The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area plummeted in May, as layoffs and the increased flexibility of working from home drove a double-digit drop in some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.Rents for a one-bedroom apartment dropped most in the cities richest in high-paying tech jobs, falling 9.2% in San Francisco compared with May of 2019. In Mountain View, home to Google, rents fell 15.9% year over year, while in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino rents dipped 14.3%, according to the rental search engine Zumper. In San Bruno, where YouTube has its offices, rents tumbled...…The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area plummeted in May, as layoffs and the increased flexibility of working from home drove a double-digit drop in some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.Rents for a one-bedroom apartment dropped most in the cities richest in high-paying tech jobs, falling 9.2% in San Francisco compared with May of 2019. In Mountain View, home to Google, rents fell 15.9% year over year, while in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino rents dipped 14.3%, according to the rental search engine Zumper. In San Bruno, where YouTube has its offices, rents tumbled...WW…

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has finalized an agreement with the developers of the Balboa Reservoir, a key milestone in winning approvals of a controversial plan that would add 1,100 homes to the 17-acre parking lot next to City College.The development agreement includes a commitment that the developers — Bridge Housing, AvalonBay and Mission Housing — make 550 of the units affordable. It will also include 4 acres of open space, a large child care center, a community center, and $10 million in fees to the city for transit and infrastructure improvements.Legislation detailing the...…San Francisco Mayor London Breed has finalized an agreement with the developers of the Balboa Reservoir, a key milestone in winning approvals of a controversial plan that would add 1,100 homes to the 17-acre parking lot next to City College.The development agreement includes a commitment that the developers — Bridge Housing, AvalonBay and Mission Housing — make 550 of the units affordable. It will also include 4 acres of open space, a large child care center, a community center, and $10 million in fees to the city for transit and infrastructure improvements.Legislation detailing the...WW…

John Stewart, an affordable housing pioneer whose company became California’s largest manager of low-income housing units, died Sept. 5 of liver cancer. He was 86.A gregarious, larger-than-life man whose firm built more than 6,400 apartments and managed more than 33,000, Stewart played a central role in building or restoring some of San Francisco’s most noteworthy low-income public housing, including North Beach Place and Hunters View, often cobbling together complex financing to make the deals happen.Carol Galante, professor of affordable housing and urban policy at UC Berkeley and former...…John Stewart, an affordable housing pioneer whose company became California’s largest manager of low-income housing units, died Sept. 5 of liver cancer. He was 86.A gregarious, larger-than-life man whose firm built more than 6,400 apartments and managed more than 33,000, Stewart played a central role in building or restoring some of San Francisco’s most noteworthy low-income public housing, including North Beach Place and Hunters View, often cobbling together complex financing to make the deals happen.Carol Galante, professor of affordable housing and urban policy at UC Berkeley and former...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateOne of San Francisco’s biggest landlords is defending its decision to take a $3.6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, despite criticism that the money is supposed to help small businesses rather than a real estate company that controls more than $3 billion in assets.Veritas, which manages 265 San Francisco apartment buildings, claims the money will allow it to rehire 26 workers who were furloughed due to the coronavirus health crisis. The company had 196 employees prior to the health order. There are currently 170.“The PPP...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateOne of San Francisco’s biggest landlords is defending its decision to take a $3.6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, despite criticism that the money is supposed to help small businesses rather than a real estate company that controls more than $3 billion in assets.Veritas, which manages 265 San Francisco apartment buildings, claims the money will allow it to rehire 26 workers who were furloughed due to the coronavirus health crisis. The company had 196 employees prior to the health order. There are currently 170.“The PPP...WW…

California renters who have lost income because of the coronavirus shutdown are protected from eviction for 90 days after the health emergency is over, California’s courts have ruled — giving tenants tacit permission to defer paying rent for three months.But what about tenants who have lost income but can pay rent from their savings or investments? Are landlords permitted to ask that tenants dip into their savings or 401(k) accounts in order to meet their rent obligations?The answer is no, according to real estate attorneys. But property owners may still pressure tenants to dip into assets...…California renters who have lost income because of the coronavirus shutdown are protected from eviction for 90 days after the health emergency is over, California’s courts have ruled — giving tenants tacit permission to defer paying rent for three months.But what about tenants who have lost income but can pay rent from their savings or investments? Are landlords permitted to ask that tenants dip into their savings or 401(k) accounts in order to meet their rent obligations?The answer is no, according to real estate attorneys. But property owners may still pressure tenants to dip into assets...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateBefore the coronavirus shutdown, 24-year-old Alexa Lewis resided happily with four roommates in a spacious Richmond District flat for which she and her housemates paid $4,900 a month.Then April came, and all hell broke loose. The master tenant moved out. Two other roommates moved back in with their parents, one in the East Bay and one in Sacramento. Suddenly Lewis, who works in public relations, was faced with finding three roommates at a time when a shelter-in-place order and soaring unemployment had paralyzed the housing and job...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateBefore the coronavirus shutdown, 24-year-old Alexa Lewis resided happily with four roommates in a spacious Richmond District flat for which she and her housemates paid $4,900 a month.Then April came, and all hell broke loose. The master tenant moved out. Two other roommates moved back in with their parents, one in the East Bay and one in Sacramento. Suddenly Lewis, who works in public relations, was faced with finding three roommates at a time when a shelter-in-place order and soaring unemployment had paralyzed the housing and job...WW…

UCSF’s “modernization plan” for its Parnassus Heights campus got the go-ahead from the University of California Board of Regents on Thursday. The $3 billion, 30-year project includes a new hospital and research facilities as well as 1,200 units of housing for students and faculty.The vote sets the stage for a massive construction project — the biggest of its kind in San Francisco’s history — that will transform the historic health care campus that sits atop Parnassus Heights. The project will include the replacement of the 70-year-old Moffitt Hospital, which does not meet the state’s...…UCSF’s “modernization plan” for its Parnassus Heights campus got the go-ahead from the University of California Board of Regents on Thursday. The $3 billion, 30-year project includes a new hospital and research facilities as well as 1,200 units of housing for students and faculty.The vote sets the stage for a massive construction project — the biggest of its kind in San Francisco’s history — that will transform the historic health care campus that sits atop Parnassus Heights. The project will include the replacement of the 70-year-old Moffitt Hospital, which does not meet the state’s...WW…

In early January, anonymous attack posters were slipped into mailboxes and left on doorsteps in San Francisco’s Sunset District.The poster read, “No Slums In The Sunset.” It informed residents that a “7-story, 100-unit high-rise slum” was planned for the neighborhood and predicted that within two years the property in question — at 26th Avenue and Irving Street — would “become the best place in San Francisco to buy heroin.”The incendiary fliers, which also referred to project proponent District Four Supervisor Gordon Mar as a “CCP member” — for Chinese Communist Party — marked the opening...…In early January, anonymous attack posters were slipped into mailboxes and left on doorsteps in San Francisco’s Sunset District.The poster read, “No Slums In The Sunset.” It informed residents that a “7-story, 100-unit high-rise slum” was planned for the neighborhood and predicted that within two years the property in question — at 26th Avenue and Irving Street — would “become the best place in San Francisco to buy heroin.”The incendiary fliers, which also referred to project proponent District Four Supervisor Gordon Mar as a “CCP member” — for Chinese Communist Party — marked the opening...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday asked the University of California Board of Regents to slow down its approval of a 2 million-square-foot expansion of UCSF’s Parnassus campus.In a 10-1 vote the board requested that the regents delay its vote until March. The regents, the board that controls the UC system, is scheduled to consider approvals during its Jan. 19 through Jan. 21 meeting.“We are asking for a reasonable, two-month pause on a proposed plan to add 2 million gross square feet to the Parnassus campus, which...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday asked the University of California Board of Regents to slow down its approval of a 2 million-square-foot expansion of UCSF’s Parnassus campus.In a 10-1 vote the board requested that the regents delay its vote until March. The regents, the board that controls the UC system, is scheduled to consider approvals during its Jan. 19 through Jan. 21 meeting.“We are asking for a reasonable, two-month pause on a proposed plan to add 2 million gross square feet to the Parnassus campus, which...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Francisco voters could be weighing as many as five tax hike measures this fall, in what will be a test of how the coronavirus-fueled recession influences attitudes on economic growth and whether the city’s big businesses are paying their fair share.Four of the five tax-increase proposals — which have been placed on the November ballot but could still be withdrawn up until the end of July — were rooted in the pre-COVID days of 2019 when the city was flush with cash, the hotels were packed with business travelers, unemployment...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Francisco voters could be weighing as many as five tax hike measures this fall, in what will be a test of how the coronavirus-fueled recession influences attitudes on economic growth and whether the city’s big businesses are paying their fair share.Four of the five tax-increase proposals — which have been placed on the November ballot but could still be withdrawn up until the end of July — were rooted in the pre-COVID days of 2019 when the city was flush with cash, the hotels were packed with business travelers, unemployment...WW…