Construction Begins on 36-Home Development in Daly City as NRP Program Expands to East Palo Alto

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., November 15, 2010-- As Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco makes steady progress on its largest and most ambitious development to date, a four-story, 36 condominium complex at 7555 Mission Street in Daly City, its Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) continues to expand into new communities that have been hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis. Following introductions of the NRP in Menlo Park, Novato and San Rafael, the latest community to benefit from the program is East Palo Alto, where renovations are well underway on three foreclosed homes recently acquired by Habitat. The city of East Palo Alto has also put its support behind the program, investing $300,000 for four NRP homes and helping to enable new affordable homeownership opportunities for local working families.

Because local communities did not qualify for the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Habitat Greater San Francisco preemptively launched the NRP in mid-2009 without the support of stimulus funding.

A total of more than $3 million was committed to Habitat Greater SF's NRP through strong community support, with 18 NRP homes completed, under renovation or planned thus far.

While work continues on the NRP homes, the Mission Street construction site is undergoing a remarkable transformation as a series of sub-contracted work -- including excavation, pouring of concrete and driving the support piles for the underground parking garage -- nears completion and the site soon becomes volunteer-ready. Weather-permitting, the team hopes to welcome volunteers to the site in late January.

In the meantime, the construction team, AmeriCorps members and regular volunteers have been undergoing training at an off-site facility to prepare for the complexities of the Mission Street development. Building a condominium complex of that scope will require significant care and precision - requiring advanced learning and practice.