for individuals exiting homelessness.

Unlike most new developments in San Francisco, 100% of the apartments are affordable, with no market rate units to boost owner profitability. Depending on their incomes, single household residents pay rents ranging from $429 to $1,300 per month. All the residents are aged 62 or older and have low or extremely low incomes, which for San Francisco means approximately $10,000 to $52,000 per year for an individual.

Rents in San Francisco are estimated to be 83% higher than the national average. According to Zillow Rents, the average rent for a studio in San Francisco is $2,202 a month, and the average cost of a one-bedroom unit is $3,345.

An “Elder Index” developed by the Gerontology Department at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, indicated that in 2024, senior renters in San Francisco County would have to earn incomes of $51,480 a year (167% of the national average of $30,792) to cover their basic expenses, largely due to the high cost of housing.

“The senior housing at 383 Sixth Avenue is TNDC’s first affordable housing community in the Richmond – also, a first for the neighborhood,” said Edmund Campos, TNDC’s director of communication. “It was made possible by a neighborhood that chose to be welcoming – from former Supervisor Sandy Fewer’s early enthusiasm and practical support to Supervisor Connie Chan’s continued partnership, local leadership helped pave the way for this important development.”

The building, which replaced a dilapidated funeral home, includes a landscaped interior courtyard, two roof gardens with panoramic views and a large community room for social gatherings. It is entirely electric, using clean, renewable energy. To support the tenants, a building manager lives on the premises and there are two full-time social workers as well as front desk staff.

According to Campos, the apartments are designed so that seniors can live safely and independently.

“Fixtures are adaptable,” Campos said. “For example, bathrooms are equipped with bath seats and grab bars. Automatic doors, ample passage for mobility devices and large signage are the norm.”

In the months to come, the Richmond Family Resource Center, operated by the non-profit Gum Moon, will move into the ground floor of the building and will provide further support to the senior residents as well as the surrounding community.

Many of the building’s residents offer much praise to the development. Most of the residents have good things to say about the neighborhood, the management and their community.

Lee Ann Wong moved in last year. A retired ESL teacher and long-time Richmond District resident, she enthusiastically describes her new home as a “haven.”

“They keep us safe here,” Wong said. “We all feel so lucky to be here. All the neighbors get along well.”

She described the staff of the building as “angels,” and recounted that the building manager came to help her on New Year’s Eve.

“He didn’t have to,” she said, “but he was there for me.” Wong said that the Chinese residents feel so fortunate to be living there, that they planned “a celebration for our first Chinese New Year as residents.”

Resident Tak Fong Wong agreed.

“I love living here very much. We are getting older, and it is a very convenient location. It is easy to get food here, especially Chinese food,” she said with a smile.

Resident Kerry Winford also agreed.

“I love this place,” he said. “It gets five-stars from me.”

Winford noted that the building’s residents are multicultural and speak many different languages. It does not stop Winford from socializing, however.

“I have a translator (on my phone) and we all hang out,” Winford said. He volunteers to help distribute food donated to the building every Wednesday and tries to look out for his fellow residents.

Winford was born and raised in San Francisco’s Ingleside District.

“I had a blast as a kid here,” Winford said. He remembers fishing off the piers and going to Playland at the Beach for fun. After raising eight children and going through two divorces, and “getting old,” Winford retired from his various businesses and found himself in a homeless shelter near the Tenderloin for a year. He is happy to have found a place of his own outside the Tenderloin.

“I’ve had a good life, an interesting life,” Winford said. His advice to others going through hard times is “don’t stress out – or do things that are likely to stress you out – and everything will work itself out.”

Resident Don Baker is another satisfied resident.

“I have the best corner room with a great view of Geary and the Presidio, and nothing to complain about,” he said.

Baker came to 383 Sixth Ave. from a homeless shelter for senior vets in the Tenderloin. He moved to the shelter after having been assaulted while he was living on the streets. A case worker at the shelter helped him to apply for a permanent home in the Richmond District. Baker said he feels safe in his new home and that the two social workers are always there to help the residents.

Baker was born in Sacramento and moved to San Francisco when he was six. His father, who is now 94, lived in the Haight when Baker was a teenager.

“One day, I walked into my father’s house, and he was sitting in the kitchen with Jimi Hendrix,” Baker recalled. In the 1970’s, Baker served in the U.S. Army, and later worked with his father, who was a general contractor. He especially enjoyed electrical work and making homes safer for people. He experienced homelessness after struggling with health issues.

“It was a hard way to live, but I was too proud to lean on my family,” he said.

“Music is my meditation,” Baker said. He plays the drums, some piano and the trombone. Baker said he is very happy with his new home but hopes “there will be more exercise and community dancing events and maybe some potlucks.” For now, he said he enjoys community meetings and bingo and is looking forward to the promised addition of a pool table.

Khadija Omari was born in Jerusalem but has spent most of her life in the Bay Area where she raised her daughter and two sons. Before she retired, she worked in the cosmetics department of Saks Fifth Avenue on Union Square.

“Nancy Pelosi used to come by all the time,” Omari said. “She always looked really nice.”

Omari said that finding affordable apartments in San Francisco has always been difficult. She searched for years for her first, tiny studio on Turk Street.

“When 383 Sixth Avenue was being built, I passed by the building every day after visiting a friend who lived in the Richmond District.”

She dreamed of living there.

“I filled out an application and am very grateful that I got an apartment. I love the neighborhood. It is very convenient for seniors.” Omari is an active volunteer at 383 and enjoys helping her fellow residents.

TNDC has plans for similar affordable housing in the Sunset and other neighborhoods if funding becomes available. Campos says that TNDC’s developments embracing seniors with low-incomes, senior veterans and individuals exiting homelessness “have worked well.” This appears to be the case at 383 Sixth Avenue where the residents are enthusiastic about their new home in the Richmond District and committed to looking out for each other as a community.