Construction on The Kelsey Civic Center in San Francisco is back on track after previously being halted due to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. The bank shut down on the very same day a US$52 million loan was set to go through for the residential development. The 112-unit apartment building is going to come up on Van Ness Avenue across the street from City Hall.
Officials for the organizations behind the project, which include the nonprofit Mercy Housing and the Eponymous development company behind the project, had been negotiating the loan for months. Construction is expected to begin at the end of April, barely one month later than the original start date.
According to recent announcements by officials they were completing a fresh loan with an unnamed lender. The project team announced that it will use low-carbon concrete building materials and be carbon neutral. It will also be a very energy-efficient project because it will use heat pumps and passive methods. Thanks to renewable electricity production technology, it will be entirely electric and completely self-sufficient.
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To encourage on-site biodiversity and natural cooling, they also intended to incorporate large green spaces and vertical plants. Electric vehicle charging facilities will be available, however, there will be no parking for fossil-fueled cars.
More on the Kelsey Civic Center project
The project’s primary goal is to include those with disabilities. Fewer than 12% of them are homeowners or renters. A model is put out in the effort to end this discrimination. The ground floor of this totally accessible building will contain a green firm that hires people with disabilities and will offer training programs to give them the chance to participate in the green economy.
The proposal also features shared areas for cooking, dining, and leisure. This co-living arrangement reduces resource waste, encourages low-carbon architecture, and promotes interpersonal interaction and communal effect.
