S.F. Laborers Demand Affordable Housing, Union Labor

April 15, 2016
By Steven Wishnia and Neal Tepel

San Francisco, CA- Laborers Local 261 has joined the opposition to a proposed 328-unit housing project in the rapidly gentrifying Mission District, demanding that the developer include more affordable housing on-site, build it with union labor, and replace manufacturing space it will displace.

The development planned for 2000 Bryant St.—it has been nicknamed the “Beast on Bryant”—would replace a loft building that contained industrial, arts, and restaurant spaces with two residential towers, 196 luxury apartments and three cheaper ones. Another 129 below-market-rate units would be built by the city at another site the developer owns. “Building a better Beast is about building more affordable housing for all of us,” said Josh Arce, who works as a liaison for Local 261, at a rally April 7. Developer Nick Podell had agreed to increase the off-site affordable units from 44 to 129, but critics say those apartments might not be built for years, and the city will have to pay for them. Read more