Thanks to decades of advocacy, new affordable family homes are coming soon to San Francisco’s Treasure Island.

This summer, residents of Treasure Island and affordable housing stakeholders celebrated the groundbreaking of Star View Court, a new seven-story, 138-unit, 210,586 square-foot affordable home development and collaboration between Mercy Housing California and Catholic Charities of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties. The name, Star View Court, is partly a tribute to the Star Barracks that occupied the site when Treasure Island was a military base.

When completed in 2024, this new residential community will provide 71 one-for-one replacement homes for formerly homeless families currently living on the island and receiving sustaining individual and community support and services through Catholic Charities, 23 replacement homes for households living at The Villages at Treasure Island, and an additional 44 affordable homes for families. It is the first-ever development to close with financing from the California Housing Accelerator, a state-level program providing shovel-ready affordable housing developments with the necessary funding to start construction.

Around 2,000 families currently reside on Treasure Island, an area undergoing significant changes. Star View Court marks just the second-ever affordable housing community on the island and is part of an expansive redevelopment plan that will eventually add around 8,000 new homes for people with mixed incomes.

“The development of quality, affordable homes on Treasure Island is long overdue, and we’re proud to be collaborating with our longtime partner Catholic Charities to meet the needs of current residents and their families during this time of major transition,” said Mercy Housing California President Doug Shoemaker.

“What began in 1999 as a pioneering effort to house and help formerly homeless families at the decommissioned military base on Treasure Island has grown into a thriving community through tenacity, hard work, and partnership,” said Ellen Hammerle, Catholic Charities Vice President of Client Services. “The Star View Court groundbreaking is a testament to the power of collaboration among the island residents and our committed partners, Mercy Housing, One Treasure Island, and the Treasure Island Development Authority, over many years. It is inspiring to envision, collaborate, and effectively change lives to sustain the well-being of our clients.”

Erick Brown, Catholic Charities Director of Housing Support Services, added, “As partners with the Treasure Island residents and other vital supportive service agencies, we have built a prosperous neighborhood on the island founded on respect, resilience, and dignity. It is glorious to witness the first shovel of dirt and know a building will rise that is worthy of the healthy growth and self-sufficiency demonstrated by these formerly homeless residents.”

View photos of the groundbreaking event.

Architect: Paulett Taggart Architects

General Contractor: Nibbi Brothers

Funding: City and County of San Francisco, the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Citi, and the California Department of Housing & Community Development’s California Housing Accelerator. The project was made possible by financing from California Climate Investments (funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund), Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program through the Strategic Growth Council, and the California Department of Housing & Community Development.