“The art scene here is dead; San Francisco is just techies, I’m moving to New York or L.A." It's a tagline that will sound familiar amongst many San Francisco artistic communities who have struggled to remain in one of the country's most expensive cities. A new affordable housing project on Market Street hopes to change that narrative.
(Photo Credit: San Francisco Arts Commission: Presentation by Randall Kline)
Artist Hub on Market, a new development at 1687 Market Street, recently broke ground and will provide 94 units of permanently affordable housing designed specifically for artists. The project is a partnership between the nonprofit Artist Hub on Market and Mercy Housing California, one of the nation's largest affordable housing developers.
Executive Director Randall Kline described the project as an opportunity to create a lasting home for San Francisco's artistic community. During his presentation to the San Francisco Arts Commission, Kline cited Manhattan Plaza in New York City, a renowned affordable housing complex that has been home to generations of artists. Over the years, residents have included Larry David, Alicia Keys, Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Lansbury, Tennessee Williams, and many other notable performers and creatives, said Kline. He hopes that 50 years from now, Artist Hub on Market will have a similarly rich legacy.
(Photo Credit: San Francisco Arts Commission: Presentation by Randall Kline)
The project was made possible by a $140 million anonymous lead donation, which allowed construction to move forward. Mercy Housing has also secured an additional $34 million through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, with additional fundraising still underway.
The building will consist of 15 stories, with the top 12 floors dedicated to affordable housing and the lower three floors serving as arts and community spaces. Mercy Housing will manage the residential portion, while Artist Hub on Market will oversee the arts programming.
The public arts facilities will include a 99-seat black box theater, a large rehearsal space capable of accommodating dance companies and orchestras, classrooms, rehearsal studios, office space for arts organizations, and a café. The theater is partially below street level with large windows facing Market Street, allowing pedestrians to see performances and rehearsals from outside.
(From Left to Right: First Floor, Sunken Theatre and Cafe with Patio Spill-Out, Second Floor, Rehearsal Space, Practice Rooms)
According to Senior Project Manager Fiona Ruddy of Mercy Housing California, the development is intended to become both a residential community and a cultural hub at the intersection of the Hayes Valley, Civic Center, Mission, and Castro neighborhoods. Mercy Housing already operates more than 50 affordable housing properties in San Francisco and sees the project as an extension of its long-standing commitment to serving the city's diverse communities.
Housing will be available to artists who receive Artist Housing Certification through the San Francisco Arts Commission. Apartments will range from studios to two-bedroom units and will serve households earning between 30% and 80% of the Area Median Income (within the range of $34,035 - $90,760 of San Francisco’s current AMI for one person, $113,450). While rents will be adjusted annually under state affordable housing regulations, officials stated that increases are generally capped at no more than 5% per year.
Construction is expected to continue through 2027, with the building scheduled to open in early 2028. Applications for certification are expected to open in two rounds next year, while an early interest form is already available.
(Corner View of Artists Hub on Market)
Community members expressed enthusiasm during public comment, describing the project as a rare opportunity for working artists to continue living and creating in San Francisco despite rising housing costs.
In conversation with Simon Ellwood, who holds a master's degree in Curating Art, Gallery, Museum and Heritage Management, he noted how projects like this have the potential to do much more than provide affordable places to live. Artists contribute to the cultural and spatial life of cities in ways that extend beyond their own homes and studios, he said.
Simon Ellwood, Cultural Sustainability Expert
For example, Ellwood reflects on similar issues in the United Kingdom, pointing to commercial streets increasingly dominated by businesses such as American candy stores and vape shops. "These are businesses that can economically prove themselves and actually afford to pay the rent," he said, "but they don't give anything back to the community.” This parallels the stagnation of San Francisco’s downtown, kept barely alive by tourist traffic, yet apparently lacking in the charm of other San Francisco neighbourhoods necessary to keep locals frequenting the area.
(Walled: An example of Ellwood’s Work in Cultural Sustainability, Sculptural Exhibit Curated in a Community Greenhouse in Manchester, UK)
For Ellwood, the most exciting aspect of Artist Hub on Market is that it appears to move beyond the traditional idea of affordable housing. "Artists don't just need affordable housing," he said. "They need that housing to reapply and reinvent itself as exhibition space, project space, or learning space.”
He argues that the socially engaged artist does more than sustain a space for self-practice but invites the public into community-making activities, using art as a social engagement. This, he says, is how we foster cultural sustainability in a city area.
(Streetlife: Community Artists Space Curated by Simon Ellwood in York, UK)
Ellwood sees this kind of mixed-use approach as an important model for cultural regeneration. If Artist Hub on Market fulfils that vision, it could become more than an affordable housing project. It could serve as a hopeful start to city officials appreciating the value of long-term investment in San Francisco's creative community, the rejuvenating power of providing places for artists to live and create, and being shared and experienced by the community within which it resides.
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