The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently recognized Mercy Housing California and the San Francisco Housing Authority for innovative approaches to development that expand economic opportunity and protect public health and the environment. Mercy Housing California and the San Francisco Housing Authority received the 2008 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement for the category of Equitable Development. The Mission Creek Senior Community project, transformed a brownfield site into an attractive, mixed-use, low-income senior community. The EPA created the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2002 to recognize outstanding approaches to development that benefit the economy, the community, public health, and the environment.
The Mission Creek Senior Community is located in the Mission Bay North area of San Francisco and the 303-acre area that was used for industrial businesses. Remediating the brownfield and returning it to productive use is just one of many environmental achievements of Mission Creek. Mercy Housing employed a LEED-certified contractor and architect who used green building techniques and material featuring the use of solar panels, providing about 25 percent of the power for common areas. The project also has low-flow fixtures and piping for reclaimed water use for landscaping and toilets. Other green measures include landscaping designed for low water use; energy-efficient lighting; large windows to increase daylighting; and long-lasting, low-maintenance interior finishes that use rapidly renewable resources and recycled-product content.
The project includes 139 affordable apartments for low-income elderly residents. Support service programs enable 51 of the building units to serve frail, elderly people. The majority of residents pay a maximum of 30 percent of their income for rent, including utilities—relieving a burden from those particularly affected by housing and energy costs.
For more information the Mission Creek Senior Community, click here.
For the full EPA press release, click here.
