H
ousing activists in San Francisco are pushing Mayor London Breed to prioritize affordable housing on a popular retail spot in Hayes Valley, known as Parcel K. However, the mayor's office has other plans. Located on Octavia Boulevard between Hayes and Linden streets, Parcel K is a quarter-acre site that currently features eight shops, kiosks, an outdoor gym, cafe, and food vendors.

    The city-owned land was set aside for affordable housing in 2000 after the removal of the Central Freeway following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. When funding didn't materialize, architect Douglas Burnham created Proxy, a temporary open space that has become a beloved gathering spot for Hayes Valley residents. Supervisor Dean Preston has long targeted the land for affordable homes.

    Activists have collected over 1,600 signatures on a petition urging Breed to commit to building affordable housing at Parcel K. Despite a state mandate to build 46,600 affordable homes by 2031, Breed's administration says it won't prioritize development in Hayes Valley for the next three to five years. According to Anne Stanley, spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, the city has already built affordable housing nearby and Parcel K is not located in a high-resource neighborhood.

    Stanley also cited the site's small footprint as a reason for the delay, which would make construction expensive. Supervisor Preston criticized the decision, saying that the mayor's office had previously promised to deliver on affordable housing at Parcel K. "When you promise affordable housing, you damn well better deliver it," he said.